ANTI-DISCRIMINATION, DISABILITY AND REASONABLE ACCOMMODATION IN HIGHER EDUCATION NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL LAW AND POLICY IN AN EU LAW PERSPECTIVE

Abstract

SommarioThe research mobilises a comprehensive approach to enquire the protection against discrimination on the ground of disability with particular attention to the context of higher education. To accomplish this, the research focuses on the provision of reasonable accommodations encompassing the general theoretical framework in which the duty to accommodate can be placed. Such a framework is composed by the capability approach applied to the context of education together with the process of inclusive education. Additionally, the research looks at the national context of Belgium and Italy, with specific regards to the system of quality assurance and the provision of reasonable accommodation. This theoretical framework, together with the duty to accommodate, aims to guarantee the access and participation of students to education, thus to combat discrimination against students with disabilities within universities following the principle of equal opportunities. Accordingly, the focus of the research is EU anti-discrimination law in relation to disability and reasonable accommodations, and the right to education. However, it is only in the last three decades the disability has become a more relevant and central matter for the EU law, which creates a new challenge for non-discrimination law. Likewise, the concept of reasonable accommodation represents a new and innovative topic within equality and anti-discrimination, especially within the European Union. The research, then, extends its investigation to concepts and theories in other fields such as philosophy and sociology. Specifically, the research explores the capability approach considering notions such as social justice and social contract, in their application to the provision of reasonable accommodations in higher education. Moreover, the research considers international human rights law with specific attention to the Conventions and the decisions produced within the United Nations Organisation by its Committees as well as the European Convention on Human Rights and the European Social Charter, along with the decisions produced within the Council of Europe by its Committees. Finally, the research looks also at the labour law, since such a law provides the most advanced and complete legislation on anti-discrimination with specific attention to the provision of reasonable accommodations. The main conclusions of the research are the benefit of a general framework composed by a capability approach and an inclusive approach in which the duty to accommodate can be placed under the attempt to harmonise it at EU level. Such framework allows national law to have sufficient freedom in implementing such duty and to the duty bearer in assessing which exact adjustment to provide. Eventually, this also implies the significance of the recognition of disability as an essential element for the quality assurance in higher education within the European Union.