A/HRC/37/56 12 and other related articles.15 According to article 19 of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties and article 46 of the Convention itself, reservations and declarations incompatible with the object and purpose of the Convention are not permitted. Given the centrality of article 12 to the enjoyment and exercise of all rights set out in the Convention, such restrictions clearly contradict the object and purpose of the Convention, as they hinder and/or deny the full and equal enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms by all persons with disabilities. In that regard, the Special Rapporteur urges the States parties concerned to withdraw all their reservations and declarations. A. Law reform trends on legal capacity and supported decision-making 38. Since the adoption of the Convention, several States 16 have started or completed legal reforms in relation to the right to legal capacity of persons with disabilities as part of their obligations under the Convention, or in order to harmonize their legislation prior to ratification or accession. While most of these laws and bills are not in full compliance with article 12 of the Convention, they show that a growing number of States acknowledge that their legal systems, and particularly their substitute decision-making regimes, fail to guarantee the rights of persons with disabilities. 39. In 2016, Costa Rica adopted Law No. 9379, which abolished all forms of guardianship and created the legal figure of “guarantor for the equality before the law of persons with disabilities”, whose role is to ensure the full enjoyment of legal capacity by all persons with disabilities. The Special Rapporteur welcomes this significant development and encourages Costa Rica to promptly adopt the necessary regulations to effectively implement the reform in line with the principles and rights of the Convention. 40. Some countries have adopted provisions declaring universal legal capacity for persons with disabilities. Those declarations reaffirm that persons with disabilities have the right to equal recognition before the law and legal capacity, as enshrined in article 12 of the Convention. While those declarations often contradict other provisions in the same legal framework, they open the space for further law reforms and court interventions. For example, in the general law on persons with disabilities of Peru a universal recognition of legal capacity was introduced and at the same time a parliamentary committee was created to review the Civil Code in line with the declaration in the general law. 41. Several countries have also introduced recognition of supported decision-making regimes into their legislation. The scope and formality of those regimes vary from country to country, but generally they allow individuals to appoint one or more persons to assist them to: (a) obtain and understand information, (b) evaluate the possible alternatives and consequences of a decision, (c) express and communicate a decision, and/or (d) implement a decision. In some jurisdictions, however, the role of supporters includes representation as a general rule, which renders the support as a de facto mechanism of substitute decisionmaking. 42. In a number of countries, persons with disabilities must access the courts in order to have supported decision-making arrangements recognized. The courts are mandated either to determine the scope of such arrangements, or to ensure that the proposed scope is suitable. While in most cases such measures have no impact on a person’s legal capacity, requiring the intervention of a court creates a series of challenges for persons with disabilities: (a) in most jurisdictions they encounter barriers in access to justice owing to the 15 16 10 Australia, Canada, Egypt, Estonia, France, Georgia, Kuwait, Malaysia, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Singapore and Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of). The Special Rapporteur identified law reform processes, which do not include mental health legislation, in at least 32 countries: Argentina, Australia (New South Wales, Northern Territory and Victoria), Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada (Alberta), Colombia, Costa Rica, Czechia, Denmark, Germany, Georgia, Hungary, Ireland, Israel, India, Kenya, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Marshall Islands, Netherlands, Peru, Portugal, Republic of Moldova, Romania, Russian Federation, Spain (Catalonia), Switzerland, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (Northern Ireland), United States of America (Texas) and Zambia.