The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and English Contract Law: A Tale of Unfinished Bridges?

Abstract

Contract law has a multidimensional role permeating the economic and social spheres of life, connecting people in mutual relations. Despite its potential, contract law is largely overlooked by the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) Moreover, contract law is often examined through a unidimensional lens, facilitating transactions between economic actors. English contract law, rooted in the classical pillars of sanctity and freedom of contract, makes no exception. The links between the values pursued by the CRPD and English contract law are akin to unfinished bridges. Yet, the completion of these bridges is imperative, given the likely increase in the number of contracting parties whose capacity to understand the implications of transactions has been affected by mental health conditions such as dementia. Focusing on undue influence and unconscionability, this article searches for a vision of contact law that embraces social values, in particular the CRPD value of respect for human dignity.