The development of human rights doctrine

LTReikšminiai žodžiai: Žmonių teisės; Istorinė žmogaus teisių raida; Žmogaus teisių klasifikavimas; Human rights; Historical development of human rights; Classification of human rights.

ENSome of the essential characteristics of human rights are universality, generality and integrity. Human rights are regulated by legal as well as other social norms. Human rights are indivisible, interdependent, self-determined and based on equality, non-discrimination and other principles. The concept of human rights is closely related to the concept of dignity. The human rights doctrine is based on the idea that every person is equally worthy of respect for his or her dignity and the protection of human dignity is the main task in safeguarding human rights. From this perspective it is worth mentioning the idea, which has been expressively mentioned in the United Nations Conference on Human Rights in Vienna of 1993, that human rights are interrelated, interconnected, self-determined and indivisible. Thus human rights can be defined as moral norms of conduct and social values with the main purpose of safeguarding human dignity. Discussions, concerning the differences in definitions of rights and freedoms, have been taking place in jurisprudence. From the legal point of view the definitions do not differ significantly - freedoms can also be considered as rights, only in a different sphere of personal life, where the state is not allowed to interfere (freedom of thought, for instance). The contemporary concept of human rights has evolved from two legal doctrines - legal positivism and the doctrine of natural law. The doctrine of natural law considers human rights as inherent individual rights founded on the mind, divine will and human nature, while legal positivism refers to human rights as established by the state, set by law or other legal enactments. Currently pure natural law or legal positivism theories are rare. [Extract, p. 7]