Protection of the Voting Rights of Persons with Disabilities in the Light of the Polish Constitution – Myth or Reality

This article addresses the issue of legal barriers that prevent people with intellectual or mental disabilities from exercising their electoral rights, in particular their right to vote. The Constitution of the Republic of Poland of 1997 in Art. 62(2) specifies that persons who, by a final judgment of a court, have been subjected to legal incapacitation shall have no right to participate in a referendum nor a right to vote. However, the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, ratified by Poland, guarantees that people with disabilities should be able to participate actively in decision-making processes concerning policies and programmes, including those that directly affect them. In particular, the Convention provides them with the right to vote and be elected, regardless of their disability.

This article addresses the issue of legal barriers that prevent people with intellectual or mental disabilities from exercising their electoral rights, in particular their right to vote. The Constitution of the Republic of Poland of 1997 in Art. 62(2) specifies that persons who, by a final judgment of a court, have been subjected to legal incapacitation shall have no right to participate in a referendum nor a right to vote. However, the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, ratified by Poland, guarantees that people with disabilities should be able to participate actively in decision-making processes concerning policies and programmes, including those that directly affect them. In particular, the Convention provides them with the right to vote and be elected, regardless of their disability.