The twenty-first century is a time of freedom and democracy. A time when even the smallest little man - a child - already knows his rights. These rights are different, but they are all enshrined in the Constitution of our country. What are the types of constitutional rights and freedoms of Russians?
What is a constitution?
No matter how ridiculous this question may sound, there will surely be those who cannot imagine (or very vaguely imagine) what it is. So, the Constitution of the Russian Federation refers to a document that is fundamental to our country. It is in it that the goals of creating a state are spelled out, the rights and obligations of each person are stated. In other words, the Constitution is the main law of the country, its normative act. Accordingly, if we are talking about the types of constitutional rights and freedoms of citizens, we are talking about those rights and freedoms that are legally and documented in the main body of state rules. Now we can talk about this in more detail.
A bit about rights and freedoms
The constitution in our country has been in effect for almost fifteen years, and this is how many of us have the so-called new state that stands for democracy, and therefore proclaims human rights and freedoms as the highest value and good. In this regard, I want (and not only want, but it seems really necessary) not only to explain what rights, freedoms and obligations are, but also to give them a specific definition. As already mentioned, these are documented in the Constitution, and in addition, guaranteed by the state opportunities to independently decide on their behavior, as well as to dispose of the provided social benefits at their own discretion. The state must take care of the equal rights and freedoms of absolutely all citizens, regardless of gender, race, religion, and so on.
Rights and freedoms in our country are directly acting, that is, acting always, everywhere and in any conditions. Thus, we can talk about the inalienability of rights and freedoms. By the way, they are given to every person at birth and are one for all. No one's rights and freedoms may violate the rights and freedoms of other people. No restrictions on any grounds, whether nationality, language or social status, are unacceptable. Making any decision, any authority should first of all appeal to these constitutional freedoms and rights.
Important terms and concepts
Before turning to the actual text of the Constitution and giving examples of types of constitutional rights and freedoms, a few words should be said about some definitions that are important for a correct understanding of the whole picture.
So, there is such a thing as a constitutional status of a person (not to be confused with legal). It consists of three factors: these are the duties of a citizen, his rights and freedoms, as well as the position of a person in society. The constitutional status takes some principles as the basis of its existence: for example, universal equality before the law, respect for other people's rights and respect for them - and so on. Thus, it is clearly seen that constitutional status is most closely associated with obligations, rights and freedoms. By the way, about the last two: there is no fading about them - some consider the two above terms to be synonyms, while others refute this point of view.
Types of constitutional rights and freedoms
All human rights and obligations enshrined in the Constitution are placed in its second chapter. They are divided into several different categories, which will be discussed later.
The first category is personal human rights and freedoms (their other name is civil). The second is political, the third is economic, the fourth is social, and finally the fifth is cultural. All human rights and freedoms belong to one or another of the five above groups. In total, the Constitution of our country enshrines forty-odd articles fixing just what has been indicated. Below we consider these categories and the articles included in them in more detail, and we will begin, perhaps, in order - with personal rights and freedoms.
Personal rights
This category is the largest in the classification of types of constitutional rights of the Russian Federation. This includes rights such as, for example, the right to life - this is the very first right spelled out in article twenty. It also says that in some cases, the death penalty may be an extreme measure of punishment - of course, if it is not abolished.
The personal rights and freedoms of citizens also include the dignity of the individual and his protection, private inviolability, which includes personal and family secrets, as well as the protection of his own honor. It also spells out that it is impossible to detain a person for more than two days until a court decision is made on this issue. The personal types of constitutional human rights are the secrecy of correspondence, the secrecy of telephone conversations, and the inviolability of the home. In addition, it is impossible to divulge any information about a person without his consent.
Each person can independently choose which language to speak, where to live, which religion to relate to (and whether to relate at all). All this and much more is called personal types of constitutional rights of citizens.
Political Rights
The next group in the classification of human rights and freedoms are political freedoms and rights. For example, this is an opportunity to think and say what one wants, it is an opportunity to receive any necessary information using any available (but most importantly legal) method (except for data that are classified as state secrets), these are free mass media that openly express their points of view on any matter ... Everyone, in addition, has the right to organize rallies and demonstrations, gather meetings, organize unions and associations (all of the above is allowed only without any kind of weapon).
At the same time, censorship, as well as campaigning and inciting religious and / or racial hatred, are strictly prohibited. All residents of our country have the right to participate in elections (both elect others and stand for their own candidacy). Only two categories of people are deprived of the last opportunity - those who are officially recognized as legally incompetent and those who are in places not so remote (in other words, in custody).
