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To what extend do individuals have human
rights?
5.2.2010
By Ardahan Ali
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February
5, 2010
Human rights are the basic rights
and freedoms that belong to every individual as a
result of being human; human rights are basic
standards, without them we cannot live in peace and
dignity, in other words, human rights help
individuals to participate fully in society.
"All human beings are born free and equal in dignity
and rights. They are endowed with reason and
conscience and should act towards one another in a
spirit of brotherhood." (Article 1 of the UDHR,
1946)
It may be argued that, the state holds the main
responsibility for protecting human rights, but it
is also important to consider that we as individuals
have responsibility too toward respecting human
rights because as we have rights, everyone else in
society has rights too, therefore if we breach
others' human rights, we will be subject to laws
that may limit our rights. |
Ardahan Ali |
It is
important for individuals to be aware of their
rights, to help them understand and practice their
rights in different areas of law, as the human
rights protect an individual, ranging from the
rights to life to the rights to free elections, and
set out the ways in which you can enforce your
rights.
In order to introduce my argument, I am going to
identify the degree to which an individual has
rights, for example in the UK law.
The source of legally enforceable human rights in
the UK is the Human Rights Act 1998, which brought
the European Convention on Human Rights into the UK
law, this Act come into force in 2000.
The human Rights Act 1998 classified human rights
into 3 categories: absolute rights, limited rights
and qualified rights.
Absolute right:
A right set out in the European Convention on Human
Rights, which cannot be subjected to restrictions.
Limited right: A
right, which occasionally needs to be restricted in
accordance with law
Qualified right:
A basic right, which can be restricted by the state
or public authority, where using that right can
breaches the rights of another person or group
Example of absolute right; article 2: right to life,
article 3: prohibition of torture, article 4:
prohibition of slavery and forced labour, article 7:
no punishment without law, they are absolute rights
and they must never be limited because some rights
cannot be subject to limitations, when you admit a
limit, the principle of the right will be less.
It is important to consider, that not all rights are
absolute rights as some rights should be restricted
in accordance with law known as limited right, for
example: article 5: right to liberty and security,
article 6: right to a fair trial, article 12: right
to marry, they are limited rights.
Moreover the principle of all human rights’
conventions is based on a fair balance between
individual rights and the interests of the society,
which is why rights have to be balanced against each
other.
Keir Starmer argues that "First, the legal basis for
any restriction on Convention rights must be
identified and established. Second, the law or rule
in question must be accessible. Third, the law or
rule in question must be formulated with sufficient
clarity." (Starmer, 1999, P.166)
Meaning that all restrictions must be officially
recognized and those who are likely to be affected
by the restrictions should have access and be aware
of the applicable law.
There is another right known as qualified right,
which can be restricted by the state or public
authority, article 8: right to respect for private
and family life, article 9: freedom of thought,
conscience and religion, article 10: freedom of
expression, article 11: freedom of assembly and
association and articles 8,9,10,11 of the European
Convention on Human Rights are all qualified rights
and they may be limited to some extent or completely
in order to protect the rights of others, for
example: It is possible that the freedom of speech
as an absolute right would breach individual
privacy, consider freedom of speech without
restrictions, for example: a nasty person can make a
big shock to others just by saying one word like
bomb in a busy place like London underground.
If human rights are to subsist in each individual,
the freedom of each has to be respected by others.
For this reason the freedom of each must be
restrained to the extent necessary to enable the
exercise of the freedom by others. (Cooray, 1985)
Therefore some rights at some extent have to be
restricted.
From the above mentioned we could come to the
conclusion that your rights cannot interfere with
anyone else's rights. If you do something that
interferes with my right to life, liberty or my
pursuit of happiness then you have no right to it,
it is important to consider that an individual shall
enjoy their rights and freedoms, as long as their
rights and freedom do not cause the abuse of others
rights. Rights of individuals should not be limited,
if they do not interfere with others’ rights,
morality, public security and public interest.
Reference list
Coory, M. (1985) Human Rights In Australia
[Internet] Australia: Philip Atkinson Available
from: http://www.ourcivilisation.com/cooray/rights/chap16.htm
.
Starmer, K. (1999) European Human Rights Law: The
Human Rights Act 1998 and the European Convention on
Human Rights. London: Legal Action Group
The General Assembly of the United Nations, (1948)
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
[Internet] Geneva: UN Available from: http://www.un.org/en/documents/udhr/
.
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Ardahan Ali
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