The seminar featured a keynote address by Professor Anna Arstein-Kerslake, from the University of Melbourne and the University of Galway, entitled “Access to Justice: The Recognition of the Person Before the Law as a Central Issue.” Professor Arstein-Kerslake highlighted the strong interest among various sectors in Chile in advancing this key issue for the protection of the rights of persons with disabilities. In her presentation, she emphasized the need to dismantle legal systems that substitute a person’s will—such as guardianship or legal incapacity—which affect many people with disabilities. She also underscored the importance of implementing accessibility measures, reasonable accommodations, and anti-discrimination legislation to ensure that persons with disabilities are recognized and treated equally before the law.
The event was opened by Pablo Carvacho, Director of Research and Development at the UC Center for Justice and Society, who welcomed attendees and encouraged participation in spaces such as this one, which “seek to shift the focus from the biomedical to the social.” He also called for a critical examination of legal mechanisms such as legal incapacity, which under current Chilean law effectively amounts to a civil death for persons with disabilities subjected to this process.
The seminar then featured remarks by Jessica González, Supreme Court Justice in charge of the Subcommittee on Access to Justice for Vulnerable Groups. She emphasized the need to strengthen these efforts through an intersectional approach, noting that women and girls with disabilities are most frequently victims of rights violations. She reviewed several initiatives promoted by the Judiciary over the past decade, in line with the entry into force of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, the first human rights treaty of the 21st century. Following her remarks, Pedro Goic, National Director of the National Disability Service, highlighted the role of attitudinal barriers in access to justice. He stressed that the core principle of the struggle for access to justice lies in recognizing persons with disabilities as equals and that achieving this goal requires continued implementation of accessibility measures and reasonable accommodations, as well as ongoing training for justice system actors.
Following the keynote address, a panel discussion explored progress and ongoing challenges related to access to justice for persons with disabilities in Chile. Pablo Marshall, Deputy Director of Núcleo DISCA, presented preliminary findings from a study collecting testimonies from lawyers involved in implementing the access to justice agreement between the Legal Aid Corporation and the National Disability Service. While he highlighted advances in architectural and communication accessibility, he also identified significant shortcomings that must be addressed to ensure a truly inclusive justice system. Subsequently, Daniel Villarroel, a lawyer with the Legal Aid Corporation, discussed the practical challenges he faced as part of the specialist team responsible for implementing the agreement. Among the most significant obstacles were resistance from some officials and the persistent perception that guardianship is a necessary measure for many individuals, often resulting in civil or employment-related consequences that hinder the ability of persons with disabilities to live independently.
The event concluded with remarks by Florencia Herrera, Director of Núcleo DISCA, who underscored the importance of its new line of work on access to justice. This focus emerged after research conducted during the group’s first three years revealed the systematic obstruction of this right. She also drew attention to the broader impact of these rights violations on family members and those close to persons with disabilities who are denied access to justice, citing cases in which individuals with disabilities are deprived of custody of their children due to prejudices held by justice system officials.
