Comparing Older Persons' Human Rights: Exploratory Study of the International Older Persons' Human Rights Index (IOPHRI).

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Over the last 2 decades, several international indices have been developed to describe the status of older persons. None, however, have examined their human rights. The International Older Persons' Human Rights Index (IOPHRI) fills in this gap by analyzing the formal legislative foundation of human rights for older people. The objective of this exploratory study is to examine the IOPHRI while comparing the legislation in 6 countries. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: A comparative international exploratory study comparing the human rights legislation of 6 countries: United States, Chile, Ireland, South Africa, India, and Australia in 5 different human rights domains: constitutional, protection, familial and informal support, planning, and empowerment. RESULTS: The findings suggest that the actual relationship between formal human rights of older persons and the real world is complex: for example, while the IOPHRI index places South Africa in first place, it is far behind compared with all other participants in the Global AgeWatch Index (which measures objective elements such as life expectancy at 60, or poverty rates in old age). DISCUSSION AND IMPLICATIONS: Measuring and indexing human rights of older persons reveal significant methodological issues. Beyond these methodological challenges, comparing the ranking of the IOPHRI to nonlegalistic indices raises significant questions about the relationship between formal human rights and the actual living experiences of older persons.

The legal appearances of dementia in court rulings: mapping the terrain.

BACKGROUND: Individuals with dementia may appear before the court in different roles: as victims, as witnesses, and as those standing up for their rights. While there is growing interest in the rights of older persons with dementia, relatively little empirical data exists regarding their actual interactions in courts. Therefore, the goal of this study was to empirically map this legal terrain. METHODS: This study used a descriptive quantitative method. A computerized search of a national legal database limited to the period 2004-2014 and a screening process for the results were used to establish a sample of 280 court rulings that directly addressed dementia. All cases were analyzed and categorized into the following four criteria groups: characteristics of the person with dementia; characteristics of the legal procedure; the legal substance of the case; and the legal outcome. RESULTS: The majority of cases involved a single, very-elderly (i.e. over 80 years) woman, living in the community, with unspecified dementia. The majority of cases were heard and decided in lower level courts, addressing a broad range of primarily non-criminal legal issues. Finally, in the majority of non-criminal cases, the person with dementia was found to be legally capable, whereas in the majority of criminal cases, the person with dementia was found incapable. CONCLUSIONS: The legal needs and rights of persons with dementia are much broader than issues of legal capacity or social protection. Deeper knowledge and more research is needed in order to fully understand the contexts in which dementia is constructed under the law.

Older persons' use of the European Court of Human Rights.

One of the most significant human rights tribunals in Europe is the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR). Up to day, no study has attempted to explore the cases brought before the ECtHR that discuss and rule on issues concerning the rights of older persons. To descriptively analyze the ECtHR cases that deal with older persons and elder rights issues. Quantitative and descriptive analysis of 226 randomly selected publicly-open ECtHR cases dealing with elder-rights between the years 2000-2010. On average, 11.9 % of the ECtHR case load included rulings that concern older persons' rights. In the majority of the cases (91 %, 205 judgments), the ECtHR found a violation of at least one human right concerning older persons. Despite the fact that rights of older persons do not appear as such in the European Convention on Human Rights, older persons do find their way to the ECtHR.