Tag: guardianship

Committee of Ministers calls on Hungary to implement Validity Foundation on behalf of T.J. v. Hungary judgment of the European Court

in Hungary, My Home, My Choice

In October 2024, the European Court of Human Rights delivered a groundbreaking judgment against Hungary. It found that Hungary had violated the right to life of a woman with disabilities who had lived for a long term locked in the notorious Topház institution – one of many across the country where over an estimated 22,000…
Guardianship Overturned: Hungarian Court Recognises Young Man’s Autonomy

in Hungary, I’m A Person

In March, Validity achieved a victory for a young man with disabilities when a Hungarian appeals court replaced his guardianship by supports in decision-making. Bence, a 31-year-old Hungarian man, experienced a profound shift in his life following the death of his grandmother, his primary support person, in 2018. Before her passing, Bence enjoyed a life…
Marking the legacy of Gábor Gombos

in Article, Campaigns, Hungary, I’m A Person, My Home, My Choice

UPDATE We remember Gábor Gombos, who passed away on 5 June 2022. Gábor’s work shaped the Hungarian and international disability movement, and his stories, presentations, speeches, and thoughts went to the heart of his audience. The book titled ’The World – Without Cage Beds: World-Shaping Narratives by Gábor Gombos’ can be ordered here and downloaded…
Topház: Court rules Hungarian state authorities responsible for grave disability rights violations

in Hungary, I’m A Person, My Home, My Choice, Press Release

The Budapest Capital Court today issued a judgment finding three state authorities responsible for multiple, grave violations of the rights of 220 adults and children with disabilities detained in the notorious Topház Social Care Home. Validity first exposed the shocking abuses in 2017, reporting on filthy living conditions, violence, torture and ill-treatment, malnutrition and the…
Cage Beds, Human Rights, Dignity: Commemorating the Life and Works of Gábor Gombos

in Article, Campaigns, Hungary, I’m A Person, My Home, My Choice

In November 2023, Validity and our partners at the Bárczi Gusztáv Faculty of Special Needs Education at the Eötvös Loránd University (ELTE) published a unique collection of materials commemorating the life, work and thought of Gábor Gombos, a leading figure in the Hungarian and global disability rights movements and survivor of psychiatry. Gombos, who passed…
Hungary remains responsible for “grave and systematic violations” of disability rights

in Article, Hungary, I’m A Person, My Home, My Choice

The United Nations Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD Committee) has recently published its findings concerning Hungary’s progress on implementing recommendations following its findings that the country responsible for grave and systematic violations of the rights of persons with disabilities. The Committee highlighted that Hungary has failed to undertake systematic reforms required…
Hungary: Budapest Court confirms Government must release the names of public guardians on request 

in Article, Hungary, I’m A Person, My Home, My Choice, Uncategorised

Topház Social Care Institution became widely known after Validity revealed the inhumane and horrific treatment of its residents in a 2017 report. 220 residents were subject to torture and ill-treatment in Topház. Children as well as adult residents were put in metal cage beds, routinely chemically and/or physically restrained, were underweight, and physically, mentally and emotionally neglected.  Topház is a closed institution and almost all residents are placed under guardianship. Validity made several attempts to get access to victims in…
Hungary: Disability rights organisations address lack of respect for the rights of persons with disabilities through the UN’s Universal Periodic Review

in Hungary, I’m A Person, My Home, My Choice, Schools For All, Uncategorised

Yesterday, Validity Foundation together with the Hungarian Autistic Society, the Hungarian Civil Liberties Union, the Living Independently in the Community Advocacy Group, and the Step by Step! Association submitted a shadow report to the Universal Periodic Review (UPR), an important human rights process conducted by the United Nations’ Human Rights Council. Validity also contributed to…
Romanian Constitutional Court says plenary guardianship is unconstitutional

in Article, I’m A Person, Romania, Uncategorised

This month, the Constitutional Court of Romania declared that Article 164(1) of the Civil Code addressing ‘judicial interdiction’ for adults with disabilities is unconstitutional. Judicial interdiction is a legal term that is also known as ‘full guardianship’ or ‘plenary guardianship’ under which adults with disabilities are denied the right to make decisions about their own…
‘I’m finally free!’: Moldovan courts quash guardianship order in favour of support

in Article, I’m A Person, Moldova, Uncategorised

Following almost a decade of legal action, Natalia Sitova, our client from Moldova, achieved victory at the Chisinau Court of Appeal, in a claim to regain her autonomy which was discriminatorily restricted on the basis of her disability. “Natalia has always considered herself as able to act on her own behalf. She can, directly,…