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2 results

  • The legal appearances of dementia in court rulings: mapping the terrain

  • Israel (Issi) Doron, Perla Werner, Benny Spanier, Ori Lazar
  • Journal:
    International Psychogeriatrics / Volume 29 / Issue 5 / May 2017
    Published online by Cambridge University Press:
    26 January 2017, pp. 755-763
  • Background:

    Individuals with dementia may appear before the court in different roles: as victims, as witnesses, and as those standing up for their rights. While there is growing interest in the rights of older persons with dementia, relatively little empirical data exists regarding their actual interactions in courts. Therefore, the goal of this study was to empirically map this legal terrain.

    Methods:

    This study used a descriptive quantitative method. A computerized search of a national legal database limited to the period 2004–2014 and a screening process for the results were used to establish a sample of 280 court rulings that directly addressed dementia. All cases were analyzed and categorized into the following four criteria groups: characteristics of the person with dementia; characteristics of the legal procedure; the legal substance of the case; and the legal outcome.

    Results:

    The majority of cases involved a single, very-elderly (i.e. over 80 years) woman, living in the community, with unspecified dementia. The majority of cases were heard and decided in lower level courts, addressing a broad range of primarily non-criminal legal issues. Finally, in the majority of non-criminal cases, the person with dementia was found to be legally capable, whereas in the majority of criminal cases, the person with dementia was found incapable.

    Conclusions:

    The legal needs and rights of persons with dementia are much broader than issues of legal capacity or social protection. Deeper knowledge and more research is needed in order to fully understand the contexts in which dementia is constructed under the law.

  • Time for Municipal Elder Rights Law: An Anglo-Canadian Perspective*

  • Israel Doron
  • Journal:
    Canadian Journal on Aging / La Revue canadienne du vieillissement / Volume 27 / Issue 3 / Fall/Automne 2008
    Published online by Cambridge University Press:
    31 March 2010, pp. 301-313

  • In an age of globalization and privatization, local governments and municipalities are searching to define their social role and place. In an aging society such as Canada, arguing that promoting the legal rights of older persons should be part of the legal authority of the municipal government is not simple. It is easier to abide by the position that, without an efficient centralized machinery, social and environmental problems will remain unsolved or unaddressed.

    This article presents a different understanding of the place of municipal government in Canada. The goal of this article is to present an original legal-policy argument: It is time for local communities and local governments in Canada to use their legal authorities to enact local bylaws that define and establish the rights of their older citizens. The argument maintains that local municipalities hold the legal power and the social potential to make a significant contribution in the legal sphere for promotion of the rights of older people, and that this power has been neglected.

    The article supports the argument on three pillars: (1) an empirical analysis of bylaws in different municipalities across Canada; (2) a socio-legal analysis of the advantages of municipal law as a tool for social change; (3) a case analysis of a recent municipal legal reform in British Columbia.