Making Tribunals Accessible to Disabled People
Guidance on Applying the Disability Discrimination Act
Published in November 2002, this document aims to assist tribunals by offering practical advice on the law and on the ways in which tribunals can facilitate the full participation of disabled people in the tribunal process. It was prepared in conjunction with the Disability Rights Commission.- view as a pdf (0.15mb)
Contents:
- Preface
- 1. Introduction
- 2. Discrimination in the provision of services
- 3. The duty not to treat a disabled person less favourably
- 4. Reasonable adjustments - an overview
- 5. Reasonable adjustments - in practice
- 6. Physical access to tribunals
- Appendix A: The Meaning of Disability
- Appendix B: Sources of further advice and assistance
Preface
The Rt Hon. the Lord Newton of Braintree OBE, DL
Chairman of the Council on Tribunals
With the "access to goods and services" provisions of the Disability Discrimination Act due to come fully into force in 2004, many tribunal systems face a sizeable task in making the necessary changes to the way their services are provided.
The Council and not least myself as a former Minister for Disabled People were keen to do everything we could to help. We were therefore delighted when my counterpart Bert Massie, Chairman of the Disability Rights Commission, readily agreed to a partnership between the two bodies to produce the new guidance for tribunals.
It has been a rewarding collaborative effort, and I am particularly grateful to Jonathan Holbrook and his DRC colleagues who played an invaluable part, as well as to Paul Smith from our own secretariat and to the tribunal members and others who contributed to the advisory group which assisted us.
We all hope it will prove of real help to tribunals in meeting the needs of this important group of users - and thus all those disabled people who have a stake in this part of our country's judicial system.
Bert Massie, CBE
Chairman of the Disability Rights Commission
I am very pleased to endorse Lord Newton's welcome of this guidance, and I commend the Council on Tribunals for its enthusiastic recognition of the need to address the rights of disabled people as tribunal users.
The DRC's vision is of "A society where all disabled people can participate fully as equal citizens". The proper administration of justice is fundamental to the rights of the citizen, and in working towards its vision the DRC is committed to improving access to justice for disabled people across the whole of our justice system. Tribunals play a crucial role in the delivery of justice to millions of people, so this initiative is particularly welcome.
"Accessibility" is about much more than ramps and wheelchairs. Like any providers of services, tribunals need to keep under review all aspects of the way in which they operate in order to remove barriers to access for disabled people. This guidance includes practical advice on identifying those barriers and on ways of breaking them down. I very much hope that it will assist tribunals in carrying out their important work to best effect.
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