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CAAMAÑO VALLE v. SPAIN JUDGMENT It accepts that under Spanish law, as is evidenced by the proceedings under review, the applicant has been exercising the rights of her disabled daughter. 34. It is worth noting that the judicial process at each domestic instance – prior to the lodging of the instant application – consisted precisely of the domestic proceedings initiated at the time in question by the mother with the intention of extending her custody over her disabled daughter. That process ended with the declaration of her daughter’s incapacity and the extension of the parental-guardianship. It therefore considers that the applicant had the required capacity to lodge the present application. It will proceed, however, under the assumption that the actual victim of the alleged violation in this case is M. III. ALLEGED VIOLATION OF ARTICLE 3 OF PROTOCOL No. 1 AND ARTICLE 14 OF THE CONVENTION AND ARTICLE 1 OF PROTOCOL No. 12 35. The applicant complained of a violation of Article 3 of Protocol No. 1. She also complained of a violation of Article 3 of Protocol No. 1. in conjunction with Article 14 of the Convention and Article 1 of Protocol No. 12, asserting that the prohibition, in force at the relevant time, on people with disabilities voting had been discriminatory. The relevant provisions read as follows: Article 3 of Protocol No. 1 “The High Contracting Parties undertake to hold free elections at reasonable intervals by secret ballot, under conditions which will ensure the free expression of the opinion of the people in the choice of the legislature.” Article 14 of the Convention “The enjoyment of the rights and freedoms set forth in this Convention shall be secured without discrimination on any ground such as ...other status.” Article 1 of Protocol No. 12 “1. The enjoyment of any right set forth by law shall be secured without discrimination on any ground such as sex, race, colour, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, association with a national minority, property, birth or other status. 2. No one shall be discriminated against by any public authority on any ground such as those mentioned in paragraph 1.” A. Admissibility 36. The Court notes that the application is neither manifestly ill-founded nor inadmissible on any other grounds listed in Article 35 of the Convention. It must therefore be declared admissible. 14

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Caamaño Valle v. Spain

Judgment

Question Presented: Whether the rescission of voting rights for disabled person under guardianship based on individualized assessment is legal under Article 3, Protocol No. 1 of the European Convention on Human Rights.

Alleged Acts: Applicant, Ms. Caamaño Valle, was the mother of a young woman with an intellectual disability. Around her daughter's 18th birthday, the mother requested that her daughter be placed under her legal guardianship (partial guardianship under Spanish law), but explicitly asked that the daughter not be deprived of her right to vote. Spanish courts placed the daughter under guardianship but also removed her voting rights, finding that she was "highly influenceable and not aware of the consequences of any vote that she might cast." The Spanish courts determined that the daughter lacked sufficient mental capacity to make a free and informed electoral choice, and that allowing her to vote would not serve the purpose of the democratic process.

Procedural history: Mother filed an application with the European Court of Human Rights, alleging that the disenfranchisement violated her daughter's right to vote under Article 3 of Protocol No. 1 to the European Convention on Human Rights.

Summary: The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruled in Caamaño Valle v. Spain that Spain did not violate the applicant’s rights under Article 3 of Protocol No. 1 (right to vote) and Article 14 (prohibition of discrimination) in the case of her daughter, M., who has an intellectual disability.

Conclusion: Spain's disenfranchisement of the applicant's daughter did not violate the European Convention. The judgment upheld the removal of voting rights for a person with an intellectual disability where domestic courts had conducted an individualized assessment and found that the person was incapable of understanding the electoral process and susceptible to undue influence.

Legal Issue(s)

Accessibility

Applicable Law(s): Article 3, Protocol No. 1, and Article 14 of the European Convention on Human Rights

Region: Europe and Eurasia

Country: Spain

Language of Decision

English

Court: Human Rights Court

Election Type: Parliamentary

Date of decision: Aug 11, 2021

Geolocation

Latitude: 48.5964

Longitude: 7.7742

: Geolocation

Link: https://hudoc.echr.coe.int/#{%22itemid%22:[%22001-210089%22]}

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CASE OF CAAMAÑO VALLE v. SPAIN.pdf
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Election Judgments - IFES

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Caamaño Valle v. Spain

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