Background Paper - Realising Article 12 of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities: Ireland’s journey from wardship to supported decision-making.

This background paper considers the progress Ireland has made in meeting the requirements of Article 12 of the UNCRPD concerning equal recognition before the law, and the UNCRPD Committee’s guidance on this topic, by comparing the old wardship system and the new supported decision-making framework under the Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act 2015 (as amended). The paper finds that while Ireland’s new statutory framework of supported decision-making constitutes a substantial step forward in terms of compliance with Article 12, and a marked improvement on the wardship system, it does not fully align with the UNCRPD Committee’s interpretation as set out in General Comment No.1.