JUSTICE FOR ALL civil society organisations representing defendants and detainees with intellectual and/ or psychosocial disabilities in proceedings, probation officers and social workers, medical experts, representatives of national oversight mechanisms and academics. These expert interviews were conducted with nationals from the partner countries as well as from other Member States. Bitte noch einfügen: On the national level, each partner organisation was supported by National Advisory Boards. In addition to national research, the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute of Fundamental and Human Rights (LBI-GMR) conducted research on relevant international and regional standards, including standards provided inter alia by the EU, UN (including the UNCRPD and United Nations Convention Against Torture (UNCAT)), Council of Europe (including standards set forth by the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR)) or the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT)), which should build the foundation for the protection of defendants and detainees with intellectual and/or psychosocial disabilities. In addition to the national consultations, the LBI-GMR gathered information from other EU Member States. The LBI-GMR prepared a survey among experts and networks, which collected information from 14 EU Member States. The LBI-GMR further organised a series of four virtual regional workshops to consult with experts from partner countries as well as from other Member States and provide a platform for peer-to-peer exchange. Each virtual workshop targeted a specific stakeholder group: a workshop with lawyers, a workshop with probation officers, a workshop with representatives of oversight mechanisms, as well as a workshop with judges. Furthermore, a one-and-a-half day regional consultation workshop took place in Vienna in June 2023, gathering 56 experts from 13 different EU Member States and representing all relevant fields. This final workshop provided opportunities for interdisciplinary exchange, as well as presented and validated the project findings and recommendations, which are presented in this comparative report. DEFINITIONS/ TERMINOLOGY A significant challenge encountered throughout the project was the terminology. The terminology used to describe the situation of persons with intellectual and/or psychosocial disabilities has changed over time and varies from country to country, making it challenging to find a universally satisfactory definition. Considering that this project is based on a human rights approach and has the overall aim of strengthening the protection afforded to these persons, we have chosen to follow an inclusive approach based on the approach adopted by the UNCRPD8 and in light of previous projects by the LBI-GMR and the members of this consortium.9 Following the UNCRPD approach, the project: • Recognizes that disability is an evolving concept that results from the interaction between persons with impairments on the one hand, and attitudinal and environmental barriers that hinder their full and effective participation in society on an equal basis with others on the other hand; • Departs from a “medical model of disability” that views persons with disabilities as “objects” of medical treatment and in need of charity; • Takes into consideration the ideas underpinning the “social model of disability”, which views persons with disabilities as “subjects” with rights and focuses on the barriers that they face that may hinder their societal participation; • Applies a “human rights-based approach to disability”, which recognizes the intrinsic value of every person for their own end, “rather than focusing on a lack of overall capabilities as measured against a functional baseline”.10 17