Building up a constructive relationship between law and the social sciences to investigate the “CRPD-in-action”: experiences from a descriptive study

Authors

  • Adriana Caballero Pérez Maastricht University/DARE Project

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.35295/osls.iisl/0000-0000-0000-1358

Keywords:

Voting, disability, disability legal scholarship, social science and disability, New Legal Realism

Abstract

Voting rights of persons with disabilities must be ensured by States Parties to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). The CRPD sets out legal obligations of States Parties to ensure de jure and de facto realisation of the right to vote by persons with disabilities. How can a disability researcher analyse compliance by States Parties with the CRPD? The present article argues that for achieving a fully developed disability legal scholarship, legal studies about the implementation of the CRPD need to combine the perspectives of jurisprudence and social sciences. Based on the author’s experience in carrying out the ongoing study “Voting Matters”, this article examines an innovative theoretical and methodological framework to understand how the CRPD is implemented through law and policy, and “in practice”. This means to investigate the “CRPD-in-action”. It concludes that this is a challenging task that can be accomplished through an evidence-based approach and a mixed-research design.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

        Metrics

Views 242
Downloads:
12_6_Caballero_OSLS 135
XML_12_6_Caballero_OSLS 21


Author Biography

Adriana Caballero Pérez, Maastricht University/DARE Project

PhD student at Maastricht University, Faculty of Law, The Netherlands. DARE Project. Email address: a.caballeroperez@maastrichtuniversity.nl / accaballerop@gmail.com

References

Ahearn, L., 2000. Agency. Journal of Linguistic Anthropology, 9(1–2), 12–15.

Arksey, H., and O’Malley, L., 2005. Scoping studies: towards a methodological framework. International Journal of Social Research Methodology, 8(1), 19–32.

Augsberg, I., 2015. Some Realism About New Legal Realism: What’s New, What’s Legal, What’s Real?. Leiden Journal of International Law [online], 28(3), 457–467. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0922156515000229 [Accessed 28 October 2022].

Benhabib, S., 2004. On hospitality: rereading Kant’s cosmopolitan right. In: S. Benhabib, The Rights of Others: Aliens, Residents, and Citizens. Cambridge University Press, 25–48.

Berger, R.J., 2008. Agency, Structure, and The Transition to Disability: A Case Study with Implications for Life History Research. The Sociological Quarterly, 49(2), 309–333.

Cacchione, P., 2016. The Evolving Methodology of Scoping Reviews. Clinical Nursing Research [online], 25(2), 115–119. Available from: https://journals.sagepub.com/

doi/pdf/10.1177/1054773816637493 [Accessed 28 October 2022].

Carrington, P., 1995. Hail! Langdell! Law & Social Inquiry [online], 20(3), 691–760. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1747-4469.1995.tb00784.x [Accessed 28 October 2022].

Dagan, H. and Kreitner, R., 2018. The New Legal Realism and The Realist View of Law. Law & Social Inquiry [online], 43(2), 528–553. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1111/lsi.12319 [Accessed 28 October 2022].

Day Ashley, L., 2010. The use of structuration theory to conceptualize alternative practice in education: the case of private school outreach in India. British Journal of Sociology of Education, 31(3), 337–351.

Durkheim, É., 1952. Suicide: A study in sociology. 1st English ed. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul.

Ehrlich, E., 1917. Judicial Freedom of Decision: its Principles and Objects. In: E. Bruncken and L. Register, eds., Science of Legal Method. Select Essays by various authors. The Boston Book Company, 47–84.

Emirbayer, M., and Mische, A., 1998. What is Agency? American Journal of Sociology, 103(4), 962–1023.

European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA), 2013. The right to political participation of persons with mental health problems and persons with intellectual disabilities [online]. Vienna: FRA. Available from: https://fra.europa.eu/en/

publication/2010/right-political-participation-persons-mental-health-problems-and-persons [Accessed 28 October 2022].

