Understanding Law: Meanings, Dimensions, and Rights
The Law and Its Fundamental Dimensions
Law is ubiquitous; whether we are aware of it or not, we are surrounded by legal principles. The rules of law are essential for social life, providing order to societal relationships. Humanity possesses an inherent intuition of what is unjust. Justice is necessary in life, and all individuals should be involved in the creation of laws. The word ‘law’ is emotionally charged; it holds not only a descriptive meaning but also different interpretations and several basic dimensions. Legal rules must be examined for their validity, effectiveness, and justification.
Four Meanings of the Word ‘Law’
- Standard or set of rules (Objective Law, Positive Law)
- Power or authority (Subjective Law)
- Science (Dogmatic Science of Law)
- Value, justice (Ethical-Value Dimension)
Three Basic Dimensions of Law
- Law as a Standard
- Law as a Social Phenomenon
- Law as a Value
Objective Law and Subjective Law Defined
Understanding Objective Law
Objective Law is the set of principles and rules governing the coexistence of a society, whose rules may be imposed coercively. Key features of its rules include:
- Generality: This characteristic ensures that the law applies broadly, independent of individual cases.
- Imperativity: This means the law is a command, not a suggestion or advice. It exhaustively defines what must be done and what is prohibited.
- Alterity (or Otherness): Law is projected onto relationships between two or more persons. Law cannot exist without society, nor society without law.
- Coercibility: Law must always be fulfilled, even by resorting to force if necessary. The force referred to is that exerted by the State. Coercion is the forcible imposition of law, while coercibility is the possibility of law enforcement.
Understanding Subjective Law
Subjective Law refers to the power or authority conferred by a rule to an individual, allowing them to require certain actions or behaviors from other individuals, whether to do or not do something, or to seek injunctive redress and impediment. Classification varies according to the criterion used:
- Classic Classification: Includes real rights, which impose an indefinite obligation, and personal rights, exercised over specific individuals.
- Modern Classification: Includes rights of freedom, where the owner’s will has little relevance; pretension rights, where the owner’s will is decisive; and rights of legal change, which lead to the creation of new legal statuses, or the amendment or extinction of existing ones.
The Essence of Human Rights
The term ‘human rights’ encompasses both positive norms and the values they postulate. It is used as a term that evokes strong human adherence. Human rights are expressed in the legal sphere as the public ethics of society. The 1215 Magna Carta, granted by the English King John Lackland, is often cited. In it, the monarch was obliged to respect certain rights of the barons of his kingdom, which they already possessed prior to the charter. Human rights predate the State; they are not merely creations of the state. They are both ethical values and subjective rights. They are universal, inalienable, and indefeasible, representing basic requirements derived from human dignity. These are rights that should be upheld.
Categories of Fundamental Rights
Three categories are distinguished:
- Civil Rights: These affect individuals in their most intimate aspects, such as the right to life and physical integrity, property, liberty, dignity, and free expression of thought.
- Political Rights: These refer to the intervention of citizens in public life, including the right to vote, to participate in political life, and to exercise state control.
- Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights: These address individuals’ aspirations regarding economic well-being and access to culture, such as the right to work, safety and hygiene, social security, to strike, and to education.