Legal capacity under the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

Article 12 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities requires states parties to ensure that persons with disabilities "enjoy legal capacity on an equal basis with others in all aspects of life". This column explores what is meant by "legal capacity" and its constituent elements of legal standing and legal agency. It outlines recent research on what is meant by "support" to exercise legal capacity and explores the issue of whether mental health and guardianship laws that enable substituted decision-making for those with mental and intellectual impairments contravene Article 12.