Legal Capacity and Disability Rights in Sweden : Guradianship. Decision-Making and Article 12 of the CRPD

Sammanfattning

Abstract: This thesis examines whether Swedish law on legal capacity is in line with Article 12 of the CRPD as interpreted by the CRPD Committee. Legal capacity is understood as both recognition before the law and the ability to make legally valid decisions. The thesis uses a legal dogmatic method, combined with a normative human rights analysis and a limited socio-legal dimension, to analyse Swedish legislation, preparatory works and selected Supreme Court cases concerning god man and förvaltarskap. The analysis show that Swedish law formally recognises legal capacity and provides support through god man, but still allows restrictions through förvaltarskap and assessments of decision-making ability. The thesis concludes that Swedish law partly reflects the principles of Article 12, but does not fully align with the CRPD Committee’s interpretation because legal capacity can still be restricted based on assessments of decision-making ability and may be difficult to exercise in practice. Keywords: legal capacity, CRPD, Article 12, supported decision-making, förvaltarskap, human rights law.