The Slovenian legal system guarantees the right to equal treatment as a fundamental,
constitutionally recognised human right. The principle of prohibition
of discrimination extends to persons with disabilities and complies with the
Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), to which Slovenia
is a party. The Convention obliges Slovenia to ensure that persons with
disabilities enjoy the right to participate in political and public life, including
the rights to vote and to stand as candidates. With the 2024 amendment of the
National Assembly Election Act, Slovenia has enabled persons with disabilities
to enjoy equal voting rights. Prior to this amendment, the act permitted the
deprivation of the these persons’ right to vote, despite Article 43 of the Constitution
of the Republic of Slovenia stipulating that the right to vote is general
and equal, and making no reference to the legal regulation of restricting or
depriving this right. A key argument for abolishing the deprivation of voting
rights for persons with disabilities is the need to comply with the European
Union’s commitment to the CRPD. This requires interpreting the EU Charter
of Fundamental Rights and the Treaty on the Functioning of the European
Union in a manner that regard deprivation of the right to vote as direct discrimination.
This perspective is supported by the EU Agency for Fundamental
Rights. Many EU Member States have already abolished the possibility of depriving
disabled persons of their right to vote. This paper includes an in-depth
analysis of arguments based on Slovenian law, EU law, and international law,
both supporting and opposing the abolition of the deprivation of voting rights
for persons with disabilities in Slovenian law.
Key words: persons with intellectual disabilities, the right to vote, prohibition
of discrimination, human rights.