Lawyers Technical Manual
This manual high-quality technical guidance on the Disabled Persons Rights and Protection Act, 2013 for members of the legal community that has been reviewed and vetted through focus group discussions and consultations with legal practitioners. Among other essential topics, the manual describes what disabilities are covered by the Act, how to obtain disability identification cards, the enumerated rights recognized by the Act, the five committees created by the Act, and the process for filing applications for compensation for violations of the enumerated rights under Section 36 of the Act.
Below, you can access the manual in DAISY audiobook format. "DAISY" stands for Digital Accessible Information System, and DAISY books may listened to on standalone DAISY players, computers using DAISY playback software, mobile phones, and MP3 players (with limited navigation).
Chapter description
Chapter 1 introduces legal practitioners to disability-friendly language and provides practical tips for maintaining positive working relationships with persons with disabilities and disabled peoples' organizations (DPOs).
Chapter 2 provides an overview of the types of disabilities covered under the Disabled Persons Rights and Protection Act, 2013 and detailed explanations about what kinds of functional impairments fall under each category of disability enumerated in the Act.
Chapter 3 provides a history of the development of disability rights law both in Bangladesh and around the world, including an explanation of how Bangladesh’s ratification of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) gave rise to DPO-led demands for rights-based legislation in Bangladesh.
Chapter 4 describes the procedures and criteria for identifying disabilities and obtaining identification cards under the Act.
Chapter 5 outlines the committee framework for monitoring and coordinating implementation of the Disabled Persons Rights and Protection Act, 2013 and analyzes their composition, powers, and functions with observations about how lawyers can use these structures to advocate for clients with disabilities.
Chapter 6 provides novel and detailed guidance on the new administrative complaints and appeals procedure by which persons with disabilities can apply for compensation before district-level committees pursuant to Section 36 of this Act.
Chapter 7, the heart of the manual discusses each of the enumerated rights under Section 16 in the order in which they are presented in the Act, for ease of reference. For each enumerated right, because the Act does not define with specificity the scope of each right, the manual refers to the content of the CRPD and the Bangladesh Constitution in order to define the contours of each right, while also drawing from case law from Bangladesh and other jurisdictions to use references that can be cited by practitioners. In order to help legal practitioners test their understanding of each right, hypotheticals and discussion questions are provided.
Chapter 8, similar to Chapter 6, analyzes the new discrimination-related criminal offences recognized under Section 37 of the Act, including the corresponding punishments.
Chapter 9 provides real-world practical advice for practitioners advising DPOs on their structure and operations.
Finally, the manual concludes with a series of appendices, including copies of application forms for identification cards and compensation for rights violations under the Act.
Additional Links: USAID Bangladesh • BlueLaw International
This website is made possible with the support of the American people through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) under Cooperative Agreement No. AID-388-A-17-00005. The contents are the sole responsibility of BlueLaw International and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of USAID or the U.S. Government.
This domain was previously home to a joint report by NGDO, NCDW, and BLAST entitled “Current Status of Rights of Persons with Disabilities in Bangladesh: Legal and Grassroots Perspectives 2015,” produced with funding from the Disability Rights Fund. It is now available here.