States of Guernsey : Centre for Disability Law and Policy to advise Committee for Employment & Social Security on developing Disability Discrimination Legislation

Tuesday 30 January 2018

At the end of 2017 the Committee for Employment & Social Security sought specialist advice to accelerate progress on the development of Disability Discrimination Legislation, a project which forms a key part of the Disability and Inclusion Strategy.

The Committee has now appointed legal experts from the National University of Ireland Galway's internationally-acclaimed Centre for Disability Law and Policy: Dr Shivaun Quinlivan and Dr Lucy-Ann Buckley. Drs Buckley and Quinlivan have both lectured in Law at NUI Galway for more than 17 years with a particular interest in discrimination and equality law. Both also have experience undertaking international comparative work and playing advisory roles to government organisations and international bodies.

They will advise the Committee on which country's legislation would be most appropriate for Guernsey to model its disability discrimination legislation on. They will assess the approach taken in a number of countries based on evaluation criteria which will be agreed by the Committee in consultation with key stakeholders. This will underpin the shape of the future legislation. It is hoped that a model law will be identified by the end of March, following which proposals will be developed regarding how the model legislation should be tailored to the Guernsey context. The Committee is aiming to consult with the public on developed policy proposals before the end of 2018.

Deputy Michelle Le Clerc, President of the Committee for Employment & Social Security, said:

'The Disability Discrimination Legislation is a high priority for the Committee and we are delighted to appoint advisers of such high calibre to advise us. This will enable us to make faster progress, which we know is overdue.'

Dr Shivaun Quinlivan and Dr Lucy-Ann Buckley said:

'We are very excited to work with the Committee on this important project and help Guernsey to move towards implementing its first disability discrimination legislation.'