Court verdicts and summonses in easy language

The Family Court in Oviedo was among the first in Europe to draft copies of verdicts and summonses in easy language for persons with intellectual disabilities. Following a successful pilot, an agreement has been reached to extend the system to all 27 courts in the province. As of late 2017, about 30 documents had been converted.

The Family Court in Oviedo, in the Spanish province of Asturias, has begun drafting copies of court verdicts and summonses in easy language for persons with intellectual disabilities. The courts send their official documentation to Plena Inclusión Asturias, a regional office of the national NGO Plena Inclusión España, that supports persons with intellectual disabilities, which then converts the documentation into easy language to share with the intended recipient. Following a successful pilot in Oviedo, an agreement has been reached with the provincial government to extend the system to all 27 courts in the province. As of late 2017, about 30 documents have been converted.

Problems Targeted

Complex court verdicts and summonses can be difficult to understand, particularly for persons with intellectual impairments.

Funding, Outlook and Transferability

Since the agreement, there has also been contact with the Spanish Council for Judiciary with the hope of rolling-out the translation process across the whole country, thereby opening access to the justice system to all persons with intellectual disabilities. The regional authorities of Andalucía, Aragón, La Rioja, Madrid, Murcia, and Valencia have all begun work to reproduce the initiative, alongside the other regional offices of Plena Inclusión. The project has been initially funded by Plena Inclusión Asturias, but the agreement with the regional government of Asturias has secured funding so that it will pay for the conversion of documents by Plena Inclusión going forward.

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