International Journal of Academic Research in Economics and Management Sciences [616990]

International Journal of Academic Research in Economics and Management Sciences
November 2013, Vol. 2, No. 6
ISSN: 2226 -3624

125 www.hrmars.com/journals
Evolution of the Human Rights Issue

DRAGNE LUMINIȚA

Associate Professor PhD.
Faculty of Legal and Administrative
Sciences
„Dimitrie Cantemir” Christian University
E-mail: [anonimizat]

ABSTRACT The issue of human rights raised the inter est since ancient times and to
understand it is necessary to understand its evolution over time. The idea of
human rights has been a major concern for many prestigious philosophers
and jurists, their ideas and concepts being found in many constitutional
documents. Human rights are for all human beings regardless of nationality,
sex, race or other traits that distinguish them, and deriving from human
dignity, which require that all states of the world to promote and took specific
means to ensure their compli ance. A first legal recognition of human rights
was made internationally being adopted by the countries a number of
documents in this regard. But secure and effective protection of human
rights, are mainly made at national level, a major role in this field having
some specialized institutions such as: the courts, the ombudsman. Also, both
internationally and at regional or national level have been established a
number of organizations that promote and guarantee human rights and the
adoption of legal instrum ents for the protection of human rights.

KEY WORDS Human Rights , Guarantee Legal Protection , International Documents

DOI: 10.6007/IJAREMS/v2 -i6/475 URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.6007/IJAREMS/v2 -i6/475

Introduction
A reflection on the idea of human rights requires, as Hegel said, an effort to understand
its evolution throughout histo ry.
Freedom and equality of people have always represented aspirations throughout the
history and knowledge of concepts that formed the basis of these trends means understanding
the idea of human rights.
The man, to live in the society, had to undergo some rules which direct his behavior
towards his fellow men. A society cannot exist in the absence of principles of conduct, of
morality principles. The great Chinese thinker Confucius said that a harmonious society cannot
be possible unless the people who com pose it are guided by high moral principles, because it
must not only be an ongoing effort to better.

International Journal of Academic Research in Economics and Management Sciences
November 2013, Vol. 2, No. 6
ISSN: 2226 -3624

126 www.hrmars.com/journals
In ancient Greece, high moral principles were reflected in the works of Plato. In the dialogue
"Crito", it stressed that "should not be answered by injust ice nor harm to any man, no matter
what we did it . "Noted philosopher Protagoras of Abdera said that "man is the measure of all
things, of those that are, as they are, and those which are not, as they are"1

Natural equality of humans
Later, the Stoics thi nkers formulating a doctrine of natural rights, argued that of this
doctrine should enjoy all people, regardless of their social condition or where they are rights
belonging to everyone, by the mere fact that they were all being endowed with human reason.
Philosophers and Roman jurists have focused on natural equality of men. In their conception,
natural law was connected with the right of people. The justice, in the "Institutes" Justinian,
was defined as "constant and perpetual desire to give every man wha t is his due" and the
science of law has been defined as "the knowledge of things divine and human, and the ability
to discern exactly what is right from what is unjust."
Ulpian Roman legal adviser stressed that, in essence, the principles of law were: to lead
a honest life, see not to hurt what belongs to another, and to give to each what is his. (Juris
praecepta sunt haec: honeste vivere, alterum non laedere, suum cuique tribuere2).
The Christian religion has played a key role in affirming the humanistic concepts, in the sense
that raised the concept of human brotherhood at the status of the principle, equality of all men
before the Deity. It recognized the influence of religion to affirm the concept of human rights.
Thomas Aquinas (thirteenth century) sta tes that the State found its reason for its existence in
serving the people, all political authority derives from the people and laws should be made by
the people directly or through their representatives.
Renaissance humanism, underline in original and ne w terms the worship toward man, his value
as direct creator of the whole spiritual life.
Sixteenth and seventeenth centuries were marked by the presence of large legal and
political thinkers such as Jean Bodin (France), Hugo Grotius (Netherlands), Thomas H obbes and
John Locke (England) who contributed to the development of ideas about the state and man,
about sovereignty and freedom, natural law, positive law. Hugo Grotius argued that the law is
not based on the will of the deity but on the human nature and the principles of reason. After
Thomas Hobbes "man is a wolf to another man "and therefore the" natural state (earlier of the
state) of humans is the" war of all against all. "State says Hobbes, was created by people on the
way of an agreement, a social c ontract, in order to put an end to this situation and maintain
peace in society.
Another known philosopher Spinoza (Netherlands) said that freedom consists in understanding
the need. After Spinoza, supreme happiness of man is the result of the elevation of the highest
stage of freedom, which gives him a sense of communion with nature and with eternity3.

