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vez más colectivos (a las mujeres, a los pueblos aborígenes, etc.), hasta que solo la "capacidad mental" parece una barrera insuperable. La Convención supera este obstáculo y une el binomio capacidad de goce y capacidad de ejercicio (de ahora en adelante hablaremos únicamente de capacidad jurídica, que incluiría a ambas), por considerar que la restricción de la capacidad de ejercicio en base a la capacidad mental de la persona es discriminatoria para las personas con discapacidad pues tiene el propósito o efecto (discriminación directa o indirecta) de restringirles en el ejercicio de sus derechos”. Conforme a lo anterior, se debe presumir la aptitud de la persona para tomar decisiones. En el ejercicio de ello, garantizarle un sistema de apoyos que implica de una asistencia o de unos ajustes razonables, según el contexto, para hacer efectivas sus voluntades. Debe prevalecer la voluntad y preferencias de la persona en condiciones de discapacidad. Afirmó que incluso quienes tienen una discapacidad cognitiva profunda o severa (como lo mencionan las demandas), tienen capacidad para tomar decisiones de acuerdo con su voluntad, y según el contexto, deben implementarse los apoyos adecuados para que se perfeccionen. La Fundación interviniente realizó un análisis de los contenidos de la Ley 1996 de 2019 y concluyó que es el cumplimiento de los estándares del tratado internacional en materia de capacidad de las personas con discapacidad. Posteriormente se refirió a los argumentos de inconstitucionalidad expuestos en las demandas bajo estudio. Señaló que desarrollan argumentos con un enfoque “biomédico” de la discapacidad que es obsoleto en el discurso de los derechos humanos. Manifestó que las demandas se sustentan en estereotipos sobre la discapacidad y confunden el diagnóstico médico con la discapacidad, términos que no pueden ir de la mano en el marco del enfoque social. En palabras del interviniente: “Estamos de acuerdo con los demandantes que cada persona tiene características propias y especiales que las hace diferentes entre sí, pero no podemos estar menos de acuerdo en identificar un diagnostico con una discapacidad. El diagnóstico es una etiqueta médico-clínica que sirve a los profesionales de la medicina para abordar una situación clínica. En cambio, la discapacidad es la situación y/o posición de desigualdad respecto a otras personas en la que se encuentra una persona con un diagnóstico para su igual desarrollo y participación en 122

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Sentencia C-025/21

Judgment

Question Presented: Whether Article 6 of Law 1996 of 2019, which establishes the presumption of full legal capacity for all persons with disabilities regardless of whether they use supports, is constitutional; whether Article 53 of Law 1996 of 2019, which repealed all provisions related to interdiction and inhabilitation in the Colombian legal system, is constitutional; and whether the shift from a substitute decision-making model (guardianship/interdiction) to a supported decision-making model is consistent with the Colombian Constitution and Colombia's international obligations under the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), ratified by Colombia via Act 1346 of 2009.

Alleged Acts: Law 1996 of 2019 was enacted to reform Colombia's legal capacity regime for persons with disabilities. The law eliminated the civil law mechanisms of "interdiction" (interdicción) and "inhabilitation" (inhabilitación) — forms of guardianship that historically stripped persons with disabilities of their legal capacity, including the right to vote, enter contracts, exercise parental authority, and participate in public life. Under the old regime, a judicial declaration of interdiction resulted in the automatic loss of legal capacity and civil rights, including political rights. Law 1996 of 2019 replaced this substitute decision-making model with a supported decision-making framework, establishing a legal presumption of full capacity for all persons with disabilities and creating mechanisms for "support agreements" (acuerdos de apoyos) and judicial adjudication of supports (adjudicación judicial de apoyos). Several citizens filed constitutional challenges (demandas de inconstitucionalidad) against various articles of Law 1996 of 2019, arguing that the elimination of interdiction and the presumption of full legal capacity for persons with disabilities was unconstitutional. The challengers contended that removing the traditional guardianship framework left vulnerable individuals without adequate protection and that the presumption of capacity could expose persons with disabilities to exploitation or harm.

