The Catalan Parliament has approved an expedited process to modernize the language used to describe disability in regional legislation. All parliamentary groups except Vox supported the move, which would amend 25 laws to replace terms now considered outdated or offensive. The reform aims to bring Catalonia’s legal structure in line with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which Spain ratified in 2008.
The legislative change will go through the single-reading procedure, the fastest route available in the Catalan Parliament. The proposal, jointly backed by PSC, Junts, ERC, PP, Comuns and CUP, was developed by a drafting committee within the Commission on Social Rights and Inclusion. Its objective is to ensure that references to disability in Catalan law use respectful language that is precise and inclusive.
Among the proposed changes, “personas discapacitadas” and “personas disminuidas” would be replaced with “personas con discapacidad.” The term “discapacidad psíquica” would become “discapacidad intelectual,” while “discapacidad mental” would be updated to “discapacidad psicosocial.” These revisions reflect the rights-based approach of the UN convention and the evolution of terminology used in disability policy.
The amendments span social services, equality, accessibility, mental health and the Catalan Civil Code, making the measure a cross-sector update rather than a standalone disability statute. Catalonia’s wider inclusion structure includes its Accessibility Code, approved by Decree 209/2023 of 28 November. A final provision in the proposed reform would also establish a terminology requirement for future Generalitat legislation, extending the change beyond the 25 laws being amended.
The reform’s mental-health language is consistent with the Generalitat’s National Mental Health Pact, which sets out a rights-based policy direction from 2025 and emphasizes the active participation of people with mental-health conditions. The Generalitat says the pact “guarantees rights-based care and the active participation of people with a mental health problem.” Its strategic lines promote emotional well-being and access to comprehensive, integrated services, while calling for multiple sectors to act in community settings.
The explanatory statement notes that, despite Spain’s ratification of the UN Convention in 2008, some Catalan laws retain language that has become pejorative or offensive. The reform follows the example set by Spain’s Congress, which amended Article 49 of the Constitution in 2024 to replace “disminuidos” with “personas con discapacidad.”
Updating legal terminology is part of a broader effort in Spain and elsewhere in Europe to align public language with a rights-based approach to disability. In Catalonia, the proposed changes would place terminology across multiple areas of law under a common standard and require future Generalitat legislation to follow it, while complementing existing accessibility and mental-health policies.
