Legal Protection Provided against Disability Discrimination Evaluation of the Appropriateness of the Disability Anti-discrimination Laws

Name Institution Date

Introduction he evolution of the world has been accompanied by a number of social developments! "ome of these social developments have included e#uality policies$ and as far as disability is concerned$ this has been one of the critical areas of concern %! he concern has been e&tended in a number of areas$ especially 'urisprudence! he rationale is that people with disabilities have

often been condemned to contend with discrimination$ a social in'ustice! (n the other hand$ 'urisprudence is as an avenue of guaranteeing 'ustice for all! )arious legal steps have been developed$ including the formulation of laws! his paper see*s to e&amine the outright nature of these steps in taming disability discrimination! Disability anti-discrimination laws +entral to the disability anti-discrimination legal steps are the legal stipulations underlying the ,niversal Declaration of -uman .ights and bill of rights$ which have often served as a framewor* for ine#uality policies! In particular$ the universal Declaration of -uman .ights is considered as a common standard for achieving social 'ustice for all people across the world! /hat is well noticeable from all the articles in the ,niversal Declaration of -uman .ights is the emphasis for treating every person e#ually and according e#ual rights! 0or instance$ article % in the preamble stipulates all individuals 1are born free and e#ual in dignity and rights2 3$ and that every person is endowed with conscience of treating others with contempt! Article 3 stipulates that every person is sub'ect to rights and freedoms set out in the Declaration regardless of attributes possessed4 such as se&$ religion and disability and that this should apply to all people across the world$ irrespective of sub'ects such as political 'urisdiction!
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. Daw! Human Rights and Disability: The Impact of the Human Rights Act on Disabled People! Disability .ights +ommission 5 he .oyal National Institute for Deaf People!3666$ pp 78
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,niversal Declaration of -uman .ights 9http:;;www!ohchr!org;EN;,D-.;Documents;,D-.< ranslations;eng!pdf= ibid

"ubse#uent articles entitle e#ual rights to liberty$ life and security 7> protection against servitude8> protection against torture?> and fair treatment before the law@> so on! he stipulations in the bill of rights do not significantly differ from these$ save only a minor observation that the order of articles and the wording may change to address the specific needs of countryAs 'urisprudence! his is e&emplified in various constitutions across the world$ including those ,"$ ,B$ Australia! )arious enactments have been made across the world$ and all have been re#uired to be bound by the principle of not going against the bill of right> hence$ and the stipulations underlying ,niversal Declaration of -uman .ights! 0or instance$ in %CC3$ Australia adopted the Disability Discrimination Act %CC3D t hat aimed at promoting the rights of individuals with disabilities with a focus on a number of areas such as education$ as well as provision of goods and services and housing! In %CC6$ American adopted the American with Disability Act%CC6 C$ which sought to address various forms of discriminations leveled against people with disability in a number of areas such as employment$ telecommunications$ accommodations and education$ among others areas ! ,nited Bingdom recently adopted the E#uality Act 36%6%6$ which was aimed at harmoniEing various e&istent anti-discrimination laws to help realiEe the goals! /hat is notable is that these enactments seem to be moving to a level of convergence$ and for that matter$ can be considered to be ob'ective!

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,niversal Declaration of -uman .ights 9http:;;www!ohchr!org;EN;,D-.;Documents;,D-.< ranslations;eng!pdf= ibid 6 ibid 7 ibid 8 Disability Discrimination Act 1992 +ommonwealth +onsolidated Acts! 9http:;;www!austlii!edu!au;au;legis;cth;consol<act;dda%CC33?7;= 9 American with Disability Act %CC6 9 http:;;www3!ed!gov;about;offices;list;ocr;docs;h#CD68!html= 10 E#uality Act 36%6 9 http:;;www!legislation!gov!u*;u*pga;36%6;%8;contents=

