Гарантії реалізації виборчих прав осіб з обмеженою внаслідок психо-інтелектуальних вад дієздатністю

Abstract

The author of the article has studied the problems of realizing electoral rights of the special category of persons – persons with limited capacity related to mental disabilities. As a result of a comparative analysis of the norms of the current legislation of Ukraine, the author has concluded that there are inconsistencies and contradictions. It is related to the ability of persons with limited capacity by court (through persistent mental disorders that prevent a person from fully realizing the value of own and others’ actions) to participate in the process of elections and referendums that is very important to society and the state. Studies of a number of research by foreign authors have led to the conclusion that there is a positive experience of some courts in the United States concerning practical definition of the ability of a person with mental disorders to understand the essence of the electoral/referendum process (using “the Doe standard” special testing system). Besides, the author has stated that there is a consistent world tendency of recognizing full voting rights for persons with mental disorders on the basis of the above statistics, obtained position of some European countries on the suffrage of the studied category of persons, and in the result of studying the positions of certain countries. Having analyzed the above studies and other sources, based on the position of certain public institutions of the European Union on realizing (or granting) suffrage to persons with mental disabilities, the author has concluded about the expediency of creating an additional state legal guarantee. We mean the creation and implementation of the norms of Ukrainian legislation regarding mandatory duplication of any pre-election information (or information about referendum) in the so-called “easy-to-read language”. Such an innovation for Ukraine, as well as for any other country, should ensure, first of all, the realization of the suffrage of the specified category of persons, and secondly, the maximum information accessibility for both the studied group of persons and for a number of citizens of other categories (elderly persons, national minorities, etc.).