European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA), 2019. Who Will (Not) Get to Vote in the 2019 European Parliament Elections? Developments in the Right to Vote of People Deprived of Legal Capacity in EU Member States [online]. Vienna: FRA. Available from: https://fra.europa.eu/sites/default/files/fra_uploads/fra-2019-right-vote-ep-elections-legal-capacity_en.pdf [Accessed 19 July 2019].

Ferdoush, A., 2018. Seeing Borders Through the Lens of Structuration: A Theoretical Framework. Geopolitics, 23(1), 180–200.

Fiala-Butora, J., Stein, M.A., and Lord, J.E., 2014. The Democratic Life of the Union: Toward Equal Voting Participation for Europeans with Disabilities. Harvard International Law Review, 55(1), 71–104.

Gardiner, R., 2008. Treaty Interpretation. Oxford University Press.

Garth, B., and Mertz, E., 2016. Introduction: New Legal Realism at Ten Years and Beyond. UC Irvine Law Review [online], 6(1), 122–136. Available from: https://scholarship.law.uci.edu/ucilr/vol6/iss2/3 [Accessed 28 October 2022].

Giddens, A., 1976. New rules of sociological method. New York: Basic Books.

Giddens, A., 1979. Central Problems in Social Theory. London: Palgrave.

Giddens, A., 1987. Structuralism, post-structuralism and the production of culture. In: A. Giddens, Social Theory Today. Stanford University Press, 195–223.

Giddens, A., 1989. A reply to my critics. In: D. Held and J. Thompson, eds., Social Theory of Modern Societies: Anthony Giddens and his critics. Cambridge University Press, 249–305.

Giddens, A., 2003. The time-space constitution of social systems. In: P. Kivisto, ed., Social Theory: Roots and Branches. Los Angeles: Roxbury, 455–461.

Giddens, A.,1984. The Constitution of Society: Outline of the Theory of Structuration. 1st ed. Cambridge: Polity Press.

Gilflores, J., and Alonso, C., 1995. Using focus groups in educational research: Exploring teachers’ perspectives on educational change. Evaluation Review, 19(1), 84–101.

Goodley, D., 1997. Locating Self-Advocacy in Models of Disability: Understanding Disability in Support of Self-Advocates with Learning Difficulties. Disability & Society, 12(3), 367–379.

Goodley, D., 2010. Disability Studies: An Interdisciplinary Introduction. 1st ed. London: Sage.

Goodley, D., et al., 2019. Provocations for Critical Disability Studies. Disability & Society [online], 34(6), 972–997. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1080/09687599.

1566889 [Accessed 28 October 2022].

Grant, M.J., and Booth, A., 2009. A typology of reviews: an analysis of 14 review types and associated methodologies. Health Information and Libraries Journal, 26(1), 91–108.

Grobelaar Du Plessis, I., and Njau, J., 2018. Art. 29 Participation in Political and Public Life. In: I. Bantekas, M.A. Stein and D. Anastasiou, eds., The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities: A commentary. Oxford University Press, 834–862.

Guzmán, A., and Caballero, A., 2021. Participation of Persons with Disabilities in Political Life. A Content Analysis of Recent Literature (1997–2019). Revista Estudios Políticos [online], 61(1), 154–177. Available from: https://doi.org/10.17533/udea.espo.n61a07 [Accessed 28 October 2022].

Hage, J., 2011. The Method of a Truly Normative Legal Science. In: M. Van Hoecke, ed., Methodologies Of Legal Research: Which Kind of Method for What Kind Discipline? 1st ed. Oxford: Hart, 19–44.

Harris, J., et al., 2005. Outcomes for Disabled Service Users, Department of Health Final Report [online]. Social Policy Research Unit, University of York. Available from: https://eprints.lancs.ac.uk/id/eprint/61838/ [Accessed 28 October 2022].

Hoffman, M.F., and Cowan, R.L., 2010. Be Careful What You Ask For: Structuration Theory and Work/Life Accommodation. Communication Studies, 61(2), 205–223.

