The Rights of Persons with Sensory Disabilities to Participate in Juries

As a commissioner of the Victorian Law Reform Commission, Emeritus Professor McSherry is currently involved in considering what changes should be made to enhance access for people who are deaf, hard of hearing, blind or have low vision who wish to serve as jurors in Victoria. This chapter will examine this issue from an international perspective, with a particular emphasis on European law. The UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities has issued two individual communications in response to deaf individuals who claim that they were discriminated against because they were not allowed to serve as jurors, while the Court of Justice of the European Union has ruled in a case concerning a blind individual who was prevented from serving as a juror because of her impairment. Both institutions have addressed the conditions under which such individuals can serve as jurors, and have paid particular attention to the role that reasonable accommodations play in this respect. This chapter will reflect on the decisions of both the UN Committee and European Court, and discuss the proposals from the Victorian Law Reform Commission in light of those findings. Comparisons will be made with legal provisions and law reform initiatives concerning participation of people with sensory impairments in juries in other Australian states and territories.