A/HRC/28/37 14. Article 19 provides a road map aimed at achieving the full and effective participation and inclusion in the society of all persons with disabilities (art. 3 (c)). In this approach, general services available and accessible to all, individualized support to enable the inclusion of each person, and choice for the individual in the type and supply of services, are all equally important. A. Choice 1. Legal capacity and decision-making 15. Article 19 (a) requires States parties to ensure that persons with disabilities have the opportunity to choose their place of residence and where and with whom they live on an equal basis with others and are not obliged to live in a particular living arrangement. This entails the possibility to choose from the same range of options as other members of society, or to reject those options. 16. The right to equal recognition before the law of persons with disabilities, who shall enjoy legal capacity on an equal basis with others in all aspects of life (art. 12), underpins the right to live independently in the community. Legal capacity consists of two inseparable elements: to be recognized as a legal person before the law and to exercise rights as a legal person under the law.13 The exercise of legal capacity as recognized in the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities requires that the will and preferences of a person are respected, and allows for the exercise of free and informed consent. That, in turn, applies to, among other matters, the acceptance or rejection of medical treatment, institutionalization or other life-affecting interventions. Several States have recently reformed their legal frameworks in line with article 12. In Peru, for example, full legal capacity of persons with disabilities was recognized by the Government in its General Law on Persons with Disabilities of 2012, in which it also mandated revision of the Civil Code. The submissions received for the present study refer to other proposed or ongoing reforms. It is crucial to note that in their legal reform processes States should actively consult with, and involve, persons with disabilities and their representative organizations. 17. States must replace regimes that provide for substitute decision-making by supported decision-making in order to address discrimination and the denial of legal capacity to persons with disabilities. The new legal regime needs to comply with a number of other defining elements.14 In the case of children with disabilities, primary consideration needs to be given to the best interest of the child, including the right of children to express their views in determining their best interest.15 18. Various forms of supported decision-making exist in some countries, while others have forms of supported decision-making under consideration. The recently approved civil code in Argentina includes the possibility of the provision of support in decision-making processes. The Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Bill currently under consideration in Ireland would provide a statutory framework that maximizes individual autonomy and establish an “office of the public guardian” to supervise those who provide such support. 13 14 15 6 to article 15 at the third session of the Ad Hoc Committee, available from www.un.org/esa/socdev/enable/rights/ahc3sum15.htm. See Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, general comment No. 1, paras. 12 and 14. Ibid., paras. 25–29. See Committee on the Rights of the Child, general comment No. 14 (2013) on the right of the child to have his or her best interests taken as primary consideration, paras. 52–54.