Anna Lawson - Böcker

Introduced in 2008, the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities has existed for nearly a decade. This comprehensive study examines how courts in thirteen different jurisdictions make use of the Convention. The first sustained comparative international law analysis of the CRPD, Waddington and Lawsons ground breaking text illuminates the intersection between human rights law, disability law and international law through an examination of the role of courts. The first part of the book contains chapters specific to each jurisdiction. The second part consists of comparative chapters which draw on the rich analysis of the jurisdiction-specific chapters. These chapters reflect on emerging patterns of judicial usage and interpretation of the CRPD and on the wider implications for human rights theory and the nascent field of international comparative human rights law. This volume is a vital and thought-provoking addition to the literature on comparative international law and disability rights.

This book contributes to a critical reflection of current legislative and jurisprudential developments in Non-Discrimination Law, focusing on the European Union. The book is focused on intersectionality between gender, race and disability and the question of whether, and to what extent, this intersection can be adequately addressed in (EU) law. The discussion rests on two basic assumptions. First, the multiplication of 'discrimination grounds' in EU law and other legal regimes should not result in a dilution of the demands of equality law. Accordingly, the book focuses on the three key grounds - race, gender and disability. These constitute nodes around which other discrimination grounds can be grouped. Second, any multi-ground non-discrimination law framework needs to engage with the question of discrimination on several grounds. This book provides a critical evaluation of some of the problems presented by such intersectionality and an opportunity to explore the issues in depth. This collection offers some new proposals relating to the regrouping of identity categories and to the general approach to socio-legal research in the field. It also contains a comparative section, which expands on practical experiences with intersectionality and law, and a section dedicated to juridical responses to intersectionality. The book will be a valuable resource for researchers, academics and those working in the area of EU non-discrimination law and policy.

This book contributes to a critical reflection of current legislative and jurisprudential developments in Non-Discrimination Law, focusing on the European Union. The book is focused on intersectionality between gender, race and disability and the question of whether, and to what extent, this intersection can be adequately addressed in (EU) law. The discussion rests on two basic assumptions. First, the multiplication of 'discrimination grounds' in EU law and other legal regimes should not result in a dilution of the demands of equality law. Accordingly, the book focuses on the three key grounds - race, gender and disability. These constitute nodes around which other discrimination grounds can be grouped. Second, any multi-ground non-discrimination law framework needs to engage with the question of discrimination on several grounds. This book provides a critical evaluation of some of the problems presented by such intersectionality and an opportunity to explore the issues in depth. This collection offers some new proposals relating to the regrouping of identity categories and to the general approach to socio-legal research in the field. It also contains a comparative section, which expands on practical experiences with intersectionality and law, and a section dedicated to juridical responses to intersectionality. The book will be a valuable resource for researchers, academics and those working in the area of EU non-discrimination law and policy.

Equality law is audist. Deaf communities around the world continue to encounter Deaf Legal Exclusion through legal frameworks that define them narrowly and restrict their rights.This book examines why these frameworks have not delivered equality in practice. It argues that the core issue is structural misrecognition: law protects deaf people only when they accept a definition based on impairment. Sign language, culture and community are treated as secondary. What appears to be inclusion is often a Deaf Legal Illusion: equality claimed in principle but absent in practice.The book analyses five models used to categorise deaf people in law and policy: disability, language minority, culturo-linguistic community, ethnic group and Indigenous group. Some appear in legislation; others are found in scholarship and advocacy. Each reflects only part of deaf people’s lives.Drawing on doctrinal and socio-legal analysis of the Equality Act 2010, case law of the ECtHR, and the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, the book critiques how equality law relies on narrow definitions of fairness. It explores formal, substantive and transformative precepts of equality, assessing their ability to reflect deaf people’s experiences. It identifies the audist assumptions built into legal systems that expect deaf people to adapt to hearing norms, while withholding full recognition of sign language and community belonging.In response, the book proposes the Deaf Rights Model, which brings the five models together as complementary rather than competing. Alongside Deaf Equality Concepts, it offers a framework in which sign language, culture and community become central to legal thinking about equality.The Deaf Legal Dilemma establishes Deaf Legal Studies as a field grounded in the priorities and expertise of deaf communities. It invites lawmakers, practitioners and scholars to rethink the purpose of the law and the structures through which deaf people are recognised.

This book is based on a conference organised jointly by the editors to mark the European Year of Disabled People. It explores the range of legal strategies which have been adopted,both nationally and internationally, to achieve equality for disabled people and facilitate their inclusion into mainstream society. It examines current developments in anti-discrimination law, both within Member States and at EU level. It also assesses the effectiveness and potential of the human rights framework for disabled Europeans. In addition, a number of approaches to the enforcement and promotion of disability rights are considered. Contributors to this book, drawn from across Europe, represent a variety of different backgrounds. They include leading academics in the field, as well as campaigners and others working to improve or enforce disability-related legislation. The book is a unique and timely contribution to an important and rapidly expanding field of study. It will be of relevance to all those, whether lawyers or not, with an interest in disability and equality issues.