What is the natural nature of human rights? You will learn about this in this article. First of all, we are talking about natural law. Its use in various interpretations has varied widely throughout history. There are a number of theories of this concept that differ from each other in the role that morality plays in determining the authority of legal norms. Nevertheless, most moral and ethical systems perfectly answer the question of what is the natural character of human rights manifesting in.
Norms
What are natural rights? It is worth listing them briefly:
- The right to live.
- The right to food, drink and shelter.
- The right to freedom.
However, in reality, everything is much more complicated, and these standards are constantly changing depending on the interpretation.
Roman law
Ius naturale in Latin means natural law - laws common to all living beings. Roman lawyers wondered why ius gentium (laws that apply to both foreigners and citizens) were generally adopted by all people living in the empire. They came to the conclusion that these laws made sense to a rational person and, therefore, were respected by all without exception.
The Romans constantly wondered how the natural nature of human rights manifests itself, and it seems that they found the answer to it at that moment. All laws that would make sense for a normal person were called ius naturale. These included the first human rights.
Features
Slavery, for example, was part of the entire ius gentium empire because it was accepted as a normal social institution in all parts of the known world. Nevertheless, since forcing people to work for others was a condition created by man, it was not considered natural and, therefore, was part of ius gentium, and not ius naturale. Ius naturale of Roman lawyers is not the same as is understood today by natural law. However, there are a number of similarities between them.
First of all, it’s worth understanding what the natural nature of human rights is manifesting. The answer to this question is quite simple. Natural is that which is given by nature. For example, the right to life is natural just because it is given to us from above, without any human intervention. In the same way, the right to freedom is natural. After all, every person is born free.
For this reason, both in ancient Rome and today, slavery is perceived as an unnatural phenomenon (regardless of whether it is forbidden or not). Therefore, for most people nowadays it is very obvious how the natural character of human rights is manifested. That which nature itself has been given from birth cannot be taken away at the behest of someone else.