On December 14 of last year, the Organic Law 1/2017, of December 13, of modification of the Organic Law 5/1995, of May 22, of the Jury Court, was published in the Official Gazette to guarantee the participation of the people with disabilities without exception.
Thus, paragraph 5 of article 8 of this Organic Law is written to make sure that people with disabilities cannot be exempted from jury duty, and that the Administration should provide them with the necessary support so that they can do their jury duty.
This Law came into effect two months after its publication in the BOE, that is, on February 15, 2018. This rule arises from the need to review the requirements that were set to come into effect for the Organic Law 5/1995, of May 22, of the Jury Court, as follows:
- of article 14 of the Constitution, which proclaims equality before the Law of all citizens, of article 23 of the Constitution that includes the right to direct participation of all citizens in public affairs and article 125 of the Constitution that recognizes the right of all of them to participate in the Administration of Justice through the institution of the Jury;
- and of the International Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, articles 5 (right of equality), 12 (equality before the law), 13 (right of access to justice) and 29 (right of participation in public affairs) .
As indicated in the Preamble to the Organic Law 1/2017, this amendment aims to ensure the full and effective participation of people with disabilities in society in compliance with the international commitments endorsed by Spain.
