Mental Health Disabilities and Access to Justice: Recognizing and Reinforcing Capacity
Event
A Global perspectives on disability, human rights and accessing justice seminar, organized by the Centre for Human Rights and Legal Pluralism.
This seminar is accredited for 2 hours of continuing legal education by the Quebec Bar (activity no. 10075399).
Agenda
Moderator: Derek J. Jones (groupe de recherche sur la santé et le droit, centre des droits de la personne et du pluralisme juridique)
Participants: Arlene Kanter (professeure, université Syracuse collège de droit), Bob Dinerstein (professeur, université américaine de Washington collège de droit), Patrick Healy (juge à la Cour du Québec – division criminelle et pénale)
This seminar will explore Canadian and U.S. perspectives on the intersection of disability, mental health and access to justice. Recent decades have witnessed an evolution in the understanding between life circumstances, mental health and involvement with the law, and yet people with mental illnesses face significant obstacles in protecting their basic civil rights. They also remain highly over-represented in the criminal justice system. The CRPD has contributed to the debate around mental illness and access to justice. In particular, the recognition of the legal capacity of persons with disabilities “on an equal basis with others” has important implications in relation to both criminal responsibility and civil rights.
This seminar will allow for a discussion of the legal and non-legal issues and challenges that exist at the nexus of mental disability, human rights, and access to justice.
About the series
To explore some of the advances, challenges, and questions, the CHRLP is pleased to present its 2013-14 seminar series on selected issues of human rights and disability law. The series builds on the themes explored in the CHRLP’s successful 2012-13 seminar series, entitled “Disability, Human Rights and the Law.” We offer this series to continue to engage in one of the most compelling human rights issues of our day, consistent with the Faculty of Law’s tradition of analysis, scholarship and promotion of human rights and social justice. The events will follow the format of a teaching seminar and required resources will be circulated ahead of time.
Space is limited, so kindly RSVP to chrlp [dot] law [at] mcgill [dot] ca to secure your spot. Lunch will be provided.
Information: http://www.mcgill.ca/humanrights/events/disability-seminar-series
