A special mention should be made of the attention being paid by the General Council of the Judiciary, with the impetus from the Forum, in the creation of specialised courts to cater for persons with disabilities. This initiative has resulted either in the creation of new courts, or in the specialisation on such matters by other existing courts, as well as specialisation in the second instance and, in all cases, has been complemented with a concerted training activity aimed at achieving the highest levels of quality in the delivery of justice in this field. It should be noted that specialisation in this area is a priority in the Plan for the Modernisation of Justice that is being undertaken by the General Council of the Judiciary.

Currently there are 13 courts specialising in Disabilities, 52 in Family and Disabilities and 20 Appeal Court Sections Specialising in Family and Disabilities.

It is noteworthy that the Forum is promoting the creation of a Legal Advice Service for disabled people and their families, and in this sense a special mention should be made of the signing of the Cooperation Agreement between the Community of Madrid and the Lawyers’ Association of Madrid, for the provision of a specific legal guidance service for persons with disabilities. Our objective is to extend these Agreements to the rest of Spain, and to this end we have established contact with the Lawyers’ Associations of Málaga, Burgos, Murcia and Castilla la Mancha.

Training Activities: Since 2008, two courses have been held annually within the national plan for training members of the judiciary and members of the other institutions that make up the Justice and Disability Forum.

Creation of the Justice and Disability Forum Awards: The Governing Body of the Justice and Disability Forum considered the “Determination of the ‘Justice and Disability Forum Awards’ to be delivered by the General Council of the Judiciary and the criteria to be used in selecting and granting them”. All participants unanimously adopted the need for the Justice and Disability Forum award to highlight one or more relevant actions in defence of the rights of disabled people and their improved social integration, both for private individuals and corporate actions.

Over the last three years the following awards have been granted:

• For an Individual Career - “For work carried out to help persons with disabilities”:
  • Posthumously to the Hon. Mr. Federico Sainz de Robles.
  • To the Hon. Mr. Javier Laorden Ferrero, for his work as Chairman of the Governing Body of the Justice and Disability Forum.
  • To the Hon. Mr. Rafael Leña Fernandez, Notary from Seville
• For a Corporate Action - “For their contribution to the employment of persons with disabilities”,
  • To GRUPO SIRO
  • To Vodafone Foundation
  • To the company EULEN SA
• For Social Media - “For the handling of information about persons with disabilities”
  • To Servimedia News Agency
  • To Mr. José Luis Fernandez from Cadena SER.
  • To Canal Down 21, the benchmark portal for Down syndrome.
• For an institution - “For the important work done in the exercise of their functions to help the disabled”,
  • To Mr. José Javier Soto Ruiz, Disability Ombudsman of the Autonomous Community of Extremadura.
  • To Father Jaime Garralda, founder of the NGO Fundación Padre Garralda-Horizontes Abiertos.
  • To the Hon. Ms. Esperanza Aguirre Gil de Biezma, President of the Community of Madrid.
• Published Books:
  • In 2006 the “Guide for Public Managers on Job Placement for People with Limited Capacities” was published, sponsored by the General Council of the Judiciary, the NABIU Association and the AEQUITAS Foundation, and promoted by the Forum. Its aim is to provide public sector managers with an easy guide to the best ways to facilitate employment of this group of people in their sector.
  • o In 2008 and 2009, the General Council of the Judiciary together with the Justice and Disability Forum, published the Guide to the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, in collaboration with the Social Works Department of Caja Madrid. This guide consists of 3 volumes, which provided systematic knowledge of all matters relating to the social reality of disability, in its legal, economic, social, health and comparative law aspects, while particularly bearing in mind, as could be expected, the dignity and fundamental rights of persons with disabilities.
  • Guide: “Vulnerable Senior Citizens: Mistreatment and Abuse”, being its presentation held in January 2010. This guide was prepared by representatives of all the institutions that make up the Justice and Disability Forum and various experts who collaborate with it.

Tasks:

• Reflection on and research into the current situation to create preventive measures regarding physical, psychological, sexual and economic violence against persons with disabilities and the establishment of specific recommendations for protection against exploitation, violence, and physical, psychological, economic and sexual abuse.
• Resolution on illegal gambling and the need for regulation of online games relating to persons with disabilities.
• Support for the creation of day centres to support the right to education over the lifetime of disabled persons under the UN Convention.
• Study regarding Law 1/2009, of 25th March, amending the Law of 8th June 1957 on the Civil Registry, on matters of disability, custodial fees and administrators of protected assets.
• Study of Law 41/2003, of 18th November, on protection of assets for persons with disabilities and the amendment of the Civil Code, the Law of Civil Procedure and tax legislation for this purpose.
• Report of the International Convention on Persons with Disabilities and its impact on the Spanish judicial system. Presentation by ONCE of the European Consortium for implementation.
• Study of the Brasilia Regulations, with the creation of a group of experts from this Forum, on access to justice for vulnerable persons with disabilities, which were agreed at the 14th Ibero-American Judicial Summit held in Brasilia on 4th-6th March, 2008.