CRPD/ C/JPN/CO/1

28.
Recalling its General Comment No. 1 (2014) on equal recognition before the law,
the Committee recommends that the State party:
(a)
Repeal all discriminatory legal provisions and policies with a view to
abolishing substitute decision-making regimes, and amend the civil legislation to
guarantee the right of all persons with disabilities to equal recognition before the law;
(b)
Establish supported decision-making mechanisms that respect autonomy,
will and preferences of all persons with disabilities, regardless the level or mode of
support they may require.
Access to justice (art. 13)
29.

The Committee notes with concern the:

(a)
Provisions of the Code of Civil Procedure and the Code of Criminal Procedure,
restricting access to justice for persons with disabilities under substituted decision-making
regimes, those in residential institutions, as well as persons with intellectual and psychosocial
disabilities by reason of the perceived lack of their litigation capacity;
(b)
Lack of procedural and age-appropriate accommodations in civil, criminal and
administrative proceedings to ensure effective participation of persons with disabilities, and
the lack of accessible information and communication for them;
(c)

Physical inaccessibility of courts, judicial and administrative facilities.

30.
The Committee recalls the International Principles and Guidelines on Access to
Justice for Persons with Disabilities (2020) prepared by the Special Rapporteur on the
Rights of Persons with Disabilities, and Sustainable Development Goal 16, target 3, and
recommends that the State party:
(a)
Repeal legal provisions that restrict the right of persons with disabilities
to participate in judicial proceedings, and recognise their full capacity to participate in
judicial proceedings in all roles on equal basis with others;
(b)
Guarantee procedural and age-appropriate accommodations in all
judicial proceedings for persons with disabilities, regardless the impairment of the
concerned person, including coverage of the litigation charges for accommodations, and
access to official information and communication about proceedings in accessible
formats, including information and communication technologies, captioning, autism
referent persons, Braille, Easy Read and Sign language;
(c)
Ensure physical accessibility of court buildings, judicial and
administrative facilities, particularly, by means of universal design, to guarantee equal
access to judicial proceedings for persons with disabilities on equal basis with others.
Liberty and security of the person (art. 14)
31.

The Committee is concerned about:

(a)
Legislation that allows the involuntary commitment in psychiatric hospitals
and involuntary treatment of persons with disabilities, based on their perceived or actual
impairments or dangerousness, as legitimated by the Act on Mental Health and Welfare for
the Mentally Disabled;
(b)
Lack of safeguards to protect the right to informed consent of persons with
disabilities, including vagueness of the definition of informed consent, as regards the
hospitalization.
32.
The Committee recalls its Guidelines on article 14 of the Convention (2015) and
the recommendations issued by the Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Persons with
Disabilities (A/HRC/40/54/Add.1) and calls upon the State party to:
(a)
Recognise the involuntary hospitalisation of persons with disabilities as
discrimination on the grounds of impairment, amounting to the deprivation of liberty,
and repeal all legal provisions allowing for the deprivation of liberty through

8