Procedural history: The constitutional challenges were filed with the Colombian Constitutional Court, which has exclusive jurisdiction over abstract constitutional review of legislation. A companion decision, Sentencia C-022/21 (February 4, 2021), addressed a preliminary procedural challenge regarding whether Law 1996 of 2019 should have been enacted as a statutory law (ley estatutaria) requiring special procedural requirements, rather than an ordinary law. The Constitutional Court resolved that procedural issue, allowing the substantive review to proceed in Sentencia C-025/21.

Summary: Sentencia C-025/21 is a landmark Colombian Constitutional Court decision that upheld the constitutionality of Law 1996 of 2019, which abolished the centuries-old interdiction (guardianship) regime and replaced it with a modern supported decision-making framework. The Court ruled that the presumption of full legal capacity for all persons with disabilities is constitutional, that the prior interdiction system violated human rights — including the right to vote — and that even persons with severe intellectual disabilities must be provided with all reasonable accommodations to express their will and preferences. This ruling aligns Colombian law with the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) and represents one of the most significant constitutional reforms in Latin America regarding the legal capacity and political rights of persons with disabilities. The decision is particularly significant for disability voting rights because it eliminates the legal framework that automatically disenfranchised persons under guardianship and establishes an affirmative constitutional obligation to provide accommodations to facilitate political participation.

Conclusion: The Constitutional Court declared Articles 6 and 53 of Law 1996 of 2019 constitutional (exequible). The Court inhibited itself from ruling on certain other challenged articles but addressed the core provisions. The Court held that Article 6, establishing the presumption of full legal capacity for all persons with disabilities, is consistent with the Constitution's principles and with the provisions of Act 1346 of 2009 (CRPD). The Court affirmed that persons with disabilities are subjects of rights with full legal capacity on equal terms with others. The Court concluded that the prior interdiction regime violated the human rights of persons with disabilities. The denial of legal capacity prevented persons with disabilities from accessing other fundamental rights, including the right to vote, parental authority, and contractual autonomy. As stated in the Court's reasoning: "La negación de la capacidad jurídica de las personas con discapacidad les impide acceder a otros derechos, como el voto, la patria potestad..." (The denial of legal capacity prevents persons with disabilities from accessing other rights, such as voting, parental authority...). The Court declared Article 53 constitutional, affirming that the repeal of all interdiction and inhabilitation mechanisms was a necessary step to comply with Colombia's constitutional and international human rights obligations. The law expressly ordered the repeal of all mechanisms that substitute the legal capacity of persons with disabilities. The Court established that the presumption of legal capacity has a material effect requiring accommodations. As stated: "El efecto de la presunción del ejercicio de la capacidad legal se materializa en que, aún en un caso en el que la persona tiene una discapacidad intelectual y que se encuentra imposibilitada para manifestar su voluntad, debe garantizarse por todos los medios y los ajustes razonables que requiera, la manifestación de su voluntad y preferencias." (The effect of the presumption of the exercise of legal capacity materializes in that, even in a case where the person has an intellectual disability and is unable to manifest their will, their will and preferences must be guaranteed through all means and reasonable adjustments required.). The Court concluded that the recognition of legal capacity for adult persons with disabilities, provided they are given appropriate support and information, is in accordance with the Constitution's principles and with the provisions of Act 1346 of 2009 (approval of the CRPD). The law aligns Colombian jurisprudence with Article 12 of the CRPD, which requires states to recognize persons with disabilities as persons before the law with equal legal capacity in all aspects of life.

Legal Issue(s)

Accessibility
Voters' Rights

Applicable Law(s): Law 1996 of 2019, Colombia Constitution, Act 1346 of 2019, and the Convention on the Right of Disabled Persons

Region: Americas

Country: Colombia

Language of Decision

Spanish

Court: Constitutional Court

Election Type: General

Date of decision: Feb 4, 2021

Geolocation

Latitude: 4.599

Longitude: -74.0755

: Geolocation

Link: https://www.corteconstitucional.gov.co/relatoria/2021/c-025-21.htm

Primary Documents

C-025-21.pdf
Spanish
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