1 Dictionary of Philosophy , Political Publishing House , Bucharest, 1978, p. 565.
2 E. Molcu ț, Private Roman Law – lecture notes , Dimitrie Cantemir Christian University ,
Bucharest, 1992 , p 23.
3 Romanian Encyclopedic Dictionary , vol IV, Political Publishing House , Bucharest, 1966 , p
473.

International Journal of Academic Research in Economics and Management Sciences
November 2013, Vol. 2, No. 6
ISSN: 2226 -3624

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Since the eighteenth century, the idea of human rights as subjective rights enters European
thought with the social contract theory of the great French phil osopher JJ Rousseau.
Criticizing contemporary society and idealizing the "natural state" in which people were
free and equal, Rousseau argues that "man is naturally good" but that society corrupts and
shows that social inequality is the origin of private p roperty, which led to the formation of the
state and later to despotism. Since inequality violates the so -called social contract between
people during the transition from the natural state to the "civil" it should be removed.
Also, Rousseau says that "man is born free but everywhere he is in chains"4 showing that any
political structure might affect human dignity must be eliminated.
Immanuel Kant states that the dignity of each creates also duties, such as the
unconditional respect towards other people. An d its correlative idea of dignity, respect, human
rights underpins theory or, more precisely, the idea of ethical and legal human rights5.
French Revolution of 1789, had a decisive influence in affirming humanist concepts, in the
sense that has proclaimed in adopted documents fundamental human rights, which should be
respected and guaranteed in any democratic society.
For Montesquieu, liberty is the right to do whatever the laws permit, and if a citizen
could do what they forbid, he would not have the freed om that others could do the same."6

The first constitutional documents guaranteeing human rights
These ideas and concepts, to which we referred above, expressed in the works of
prestigious philosophers and jurists, were found in many constitutional docume nts.
Constitutional documents first appeared in England. "Magna Charta Libertatum" – Great Charter
of Freedoms – given by John without Country, on 15 June 1215, the barons and high English
priests is not only a privileges disposal of the English aristocrac y , but also a "constitution"
guaranteeing rights and freedoms.
The experts agreed that "Magna Charta Libertatum" is the first legal document outlining
the elements of legal protection of the human person.
For example, this document stipulated in paragrap h 39, that "No free man shall be
arrested or imprisoned, or stripped of his possessions, or outlawed, or exiled, or injured by any
maneuver would be and we will not go against him and we will not send anyone against him
without a fair judgment of his peers , according to the law of the country ".
Other important documents on human rights published in England – before any other country –
were: June 7, 1628 Petition of Rights, "Habeas Corpus Act" of May 26, 1679 – that no one could
be arrested or deprived of h is property without a fair trial of its peers, according to the law and
the arrest should have been made aware of the allegation within 24 hours – and the "Bill of
Rights" of February 13, 1689.
"Bill of Rights", act occurred under the reign of William of O range, adopted by
Parliament on February 13, 1689 did not allow of King exercise of rights without the consent of

4 J.J. Rousseau , The Social Contract , Scientific Publishing House , Bucharest, 1957, pp. 82-83.
5 I. Moroianu Zlătescu, Legal protection of human rights, IRDO , Bucharest, 1995, p. 13.
6 Montesquieu , Spirit of the Laws , Volume I, Scientific Publishing House , Bucharest, 1964 , p.
193.

International Journal of Academic Research in Economics and Management Sciences
November 2013, Vol. 2, No. 6
ISSN: 2226 -3624

