Summary

This project aims to eliminate discriminatory laws and practices that deny legal capacity based on disability in Montenegro. 

By supporting country in aligning legislation with international human rights standards, enhancing the knowledge and capacities of professionals and families regarding disability rights and gender equality, and developing inclusive, community-based supported decision-making services, persons with disabilities, especially women with intellectual and psychosocial disabilities, will be empowered to make autonomous decisions and exercise their rights equally.

Background

Legal capacity is a key element of the inherent right of every individual to be recognized before the law, make decisions, and act on one’s own behalf. Without legal capacity, an individual cannot make legally binding decisions, such as entering into marriage, signing contracts, freely consent to medical treatment and care, and faces significant obstacles to access justice. Legal capacity is key for full participation in all aspects of life.

For centuries, authorities denied legal capacity to certain groups, particularly women, ethnic minorities and persons with disabilities. This resulted, for instance, in women not being allowed to vote. These practices have largely been abolished today, though in many countries, persist for persons with disabilities. Restricting or denying legal capacity based on personal characteristics — such as gender in the past or disability today — is discrimination. The person is treated as "non-existent" before the law and third parties make decisions on their behalf. In legal terms, this is often described as ‘civil death’.

While all persons with disabilities can be subject to denial of legal capacity, in practice the most affected are persons with intellectual or psychosocial disabilities, persons with complex support requirements, women and older persons. This is also the case in Montenegro. In 2024, there were 948 persons fully deprived of legal capacity (455 women) and 38 persons partially deprived of legal capacity (14 women) in Montenegro, most of whom with psychosocial or intellectual disabilities.  The current practice perpetuates exclusion, contributes to human rights violations and reinforces societal attitudes that persons with disabilities are incapable.
 

Project Outcome

The programme seeks to facilitate system-level change in Montenegro by proposing amendments to legal framework that violates rights and by providing support to establish a system that supports persons with disabilities to exercise their rights. It seeks to address harmful practices and significantly reduce cases of legal capacity denial for persons with disabilities. Thereby, it will contribute to reducing discrimination faced by persons with disabilities and strengthen their ability to exercise their human rights. A supported decision-making service model will be developed and piloted to drive system-level change. The project will establish a scalable model to enable persons with disabilities, particularly those with intellectual and psychosocial disabilities, to access structured, sustainable support mechanisms that strengthen their ability to make autonomous decisions on an equal basis with others. 

More specifically, the intervention seeks to achieve the following:

• Amendments to the legal framework proposed and current practices changed to abolish the institute of deprivation of legal capacity based solely on disability;

• System of supported decision-making services for persons with disabilities, including those with psychosocial and intellectual disabilities, designed and one service piloted;

• Capacity strengthened and attitudes changed of decision-makers, judiciary, and social protection professionals to replace the current medical approach to disability with the rights-based approach in line with standards and developments in international legislation and human rights practices on legal capacity.