Rights and duties: types and examples
The Rights they are all legal mechanisms that protect individuals.
The homework They are the obligations that they must fulfill in order to exercise their rights.
Rights and duties are created to ensure social stability and harmonious coexistence among citizens.
Rights and duties can be established in various legal instruments ranging from the constitution of each country to global agreements such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, created and promoted by the United Nations.
| Rights | Homework | |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Legal provisions and mechanisms to protect the individual freedoms of the citizens of a country. | Commitments acquired by citizens. |
| Bodies on which they depend |
|
The State, through its legal institutions. |
| Legal instruments |
|
The constitution and its derived laws. |
| Types |
|
|
| Examples |
|
|
What are rights?
Rights are understood to be all laws and regulations designed to protect individual freedom, thus guaranteeing the well-being of society or the mechanisms of action to ensure it.
There are two broad categories of rights:
Human rights
They are the provisions established in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, created in 1948 by the UN. In the 30 articles of this document, a series of universal rights are established, that is, they apply to all individuals from birth, without any type of discrimination.
Human rights are protected by International Law and must be sought by all States that are part of the UN.
Some human rights examples They are: the right to life, the right to freedom of conscience and religion, the right to freedom of expression, etc.
Citizen rights
Citizen rights are the provisions described in the constitution of each country and are guaranteed within that territory. They are also called Fundamental rights.
Citizen rights are protected by national laws and legal institutions and must be sought by all States.
Although citizens' rights are based on human rights, each State seeks those legal provisions that it deems appropriate to protect its sovereignty and its citizens. In this sense, citizen rights can vary, but in general terms they are classified into two types:
Civil and Political Rights
These are the rights that protect citizens against possible actions by the State and guarantee their insertion into the civil and political life of their country.
Among some examples of civil and political rights are: the right to vote, to organize and political participation.
Economic, social and cultural rights
They refer to the guarantees that must be sought for economic, social and economic development. cultural of the individual, with the objective that he can live in well-being and be productive for the society.
Some examples of economic, social and cultural rights They are: the right to work, to free health and education.
Collective rights
They are the rights created to protect a social group and are intended to protect the identity and interests of those groups.
A example of collective rights is the principle of self-determination of the peoples, which implies that each State has the right to establish their own political conditions and seek their own economic, social and cultural.
Collective rights have been the subject of controversy, since for some specialists the exercise of these guarantees may conflict with individual rights.
See also:
- Human rights and individual guarantees.
- Difference between human rights and fundamental rights.
What are homework?
Duties are understood as the moral, social and legal commitments that citizens acquire based on the exercise of their rights. This means that the exercise of all rights also implies the fulfillment of a series of obligations.
Moral duties
They have to do with the fulfillment of commitments based on the values of each individual.
Example of moral duty
The acquisition of a debt through a loan. Beyond the legal duty (and the legal consequences that not paying the money could imply), the debtor can have a moral duty to your creditor, based on certain personal values: honesty, responsibility, etc.
Legal duties
They are all the norms established in international, regional, national or local legislation. As they are legal, they can imply a sanction if they are not complied with.
Example of legal duty
The penalties that must be met by those who commit crimes such as theft or robbery. Depending on the law of each country, this type of punishment can involve imprisonment for days, months or years, depending on the seriousness of the crime.
Social duties
They are the norms established by a group of people, community or specific social group. They are linked to moral duties because they are created based on certain values or expected behaviors.
Example of social duty
A debtor may have the intention of not paying his debt, but the rules of social coexistence dictate that it is It is necessary to honor the commitments that have been acquired based on a harmonious relationship with the group to which the belongs.
See also Rights and obligations.
Importance of rights and duties
The importance of rights and duties lies in the fact that they set the tone for the relationships between the individuals that make up a company and the relationship between it and the organizations or entities to which it is subject (State, Supreme Court of Justice, etc.)
In this sense, the State is the main responsible for guaranteeing the rights of citizens through the necessary mechanisms (laws, agreements, institutions, among others), since otherwise it would be failing to comply with its legal obligation before the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, governed by law international.
For their part, citizens are expected to fulfill their moral, social and legal duties to maintain a framework of behavior and respect for the laws that is fundamental for well-being and development Social.
Rights and duties of children
Since 1989, the child population has its own legal framework established in the Convention on Rights of the child, a document produced by the UN that describes essential rights, such as What
- The right to identity.
- The right to education.
- The right to recreation.
For their part, children's duties are aimed at guaranteeing the protection of the rights of their peers, therefore, they must:
- Respect the physical integrity of other children.
- Commit to take advantage of the education that is imparted to them.
- Help take care of the environment.
See also Rights and obligations of children.
