Integrating disability and elder rights into the ECHR: rewriting McDonald v the United Kingdom (ECtHR)

It is argued that McDonald is to be considered a missed opportunity to integrate two areas of human rights law in the judgment: disability human rights law and elderly human rights law. During the last decade, the area of disability rights has seen important developments at both the regional and international level. The adoption of several soft law instruments and particularly the high number of ratifications of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) reflect an evolving perception of the status of this group within society. The CRPD is considered ground breaking in the sense that it creates clear positive obligations for member states regarding the enjoyment of socio-economic rights, such as the provision of care services. The recognition and enforcement of such rights, however, remains a delicate and complicated issue before the Strasbourg Court.