In order to ensure the durability of the results achieved within the ENABLE project, the Partner organisations from the eight Consortium countries have developed partnerships with relevant national stakeholders with the aim of advancing reforms on access to justice for defendants with intellectual and /or psychosocial disabilities in Bulgaria, Czechia, Spain, Portugal, Slovenia, Slovakia, Romania, and Lithuania.
Tailored to the specific needs and contexts of each country, these cooperation protocols are designed to support equal participation in criminal proceedings of defendants with intellectual and psychosocial disabilities and ensure the realisation of their right to a fair trial.
By fostering a coordinated, cross-sector approach which involves legal professionals, disability rights organisations, support services, and other key stakeholders, the national protocols aim to improve access to legal and support services necessary to ensure participation and equal treatment for defendants with intellectual and/or psychosocial disabilities.
These national cooperation protocols take various forms in each country. In Bulgaria, the KERA Foundation, in collaboration with service providers, will introduce an innovatice intermediary scheme to improve accessibility for persons with disabilities. In Portugal, FENACERCI, in collaboration with the Portuguese Bar Association, will have the opportunity to train professionals on best practices identified during the project regarding procedural accommodations and to raise awareness among justice professionals about the rights of persons with intellectual and/or psychosocial disabilities at a national level. In Romania, CLR will work with civil society organisations to disseminate the national benchbooks in Timișoara county and to promote the use of procedural accommodations in criminal cases involving persons with intellectual and psychosocial disabilities, as well as advocate for disability rights through adapted language materials such as brochures and videos.