The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in Practice A Comparative Analysis of the Role of Courts International Law and Domestic Legal Orders Series

Introduced in 2008, the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities has existed for nearly a decade. This comprehensive study examines how courts in thirteen different jurisdictions make use of the Convention. The first sustained comparative international law analysis of the CRPD, Waddington and Lawsons ground breaking text illuminates the intersection between human rights law, disability law and international law through an examination of the role of courts. The first part of the book contains chapters specific to each jurisdiction. The second part consists of comparative chapters which draw on the rich analysis of the jurisdiction-specific chapters. These chapters reflect on emerging patterns of judicial usage and interpretation of the CRPD and on the wider implications for human rights theory and the nascent field of international comparative human rights law. This volume is a vital and thought-provoking addition to the literature on comparative international law and disability rights.

Lisa Waddington holds the European Disability Forum Chair in European Disability Law at the Maastricht Centre for European Law. In 2000, she received an ASPASIA award from the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research. Between 2004 and 2007 she coordinated a large EU research and education project on European non-discrimination law. She also coordinated the involvement of Maastricht University in the FP7 European Research Agendas expanding Disability Equality project and the Marie Curie Initial Training Network. She is also a member of both the Ius Commune Research School and the Human Rights Research School. Between 1993 and 2004 she was the editor of the Maastricht Journal of European and Comparative Law. She is currently a board member of a number of networks and organizations, including the European Network of Legal Experts in Gender Equality and Non-discrimination. Anna Lawson is a professor of law at the University of Leeds where she is also the director of its interdisciplinary Centre for Disability Studies. She co-ordinates the newly established Disability Law Hub which sits within the Law School's Centre for Law and Social Justice and she is a regular advisor to national and international organizations, including parliaments and governments. Anna is a long-standing member of the co-ordinating team of the European Union's Academic Network of Experts on Disability. Anna is also an adjunct faculty member for the critical disability studies graduate programme at York University, Toronto, and an honorary bencher of the Middle Temple, London. In 2016 she was awarded the Bob Hepple Memorial Award by the Equal Rights Trust in recognition of her contribution to equality and human rights.