Law and You> Jurisprudence > Kinds of Rights
In the last article, we have seen the meaning of the term “Rights” and different theories of rights. In this article, we shall study different kinds of Rights. Different kinds of rights are as follows:
Natural Rights:
The modern idea of natural rights grew out of the ancient and medieval doctrines of natural law. Several scholars have expressed faith in natural law. They stated that people inherit several rights from nature. Before they came to live in society and state, they used to live in a state of nature. In it, they enjoyed certain natural rights, like the right to life, the right to liberty, and the right to property. Natural rights are parts of human nature and reason. The political theory maintains that an individual enters into society with certain basic rights called natural rights and that no government can deny these rights.
John Locke (1632–1704), the most influential political philosopher of the modern period, argued that people have rights, such as the right to life, liberty, and property that have a foundation independent of the laws of any particular society. Locke claimed that men are naturally free and equal as part of the justification for understanding legitimate political government as the result of a social contract where people in the state of nature conditionally transfer some of their rights to the government in order to better ensure the stable, comfortable enjoyment of their lives, liberty, and property. Since governments exist by the consent of the people in order to protect the rights of the people and promote the public good, governments that fail to do so can be resisted and replaced with new governments.
Jean Jacques Rousseau attempted to reconcile the natural rights of the individual with the need for social unity and cooperation through the idea of the social contract. The writings of Thomas Jefferson, Samuel Adams, and Thomas Paine made the natural rights theory a powerful justification for revolution. The classic expressions of natural rights are the English Bill of Rights (1689), the American Declaration of Independence (1776), the French Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen (1789), the first 10 amendments to the Constitution of the United States (known as the Bill of Rights, 1791), and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of the United Nations (1948).
However, several other scholars regard the concept of natural rights as imaginary. Rights are the products of social living. These can be used only in a society. Rights have behind them the recognition of society as common claims for development, and that is why the state protects these rights.
Moral Rights:
The term “moral rights” is a translation of the French term “Droit Moral,” and refers not to “morals” as advocated by the religious right, but rather to the ability of authors to control the eventual fate of their works. An author is said to have the “moral right” to control his/her work. The concept of moral rights thus relies on the connection between an author and his/her creation. Moral rights protect the personal and reputational, rather than purely monetary, the value of a work to its creator. Moral Rights are those rights which are based on human consciousness. They are backed by the moral force of the human mind. These are based on the human sense of goodness and justice. These are not backed by the force of law. Sense of goodness and public opinion are the sanctions behind moral rights.
If any person violates any moral right, no legal action can be taken against him. The state does not enforce these rights. Courts of Law do not recognize these rights. Moral Rights include rules of good conduct, courtesy, and moral behaviour. These stand for the moral perfection of the people.
Moral rights were first acknowledged in France and Germany before they were included in the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works in 1928. Canada recognized moral rights in its Copyright Act. The United States became a signatory to the convention in 1989 and incorporated a version of moral rights under its copyright law under Title 17 of the U.S. Code. There are two major moral rights under the U.S. Copyright Act. These are the right of attribution, also called the right of paternity, and the right of integrity.
Legal Rights:
Legal rights are the common claims of people which every cultured society recognizes as essential claims for their development, and which are therefore enforced by the state. Thus, legal rights are those rights which are recognized and enforced by the state. Any violation of any legal right is punished by law. Law courts of the state enforce legal rights. These rights can be enforced against individuals and also against the government. In this way, legal rights are different from moral rights. Legal rights are equally available to all citizens. All citizens enjoy legal rights without any discrimination. They can go to the courts for getting their legal rights enforced. Legal rights are further classified into three types:
Civil Rights:
Civil rights are those rights that provide an opportunity for each person to lead a civilized social life. These fulfill the basic needs of human life in society. Civil rights are a class of rights that protect individuals’ freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals, and which ensure one’s ability to participate in the civil and political life of the society and state without discrimination or repression. They enable a person to live a dignified life. Civil rights include the right to life, liberty, and security, the right to privacy, freedom of movement, freedom of thought, conscience, and religion.