Horwitz, M., 1992. The Transformation of American Law, 1870–1960: The Crisis of Legal Orthodoxy. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Huneeus, A., 2015. Human Rights between Jurisprudence and Social Science. Leiden Journal of International Law [online], 28(2), 255–266. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0922156515000060 [Accessed 28 October 2022].

Hvinden, B., 2017. Is public policy in Europe promoting the Active Citizenship of persons with disabilities? In: R. Halvorsen et al., eds., The Changing Disability Policy System. Active Citizenship and Disability in Europe (Volume 1). New York: Routledge, 1–11.

Imrie, R., and Kumar, M., 1998. Focusing on disability and access in the built environment. Disability & Society, 13(3), 357–374.

International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES), 2018. Election Access Observation Toolkit [online]. Arlington: IFES. Available from: http://themimu.info/sites/

themimu.info/files/documents/Guide_Election_Access_Observation_Toolkit_IFES_Sep2018_ENG.pdf [Accessed 28 October 2022].

Kayess, R., and French, P., 2008. Out of Darkness into Light? Introducing the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Human Rights Law Review [online], 8(1), 1–34. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1093/hrlr/ngm044 [Accessed 28 October 2022].

Kroll, T., Barbour, R., and Harris, J., 2007. Using Focus Groups in Disability Research. Qualitative Health Research, 17(5), 690–698.

Linderfalk, U., 2015. Is Treaty Interpretation an Art or a Science? European Journal of International Law [online], 26(1), 169. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1093/

ejil/chv008 [Accessed 28 October 2022].

Lister, R., 2007. Inclusive Citizenship: Realizing the Potential. Journal Citizenship Studies, 11(1), 49–61.

Lo Giacco, L., 2019. Citting Matters: An Analysis of the Use of Judicial Decisions in International Criminal Law Adjudication through the Lens of Law-Making. PhD Thesis. 18 March. Lund University Press.

Marx, K., and Engels, F., 1848. Manifesto of the Communist Party [online]. 1st ed. Moscow: Progress. Available from: https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/

download/pdf/Manifesto.pdf [Accessed 28 October 2022].

Mays, N., Roberts, E., and Popay, J., 2001. Synthesising research evidence. In: N. Fulop et al., eds., Studying the organisation and delivery of health services: research methods. London: Routledge, 188–220.

Mechlem, K., 2009. Treaty Bodies and the Interpretation of Human Rights. Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law [online], 42(3), 905–947. Available from: https://scholarship.law.vanderbilt.edu/vjtl/vol42/iss3/4 [Accessed 28 October 2022].

Meekosha, H., and Dowse, L., 1997. Enabling Citizenship: Gender, Disability and Citizenship in Australia. Feminist Review, 57(1), 49–72.

Meekosha, H., and Shuttleworth, R., 2009. What’s so “critical” about critical disability studies? Australian Journal of Human Rights, 15(1), 47–75.

Mertz, E., 2016. Introduction New Legal Realism: Law and Social Science in the New Millennium. In: E. Mertz, S. Macaulay and T.W. Mitchell, eds., The New Legal Realism: Translating Law-and-Society for Today’s Legal Practice. Cambridge University Press, 1–25.

Minichiello, V., et al., 1992. In-depth Interviewing: Researching People. Milton Park: Taylor & Francis Books.

Morgan, D., 2011. Focus Groups As A Qualitative Method. 3rd ed. London: Sage Research Methods. Online Publications.

Morris, J., 2005. Citizenship and disabled people: A scoping paper prepared for the Disability Rights Commission [online]. London: UK Disability Rights Commission. Available from: https://disability-studies.leeds.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/40/library/morris-Citizenship-and-disabled-people.pdf [Accessed 28 October 2022].

