'Hiring now: Personal Assistant Aged 18-30’: CJEU Proves Mild for Age Discrimination by Persons with Disabilities

Abstract

Persons with disabilities enjoy the right to live independently and be included in the community (Article 19 UN Convention of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD)). For that purpose, personal assistance is essential (Article 19b CRPD; CRPD General Comment 5, 16(d)). Up to now, emphasis has been primarily on the right to have a personal assistant, with a focus on its implementation (ECtHR, Diaconeasa v. Romania), conditions for access (CRPD, S.K. v. Finland; ECtHR, Jivan v. Romania), and its relationship to care by relatives (CRPD, Maria Simona Bellini v. Italy). In J.M.P. v. AP Assistenzprofis (7 December 2023), the Court of Justice of the EU (“the Court”) has added another perspective, bringing the rights of the (future) personal assistants into focus.