A Look at a Number of Landmark Cases As far as the area of disability anti-discrimination is concerned$ a number of cases have been filed! (ne of these cases is The !ni"ersity of #ichigan $ #ichigan Paraly%ed $eterans of America%% in which the Fichigan ParalyEed )eterans sued ,niversity of Fichigan for failing to cater for the inclusivity of disable people in the renovation of Fichigan "tadium$ in which it was thought as a violation of the Americans with Disability Act! It was decided that$ indeed$ the act amounted to discrimination of the disable persons$ and the university was ordered to ma*e changes to reflect inclusivity! he case decision served as a blueprint for the need for all public areas to be organiEed in a manner that accommodates the disable persons! Another similar case is Paraly%ed $eterans of America "& 'llerbe (ec)et Architects and 'ngineer in which the Fichigan ParalyEed )eterans sued Ellerbe Gec*et Architects and Engineering +ompany for failing to ta*e into consideration the wheelchair accessibility in the stadium design! he case was won by Fichigan ParalyEed )eterans%3 and an order was made to include the side lines! Daw observes that a substantial number of cases being won in the favor of the disable people %4$ and this are worth concurring based on the observed cases! Nevertheless$ in Access *o+ "& ,outh+est Airlines1-$ Access Now sued "outhwest Airlines website for discriminating against the disabled persons! Access Now was concerned that the website was not inclusive to the disable persons that the people with disabilities could not access the virtual tic*et counter! -owever$ he District court ruled that the "outhwest Airlines did not violate the American with Disability Act$ considering that it was simply a virtual
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The !ni"ersity of #ichigan $ #ichigan Paraly%ed $eterans of America H36%4I E/+A +iv %7%6 Paraly%ed $eterans of America "& 'llerbe (ec)et Architects and 'ngineer H36%4I E/+A +iv %743

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. Daw! Human Rights and Disability: The Impact of the Human Rights Act on Disabled People! Disability .ights +ommission 5 he .oyal National Institute for Deaf People!3666$ pp 78 14 Access Now$ Inc! v! "outhwest Airlines [2005 63-3%@47-+I)-"EI J;

construct! he court held that Americans with Disability Act is concerned with elements with physical attributes$ and which cannot be applied to cyberspace! +learly$ this is both a contrast and a flaw! /hat this implies is that disability anti-discrimination policies are yet to reach the cyber world$ which should now be regarded as a public place! Conclusion In conclusion$ of particular interest has been to e&amine the outright nature of these steps in taming disability discrimination! It is found that the legal framewor* is strong and$ therefore$ outright in realiEing satisfactory results! At the core of laws regarding the sub'ect is the ,niversal Declaration of -uman .ights$ as well as the Gill of rights! "everal legislations have been made and all support disability anti-discrimination! A significant number of cases have been ruled in the factor of the needs of the disabled people! his rates legal protection positively! -owever$

there may be the need to e&tent the laws cyber world$ in which wea*nesses have been observed! Fy view is that it is not ade#uate to define discrimination against the disabled based on physical constructs$ but also virtual constructs$ such as cyberspace$ which are increasingly becoming a public socialiEation and interaction platform!

!iblio"ra#$y Access Now$ Inc! v! "outhwest Airlines H3668I 63-3%@47-+I)-"EI J; American with Disability Act %CC6 9http:;;www3!ed!gov;about;offices;list;ocr;docs;h#CD68!html= Disability Discrimination Act 1992& +ommonwealth +onsolidated Acts! 9http:;;www!austlii!edu!au;au;legis;cth;consol<act;dda%CC33?7;= E#uality Act 36%6 9 http:;;www!legislation!gov!u*;u*pga;36%6;%8;contents= !ni"ersity of #ichigan $ #ichigan Paraly%ed $eterans of America H36%4I E/+A +iv %7%6 ,niversal Declaration of -uman .ights 9http:;;www!ohchr!org;EN;,D-.;Documents;,D-.< ranslations;eng!pdf= Paraly%ed $eterans of America "& 'llerbe (ec)et Architects and 'ngineer 36%4I E/+A +iv %743 . Daw! Human Rights and Disability: The Impact of the Human Rights Act on Disabled People! Disability .ights +ommission 5 he .oyal National Institute for Deaf People!3666$ pp 78!