Economic rights
This category of constitutional rights and freedoms includes, first of all, the opportunity to engage in one's own business and the protection of private property by law. In addition, the category of economic rights includes the right of inheritance, as well as the possibility of ownership of land and / or any other property.
This group is represented in the Constitution with only three articles, it is one of the two most small.
Social rights
In this category in the main law of the state a little more is allocated than in the previous one - as many as six articles. Such types of constitutional rights include the right to voluntary choice of professional activity and subsequent work in appropriate conditions - in compliance with safety and hygiene rules, the right to rest and paid leave.
Social rights and freedoms, in addition, it is the protection of motherhood and childhood (and the entire institution of the family in particular), this is the opportunity to receive pensions and housing, this is the right to provide medical care and health care - and the like.
Cultural rights
And finally, the last, smallest category is cultural rights and freedoms. It includes only two articles. The concept of cultural types of constitutional rights of a person and a citizen includes the possibility of receiving free preschool and school education, as well as secondary and / or higher education - at least for a fee, even for free.
In addition, cultural rights are an opportunity to take part in the cultural life of a city and / or country, as well as express themselves in creativity and / or teaching.
Constitutional obligations and guarantees
It would be very strange if human rights and freedoms were prescribed by law, but duties were not. Therefore, it is necessary to mention at least briefly about them, as well as the guarantees that the state gives its residents.
So, the first (that is, duties) includes the need to pay taxes, protect nature and protect it, as well as protect your country and take up compulsory military service (the latter is more about men than women, but the “weaker sex” in our country is free serve almost on a par with men).
Guarantees
As for the guarantees that every citizen of Russia possesses, this is a guarantee of protecting rights and freedoms (including in court), obtaining necessary legal assistance (there are separately prescribed situations when this assistance is provided for free). In addition, the state guarantees to everyone the recognition of his innocence of the crime committed until the contrary is proved in court. By the way, one and the same act cannot be condemned a second time. In addition, the guarantee of the state is the full protection of its citizens both on the territory of our country and abroad. Also, the state does not extradite those who requested political asylum (and, of course, provides it to those in need), and also undertakes not to expel its inhabitants from the country.
The concept and types of sources of constitutional law
There is also such a thing as sources of constitutional law. Since it is closely related to the rights and obligations of citizens, it has a direct relationship to them, it is necessary to understand what it is. So, the so-called forms of expression of legal norms are called sources of law. There are four types of sources of constitutional law; they are represented differently in different states: somewhere all four, somewhere only one. On the territory of our country they function in full, although the first (we will talk about it later) - and to a much greater extent.
The main source of law in our country is considered a regulatory legal act. It is divided into laws (which include the Constitution of the state, and all kinds of federal laws, and much more) and the so-called by-laws. The latest types of sources of constitutional law include, for example, presidential decrees, various departmental acts, government decrees, and the like. From all these documents you can get the necessary information about your own rights, duties and freedoms in a particular case.
There are three more sources of law. Among them are the decisions of the Constitutional Court (namely, the Constitutional, and only it!), Some established long-standing legal customs (for example, the distribution of posts in the State Duma among all factions according to their mandates), as well as different types of agreements - both within the state and and outside it - that is, international.
Interesting facts about the Constitution of Russia
- The creation of the Constitution of our country lasted more than three and a half years.
- In the main legislative document of our state, not a single foreign word is used, nor a single borrowing. All expressions such as "speaker" or "impeachment" used in oral speech, in writing are replaced by Russian-language counterparts.
- More than ten times the Constitution was amended, as the names of different regions of the country changed.
- In total, the main regulatory document of Russia contains one hundred thirty-seven chapters.
- You can not name one or even several people who are the authors of the Constitution. Together, over a thousand people worked on it, including such famous personalities as, for example, Anatoly Sobchak.
- Two copies of this document even traveled into space for three hundred and twenty-nine days — one at Mir station and the other aboard the international space station.
- The Constitution Day in our state is the twelfth of December, which is no longer a public holiday for the thirteenth year (however, they say they want to make this day a day off again).
- The newly elected president can take an oath on the day of his inauguration, laying his hand on any edition of the country's main normative act.
Let's hope that now at least a little clarity has been introduced into the question of the concept and types of constitutional rights. After all, this is information that every resident of our state should own - from small to large.