CAAMAÑO VALLE v. SPAIN JUDGMENT
B. Merits
1. The parties’ submissions
(a) The applicant
37. The applicant noted that despite the universality of the right to vote,
as recognised by the Constitution, the LOREG stated that people whose
legal capacity had been modified could be deprived of the right to vote by a
judicial decision. Such a restriction constituted unquestionable
discrimination on the basis of disability, did not pursue a legitimate aim and
was disproportionate.
38. The applicant reiterated that international treaties on human rights
served as interpretative criteria in respect of the rights safeguarded by the
Convention. In that regard, the CPRD, which had been largely ratified
worldwide, defined the standards of protection to be afforded to people with
disabilities, guaranteed the right to vote of people with disabilities, and
established that States were responsible for guaranteeing the exercise of this
right in conditions of equality and non-discrimination.
39. In the applicant’s opinion, it was an “impossible chimera” (quimera
imposible) to attempt to limit a person’s right to vote through an evaluation
of his or her capabilities or ability to think freely. She maintained that
voting constituted an individual and personal choice and that political
pluralism was an expression of human diversity in terms of elections and
respect for elections.
(b) The Government
40. The Government stated that people with disabilities in Spain enjoyed
the same fundamental rights as other citizens. The key point in the present
case was that the term “disability”, as used in the CRPD, was not the
equivalent of the term “incapacity”, as used by Spanish legal system.
41. The Government noted that under Article 200 of the Civil Code,
incapacity proceedings were designed to guarantee the rights of people
suffering persistent mental illness or deficiencies preventing them from
looking after themselves (see paragraph 17 above). Such proceedings were
undertaken before a judge, a public prosecutor took part in such proceedings
in order to help the person whose legal capacity was at stake, and the
judgment delivered had to be properly reasoned and based on evidence. The
judge examined the person concerned and the specific circumstances of the
case and considered what was in that person’s best interests, the object of
the judgment being only to guarantee that person’s rights. Any such
judgment could be revised to reflect the evolution of the disabilities suffered
by the subject of the judgment.
42. The Government referred to the principles established by the Court’s
conclusions in respect of the case of Alajos Kiss v. Hungary (no. 38832/06,
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