Political Rights:
Political rights are those basic rights that allow an individual to participate directly or indirectly in the political activities of the state. These enable them to take an active part in the political process. These rights include the right to vote, the right to get elected, the right to hold public office, and the right to criticize and oppose the government. Political rights are really available to the people in a democratic state.
Economic Rights:
Economic rights are those rights that provide economic security to the people. These enable all citizens to make proper use of their civil and political rights. The basic needs of every person are related to his food, clothing, shelter, medical treatment, etc. Without the fulfillment of these, no person can really enjoy his civil and political rights. It is therefore essential, that every person must get the right to work, right to adequate wages, right to leisure and rest, and right to social security in case of illness, physical disability, and old age.
Other Social Rights:
Human Rights:
Human rights attach to all persons equally, by virtue of their humanity, irrespective of race, nationality, or membership of any particular social group. They specify the minimum conditions for human dignity and a tolerable life. Human rights are those which are inherent to all human beings whatever be nationality, place of residence, sex, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, language, or status in society. Human rights encompass a wide variety of rights. Human rights are universal and moral. All individuals are entitled to these rights without any discrimination on any grounds. All these rights are interdependent, interrelated, and indivisible. Human rights include Political, Civil, Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights.
Cultural Rights:
The right to participate in cultural life has both individual and collective elements; they may be exercised as an individual, in association with others, and within a community or group. States should pay particular attention to the cultural rights of minority and indigenous groups, among others, and provide opportunities for them to both preserve their culture and shape cultural and social development, including in connection to language and land and natural resources. This right includes the right to participate in cultural life and to share in and benefit from scientific advancement, and protection of authors’ moral and material interests from scientific, literary, or artistic production.
The Right to Social Security and Social Protection:
Everyone has the right to social security. The right to social security is the right to access and maintain benefits, whether in cash or in-kind, without discrimination in order to secure protection, inter alia, from (a) lack of work-related income caused by sickness, disability, maternity, employment injury, unemployment, old age, or death of a family member; (b) unaffordable access to health care; (c) insufficient family support, particularly for children and adult dependents. Through the provision of social welfare or assistance, States must guarantee protection to everyone, particularly the most vulnerable members of society, in the event specified above. Such social security should be easily available, adequate, Accessible, and affordable.
The Right to Health:
Health is a fundamental human right and indispensable for the enjoyment of other human rights. The right to health guarantees that every human being is entitled to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health which is conducive to living a life of dignity. The growing recognition of the right to health is not only a human right issue but also a fundamental building block of sustainable development, poverty reduction, and economic prosperity. This right includes the right to access to health facilities, goods, and services, healthy occupational and environmental conditions, and protection against epidemic diseases, and rights relevant to sexual and reproductive health.
The Right to Education:
Education is a fundamental right and it is included in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and many other international conventions. Education in itself is an empowering right and one of the most powerful tools by which economically and socially marginalized children and adults can lift themselves out of poverty and can participate in society. This right includes the right to free and compulsory primary education and to available and accessible secondary and higher education, progressively made free of charge; and the liberty of parents to choose schools for their children.
Conclusion:
In jurisprudence, we find a bitter discussion and disputes about the exact meaning of the term “Right”. In general, we discover a particular action is right by checking whether it is consonant with the general legal, social, and ethical principles. In the religious context, the action to be right should be consonant with moral principles as guided by religion. Different kinds of rights are natural rights, moral rights, and legal rights. Legal rights are further classified into civil rights, political rights, and economic rights. Civil rights are those rights that provide an opportunity for each person to lead a civilized social life. Political rights are those basic rights that allow an individual to participate directly or indirectly in the political activities of the state. Economic, social, and cultural rights are those human rights relating to the workplace, social security, family life, participation in cultural life, and access to housing, food, water, health care, and education.