The Concept of a Person with Disabilities
The legal starting point of disability status is the statutory definition: a person with disabilities is a person with a lasting physical, mental, intellectual or sensory impairment whose interaction with various barriers may hinder his full and effective participation in public life on an equal basis with others. The same law defines the limitation of abilities — the absence of equal opportunity for personal development and self-realisation, conditioned by a combination of the physical environment, societal attitudes and other factors — and the biopsychosocial model, which links the assessment of health condition to psychological, biological and social factors.
The conceptual apparatus further frames reasonable accommodation, universal design, accessible environment, sign language, direct and indirect discrimination, independent living and the personal assistant service. For the practical steps connected with status these concepts matter, because it is through them that a person's condition receives its legal qualification.
Health Protection — the Individual-Needs Approach
The State, taking into account the individual needs of persons with disabilities, ensures, in accordance with the legislation, their equal access to health-care services. This encompasses accessibility of health-care institutions, the implementation of various health-care programs, the promotion of relevant standards and methods, and the provision of preventive, early-diagnostic and treatment-rehabilitation services, which ensure the identification of the general causes of the limitation and the reduction of the limitation to a minimum.
Health-Condition Data
Data on the health condition of a person with disabilities are entered, in accordance with criteria defined by legislation, into the unified information database of persons with mental-health problems and persons suffering from alcoholism, drug addiction and/or toxicomania, administered by the Ministry of Internally Displaced Persons from the Occupied Territories, Labour, Health and Social Affairs of Georgia. Only relevant institutions, in cases defined by law, have the right to obtain data from this database — thus the law protects the person's confidential data.
Social Protection Guarantees
The social protection guarantees of persons with disabilities are determined by this law, international treaties and other legislative and subordinate normative acts. The State ensures the creation of adequate living conditions, which includes, among other measures, the elaboration and implementation of programs directed at social protection and the eradication of poverty. The specific packages attached to status are settled by the law on social assistance, where their calculation rule is likewise established — these issues are treated on Legal.ge by the relevant separate service.
The Procedural Core of Status Assignment
An important practical circumstance: the detailed procedure for assigning status is not written in this law — it is delegated by a government decree and rests on social services and medico-social expertise. This means that a person seeking status, or his representative, must submit the application to the Social Service Agency, undergo assessment with account of individual needs, and orient the complete documentary set to the requirements of the decree. Where there is refusal or disagreement over the category, the decision is appealable, and preparing the dispute begins precisely with reconciling the delegated procedure and the law's conceptual apparatus.
In preparing an application for status three keys exist. The first is medical documentation: materials confirming the lasting character of the impairment, since the concept rests precisely on a lasting impairment. The second is functional assessment: the account of individual needs by which the health-care approach is guided. The third is exact knowledge of the delegated procedure: which organ, with which forms and within which deadlines decides the matter. Weaving these three threads together determines how painless the procedure will be.
After status is obtained a second cycle begins — the assignment of packages, their revision and, as needed, review; and keeping these cycles distinct helps a person not to mix argumentation from one dispute into another. Family members and representatives should likewise remember the confidentiality dimension: health data circulate only within the boundaries the law draws, and any demand for broader disclosure has no legal foundation.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the concept of a person with disabilities?
A person with a lasting physical, mental, intellectual or sensory impairment whose interaction with barriers hinders full participation in public life on an equal basis.
Where do health data go?
Into the unified information database administered by the labour, health and social affairs ministry; access to the data belongs only to relevant institutions.
What does the State ensure in health care?
Equal access to services: accessible institutions, programs, promotion of standards and preventive-rehabilitation services, with account of individual needs.
Where is the assignment procedure written?
The detailed procedure is delegated by a government decree and rests on medico-social expertise, so the process must be reconciled with the current version of that act.
How We Help on Legal.ge
The Legal.ge team assists in the status-assignment process: preparing the application, collecting documentation, appealing the decision and protecting rights connected with the social package. Write to us — we will assess your case and plan the next steps.