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.