Nhunzvi, C., et al., 2019. Occupational justice and social inclusion in mental illness and HIV: a scoping review protocol. BMJ Open [online], 9(1), 1–6. Available from: http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2018-024049 [Accessed 28 October 2022].

Ogden, D., and Rose, R.A., 2005. Using Giddens’s Structuration Theory to Examine the Waning Participation of African Americans in Baseball. Journal of Black Studies, 35(4), 225–245.

Orlikowski, W.J., 2000. Using Technology and Constituting Structures: A Practice Lens for Studying Technology in Organizations. Organizational Science, 11(4), 404–428.

OSCE's Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), 2017. Handbook on Observing and Promoting the Electoral Participation of Persons with Disabilities [online]. Warsaw: ODIHR. Available from: https://www.osce.org/odihr/elections/

handbook-observing-people-with-disabilities [Accessed 28 October 2022].

Quinn, G., and Degener, T., 2002. The current use and future potential of United Nations human rights instruments in the context of disability [online]. Geneva/New York: United Nations. Available from: https://www.ohchr.org/Documents/

Publications/HRDisabilityen.pdf [Accessed 28 October 2022].

Reckwitz, A., 2002. Toward a Theory of Social Practices. A Development in Culturalist Theorizing. European Journal of Social Theory, 5(2), 243.

Romero, D., Kwan, A., and Suchman, L., 2019. Methodologic approach to sampling and field-based data collection for a large-scale in-depth interview study: The Social Position and Family Formation (SPAFF) project. PLoS ONE [online], 14(1), e0210776, 1-18. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0210776 [Accessed 27 June 2019]

Schriner, K., and Ochs, L., 2000. No Right is More Precious: Voting Rights and People with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities [online]. Policy Research Brief. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Research & Training Center on Community Living. Available from: https://ici.umn.edu/products/prb/111/

default.html [Accessed 28 October 2022].

Schutz, A. (with M. Natanson, ed.), 1962. Collected Papers I: The Problem of Social Reality. 1st ed. The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff.

Seymour, J., et al., 2002. Using Focus Groups to Explore Older People’s Attitudes to End of Life Care. Ageing & Society, 22(4), 517–526.

Shaffer, G., 2015. The New Legal Realist Approach to International Law. Leiden Journal of International Law [online], 28(2), 189–210. Available from: https://doi.org/

1017/S0922156515000035 [Accessed 28 October 2022].

Sofaer, S., 1999. Qualitative methods: What are they and why use them? Health Services Research, 34(5 Pt 2), 1101–1118.

UN General Assembly, 2006. Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) [online]. New York, 13 December 2006. Available from: https://www.un.org/development/desa/disabilities/convention-on-the-rights-of-persons-with-disabilities.html [Accessed 28 October 2022].

UN General Assembly, 2011. Human Rights Council, Thematic study by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on participation in political and public life by persons with disabilities (A/HRC/19/36) [online]. 21 December. Available from: https://www.ohchr.org/Documents/HRBodies/HRCouncil/

RegularSession/Session19/A-HRC-19-36_en.pdf [Accessed 30 September 2021].

Van Hoecke, M., 2011. Methodologies of Legal Research: Which Kind of Method for What Kind of Disciplines? 1st ed. Oxford: Hart.

Walsham, G., 2002. Cross-Cultural Software Production and Use: A Structurational Analysis. MIS Quarterly, 26(4), 359–380.

Yablon, C.M., 1985. The Indeterminacy of the Law: Critical Legal Studies and the Problem of Legal Explanation. Cardozo Law Review [online], 6(1), 917–945. Available from: https://larc.cardozo.yu.edu/faculty-articles/207? [Accessed 28 October 2022].

Published

01-12-2022

How to Cite

Caballero Pérez, A. (2022) “Building up a constructive relationship between law and the social sciences to investigate the ‘CRPD-in-action’: experiences from a descriptive study”, Oñati Socio-Legal Series, 12(6), pp. 1704–1732. doi: 10.35295/osls.iisl/0000-0000-0000-1358.