The inclusion of persons with disabilities in military service: foundations and a proposed theory of differentiated functional aptitude from a constitutional perspective

DOI: https://zenodo.org/records/21808118

Abstract

This study analyzes the compatibility between the traditional fitness criteria adopted in the Brazilian military service and the constitutional and conventional framework for the protection of persons with disabilities. It is based on the premise that the current assessment model, strongly grounded in standardized biomedical parameters, has become insufficient in light of contemporary operational transformations and the legal concept of disability based on the biopsychosocial paradigm. The research adopts a legal-dogmatic approach, employing the deductive method and bibliographic, documentary, jurisprudential, and comparative research techniques, incorporating official empirical data and paradigmatic cases related to disability. The study examines the 1988 Federal Constitution, the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, the Brazilian Inclusion Law, and the health regulations of the Armed Forces. The comparison of these normative frameworks revealed a structural mismatch between the inclusive model adopted by the legal system and the administrative criteria used to assess military fitness, which remain based on generalized presumptions of incapacity. As a theoretical contribution, the study proposes the theory of differentiated functional fitness, according to which fitness should be assessed individually, considering the compatibility between the individual's conditions and the specific requirements of military functions. It argues that the inclusion of persons with disabilities in military service is legally permissible and operationally feasible without undermining hierarchy, discipline, or institutional efficiency. The study concludes that overcoming the exclusionary paradigm depends on the reinterpretation of military logic in light of fundamental rights and contemporary operational realities.