ABSTRACT
This chapter investigates into the implementation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD or Convention) with a focus on legal capacity, both the capacity for having rights and the capacity for exercising rights, in Chinese civil and criminal law. The relevant provisions of Chinese law primarily appear on the Civil Code, the Mental Health Law, the Criminal Law and the relevant procedural law. China ratified the CRPD without any reservation in 2008. Law reform in relation to legal capacity, among other disability rights issues, is expected to enhance respect for the autonomy of persons with disabilities. The General Comment No. 1 recognises and affirms that the equal recognition of legal capacity is closely connected to the enjoyment of many other rights. It is also the case under Chinese law that many restrictions are imposed on a person’s rights once his or her legal capacity is denied.