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parliament such as the right to suspend the application of laws or establish exceptions to their
execution the right to levy taxes and to form and maintain a standing army in peacetime.
The Act proclaims the freedom of parliamentary debates and parliamentary elections –
elections to which participate only a limited number of people from the ranks of the aristocracy
and the big bourgeoisie.
"Decl aration of Independence of the United States", adopted on July 4, 1776 in
Philadelphia, proclaims "All humans are created equal, they are endowed by their Creator with
certain inalienable rights, among these rights are life, liberty and the pursuit of happ iness "
Governments are establishing the consent of the governed, to ensure these rights, "Whenever
a form of government becomes contrary to this purpose, people have the right to alter or
abolish it and establish a new government." The Declaration also pro vided judicial
independence, military subordination civil powers, freedom of trade to taxes imposed without
the consent of elected bodies, the right to be tried by a jury court.
In France, "Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen "adopted by the Const ituent
Assembly of the French revolution, to August 26, 1789, enroll in its first article the idea that"
men are born and remain free and equal in rights. Social distinctions may be founded only on
the common equality ". This principle of equality in the l aw of all people is seated at the basis of
all other rights and freedoms as a general condition of their existence.
According to article 4 of the Declaration, freedom is to do whatever does not harm
others, "thus, the exercise of the natural rights of each could be limited only to what exercising
the same right provide to other members of society. These limitations can only be determined
by law. "State must refrain from any action against individual rights and not intervene only to
prevent harmful conduct o f others.
By the Declaration are also proclaimed property rights, security, the right to resistance
against oppression, freedom of thought, freedom of speech and expression, freedom of arrest
contrary to law, the presumption of innocence and protection aga inst retroactivity law.
From the beginning there is a distinction between human and citizen rights, some rights are
only addressed to citizen, as a member of that society: the right to participate in the adoption
of laws, dignity and equal access to politi cal office, the right to participate in the tax
assessment. "Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen" is considered document devotes
most successful classical concept of human rights and fundamental freedoms.
Considered the first modern legal consecra tion, the Declaration was a preamble to the
Constitution of France from 1791. According to article 16 "any society where human rights are
not guaranteed, and the separation of powers is not established, that country does not have
constitution".
Middle of t he nineteenth century recorded a new phenomenon in human rights and
international legal regulations, namely, the first rules to humanize the war (the Declaration of
St. Petersburg on 11 December 1868, the signatories of this document pledged to give in cas e
of war, to use of projectiles weighing less than 400 gr., missiles loaded with high explosives or
flammable substances.
Later, the Hague Conferences of 1899 and 1907 produced a codification of laws and
customs of the war), fighting against the slave trad e in general, human beings (eg General Act
of the Berlin Conference 1885 stipulated the suppression of slavery and particularly black trade
in territories Congo Basin and Niger. antislavery general Act of the Brussels Conference 1889 –

International Journal of Academic Research in Economics and Management Sciences
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1890 stipulated suppre ssing the slave trade throughout Africa and Indian Ocean sea area.
hardly by Convention on the slavery of Geneva September 25, 1925, concluded the League of
Nations, it stipulated complete suppression of slavery and the slave trade, the obligation that
cover all regions of the world), regulation of charities and the late appear first international
agreement social, concerning the "right to work".
After the Second World War, the creation of the United Nations (UN) marks both the
growing interest of the world community to promote human condition, the human rights and
recognition of human dignity and the creation of specialized guarantee by law norms
international respect for the fundamental human rights of states and citizens, representing
then a number of reg ional bodies, including the Council of Europe.
UNO adopted important documents such as: the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
(December 10, 1948), the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the
International Covenant on Economic, Soci al and Cultural Rights adopted on 16 December 1966,
etc.

Conclusions
Human rights institution has experienced a process of crystallization in time, currently
appearing as an institution rather complex, related both to domestic law and the international
legal order. It defines and summarizes a set of rights, freedoms and obligations of people
towards each other, the states to protect and promote these rights, the entire international
community in ensuring that the rights and freedoms in each country, inter vening in situations
where human rights are violated in a particular state7. Because of their importance, human
rights have been enshrined in constitutional provisions, thus making the effective guarantee
and protection.

References:
Molcuț, E. (1992), Private Roman Law – lecture notes, Dimitrie Cantemir Christian University,
Bucharest.
Rousseau, J.J. (1957), The Social Contract, Scientific Publishing House, Bucharest.
Moroianu Zlătescu, I. (1995), Legal protection of human rights, IRDO, Bucharest.
Montesqu ieu, (1964), Spirit of the Laws, Volume I, Scientific Publishing House, Bucharest.
Duculescu, V. (1994), Legal protection of human rights, Lumina Lex Publishing House,
Bucharest.
Dictionary of Philosophy, (1978), Political Publishing House, Bucharest.

7 V. Duculescu , Legal protection of human rights, Lumina Lex Publishing House, Bucharest,
1994 , p. 19.