REVIEWS   

Minerva Medicolegale 2014 June;134(2):93-100

Copyright © 2014 EDIZIONI MINERVA MEDICA

language: Italian

New procedures for legal protection of people with disabilities

Onofri E., Mercuri M., Tadonkeng M. C., Petti A.

Dipartimento di Anatomia, Istologia, Medicina Legale e Ortopedia, “Sapienza” Università di Roma, Roma, Italia

In recent years, the reforms established in the various European countries have tried to protect the rights of people with disabilities, enhancing the possibility of self-determination with the development of the residual capacities taking into account the laws of the founding principles: subsidiarity, necessity, proportionality. New procedures have been set up for legal protections such as the measurement of individual support. In Italy, the tutelary judge is the person who has the task to evaluate and decide whether it is necessary to assume the defense, as consolidated by the last Supreme Court, 20 March 2013, n. 6861, which claims the non-compulsory assistance sponsored by the defender in terms of administration support. It is believed that the right to be assisted by a lawyer is not required during the hearing of the beneficiary, since the latter is considered, by the law, full capable of acting, thus able to understand and determinate his/her own rights. Consequently he/she would be able to protect himself and his interests in the procedure hearing, communicating on an equal footing with the tutelary judge; in this way, it will not infringe about the constitutional principles of the articles 2, 3 and 24 of the Italian Constitution.