HUMAN RIGHTS:

INTRODUCTION
- Atty. Judiel M. Pareja
“ All persons are born free and
equal in dignity and rights without
any distinction as to race, color,
sex, religion, origin, and social
status.”
 definition

Human rights are

generally defined
as those rights,
which are
inherent in our
nature, and
without which, we
cannot live as
human beings.
Human rights are supreme,
inherent and inalienable rights
to life, dignity and self-
development. It is the essence
of these rights that makes man
human.

Human rights are

rights which
necessarily spring
from being a
member of the
human species.
Characteristics/ ATTRIBUTES

Universal – Human rights apply

to all humans, regardless of
race, culture, age, sex or creed.

Inherent – All human

beings are born with
these rights; these are
not conferred by any
authority.
 Equal – Every human being has
the same set of rights as any
other.

Inalienable – Human
rights cannot be
taken from or given
away by any human.
While its EXERCISE
may be regulated or
restricted by law, its
SUBSTANCE cannot
be taken away.
Imprescriptible – Human rights
cannot be lost even by long
passage of time.

Indivisible – Human
rights are not capable
of being divided. They
cannot be denied
even when other
rights have already
been enjoyed.
Fundamental – Without
them the life and dignity of
man will be meaningless.

Interdependent – The
fulfillment or
exercise of one right
cannot be had
without the
realization of the
other.
Restrictions on Rights

To reiterate, while its

(human rights)
EXERCISE may be
regulated or restricted
by law, its SUBSTANCE
cannot be taken away.
Example: The right to
freely move may be
limited through the
imposition of curfews.
The imposition of restrictions on
certain individual rights must satisfy
three (3) requirements for it to be
valid:
(1)It is provided for by law which is
made known to every citizen;
(2)There is a state of emergency
which necessitates the urgent
preservation of the public good,
public safety, and public moral; and
(3)It does not exceed what is
strictly necessary to achieve the
purpose.
 classification
According to Natural rights
SOURCE Constitutional
rights
Statutory rights

According to Individual rights

RECEPIENT Collective rights
According to Absolute or
DEROGABILITY nonderogable
rights
Derogable or can-
be-limited rights
According to Civil rights
ASPECT of LIFE Political rights
Economic rights
Social rights
Cultural rights

According to First generation

STRUGGLE for of rights
RECOGNITION Second
generation of
rights
Third generation
 According to SOURCE
Natural rights are God-given
rights, acknowledged by
everybody to be morally good.
They are unwritten but they
prevail as norms of the society.

Constitutional rights are those

rights which are conferred and
protected by the Constitution and
which may not be modified or
taken away by the law-making
body.
Statutory rights are those rights
which are provided by law
promulgated by the law-making
body and, consequently, may be
abolished by the same body.

NOTE: Constitutional rights and

statutory rights are sometimes
referred to as LEGAL rights.
 According to ASPECT of LIFE
Civil rights are those which the
law will enforce at the instance of
private individuals for the purpose
of securing to them the enjoyment
of their means of happiness.

Political rights are those which

enable us to participate in running
the affairs of the government
either directly or indirectly.
Economic and social rights are
those which the law confers upon
the people to enable them to,
achieve social and economic
development thereby ensuring them
their well-being, happiness and
financial security.
Cultural rights are the rights that
are vested in groups of people in
relation to their art and culture. It
means the right to preserve and
develop one’s cultural identity, as
well as the right to protect
endangered cultures. 
Three (3) generations of human rights

First Refers mostly to the

generation POLITICAL RIGHTS and
CIVIL LIBERTIES found in
the ICCPR. These are
NEGATIVE rights in the
sense that they prohibit the
doing something.  They
serve negatively to protect
the individual from
excesses of the state. They
are the “No one shall”
rights.
Second These are POSITIVE rights
generation that enjoin States to
perform an act or do
something for the
enjoyment of these rights
by the people. These are
related to equality and
began to be recognized by
governments after WW2.
They are fundamentally
economic, social and
cultural in nature. They
guarantee different
members of the citizenry
equal conditions and
treatment.
Third These are those rights that
generation go beyond the mere civil
and social, as expressed in
many progressive
documents of international
law. Because of the
present-day tilting toward
national sovereignty and
the preponderance of
would-be offender nations,
these rights have been hard
to enact in legally binding
documents. These are also
known as SOLIDARITY
rights.
Construction of human rights
instruments

The instruments must be

interpreted in the light of
circumstances surrounding
and attendant to every
case. They cannot be tied
down to obsolete practices
and beliefs.
When a human rights law
has the effect of modifying
another law without
repealing the latter, an
attempt at harmonizing
them has to be made.