Procuring Disability Rights in the Welfare State: Legal Frameworks for Disability Inclusion in Public Procurement

As the regulatory welfare state increasingly relies on public procurement to govern the delivery of services, procurement law has become a critical site for examining the implementation of disability rights. This paper presents an early-stage normative legal analysis of how disability rights principles, such as accessibility, autonomy, participation, and non-discrimination, are reflected across procurement instruments in various jurisdictions. While the analysis spans public procurement law more broadly, it places particular emphasis on procurement regimes governing social services, where the implications for disability rights are especially profound. Drawing on legal documents from the European Union, selected national legal systems, and international human rights law, the study examines how procurement frameworks articulate state obligations toward persons with disabilities. Special attention is given to the extent to which these frameworks incorporate, marginalize, or neglect the standards set by the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). Informed by critical disability studies, the paper interrogates the normative assumptions embedded in procurement regulation, including the commodification of care and the tensions between technocratic efficiency and rights-based governance. The study seeks to trace emerging legal patterns and regulatory tendencies that shape how disability rights are advanced or diluted through procurement practices. By bridging legal scholarship, disability theory, and welfare state analysis, this contribution provides a conceptual lens through which to reassess the normative role of procurement in securing substantive equality for persons with disabilities.