On the need to reflect on the issue of electoral rights for incapacitated persons

The aim of the article is to analyze critically the institution of incapacitation under Polish law, in the light of its impact on the exclusion of electoral rights of people affected by intellectual disability and mental disorders, in relation to whom Art. 13 and 16 of the Civil Code have been applied. The automatic relationship between incapacitation of a person and the deprivation of his/her right to participate in the election, sanctioned in Art. 62 of the Constitution, shows the contradiction with the international standards to protect the rights of persons with disabilities, expressed in the agreements ratified by Poland and the case law of the ECHR, and it also stands in opposition to the demands expressed by international organizations that uphold individual rights.

On the need to reflect on the issue of electoral rights for incapacitated persons. Part II

The problem of limiting the political rights of people with intellectual disabilities under Polish law has been a matter of interest for the Ombudsman for a long time, consistently postulating legislative work aimed at eliminating the institution of legal incapacitation from the Polish legal order, and it is reflected in the jurisdiction of the Constitutional Court and in the activity of the social organisations. The article indicates the need postulated in the doctrine of the constitutional law to replace the Polish model of substitute decision by instruments of supported decision-making by people affected by intellectual disability and the need to have the ability to use the political rights by an individual assessed thoroughly each time by an impartial body, including the fundamental right to elect his/her representatives, while applying some measures restricting the individual’s discretionary power under civil law.

Creating an impaired identity of the Other in the educational environment (psychiatricization)

The aim of the article, based on a qualitative study, is to identify and interpret the meanings parents assign to messages conveyed by school personnel about the behavior of students with moderate and severe intellectual disabilities coupled with autism. The main research objective is to present the mechanism of impairment of the identity of pupils in special education, known as psychiatricization. The phenomenon of psychiatricization occurs in situations where school staff abuse and misinterpret the behaviour of people with intellectual disabilities, looking for mental illness in the behaviours they present. One of the reasons for this phenomenon is the misunderstood, behavioural-coded communication of pupils perceived as mentally ill by teachers who are convinced they should be diagnosed and treated with appropriate psychotropic drugs in order to subdue and quieten the awkward pupil. A consequence of the activities and discourse of school staff, i.e. psychiatricization, including stigmatization, harm, abuse of power-knowledge, is falsifying the identity of students, depriving them of opportunities and opportunities for optimal development and satisfying their special educational needs. The presented qualitative research is located in the constructivistinterpretative paradigm, and the mainstream of the scientific narrative is the critical theory.