From the moment of his birth, every person, regardless of citizenship, nationality, race or gender, has basic rights. As an individual grows up and introduces into a social society, the volume of rights, freedoms, and responsibilities in relation to the surrounding society and people increases.
For the first time, the rights and freedoms of man and citizen are mentioned in the French "Declaration of Rights", adopted in the distant 1789, although the idea itself has a longer history, the very first mention of the fundamental privileges of the individual dates back to 1215 (the year the English Charter of Liberties was adopted).
The most recent document and the most significant for most countries was the “Universal Declaration of Human Rights”.
If we consider the issue in the context of a separate state, then the fundamental rights and freedoms of man and citizen in the Russian Federation, for example, are enshrined and respected by the Constitution of the country.
The Constitution subdivided all legal privileges and freedoms of the country's citizens into separate groups that cover all the main spheres of human life:
- personal rights and freedoms;
- political;
- socio-economic rights;
- cultural.
Personal rights and freedoms of man and citizen are of primary importance.
Today, this group is given special attention, since the state’s policy is aimed at the benefit of the people, while the Constitution of the Soviet Union assigned the most important place to the country's economic stability and its guarantees.
Personal rights belong to every person from the moment of his birth and have no attachment to nationality or citizenship; they are inalienable.
The second chapter of the Constitution of the Russian Federation listed and secured the rights and freedoms of man and citizen relating to his personality:
- The right to life and the protection of health implies the impossibility of taking the life of any person with impunity. Confirmation of this norm was reflected not only in the imposition of various kinds of punishments, but also in the prohibition of the death penalty, although it can be appointed as a punishment in exceptional cases.
- The right to safeguard and protect the dignity of the individual implies that no person should be subjected to torture or any other form of violence or punishment that could degrade his personality. This category includes not only physical punishment, but oral statements in the form of slander and insult.
- The right to inviolability implies the inadmissibility of unlawful deprivation of liberty or property.
The law provides only a restriction of freedom as a sanction for unlawful acts, and restriction is possible only after a trial or investigation.
The Constitution enshrined such rights as inviolability and protection of private life, protection of honor and one's good name, personal and family secrets. In connection with these enshrined standards, the illegal collection, storage and dissemination of any information regarding privacy is prohibited without the consent of a person.
An equally important personal right is the right to free movement, which provides for free movement not only within the country, but also beyond its borders. Including it provides for an unlimited choice of places of residence, both in the country and abroad.
Since ancient times, the rights and freedoms of man and citizen have been an unshakable value, for which the people themselves and many rulers have long fought hard. Today, the system of rights is formed in such a way that all basic human values are protected by law, active measures are being taken to expand the means for their strict observance.