The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in the Case Law of the European Court of Human Rights and in the Council of Europe Disability Strategy 2017–2023: ‘from Zero to Hero’

Abstract

The Council of Europe has long provided protection for the rights of persons with disabilities, primarily by means of the European Convention on Human Rights and the case law of the European Court of Human Rights. However, in the past few years the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities has profoundly changed that case law, assuming a prominent role in the Court’s interpretation of disability rights. Against this background, the article examines the influence of the UN Convention on the case law of the European Court of Human Rights, as well as on the new Council of Europe Disability Strategy 2017–2023.