HUMAN RIGHTS LAW

UNIT 1
TOPIC 1.4: Evolution of human rights

Anushka Ukrani
Assistant Professor
DME Law School
[email protected]
 INTRODUCTION
• The term 'Human Rights' is comparatively recent in
origin, but the idea of human rights is as old as the
history of human civilization. It has formally and
universally, become recognized only after the formation
of the United Nations in 1945.
• The twentieth century was witnessed two world wars in
1914 and 1939 and Universal Declaration of Human
Rights was adopted by the General Assembly on 10
December, 1948.
• Different religions also talk about human rights. In old
Hindu Scriptures, the individual existed as a citizen of
the state and he has both rights and obligations.
 INTRODUCTION
• These rights and duties were expressed in the terms of duties
(Dharma) .... duties to oneself, to one's family, to other fellow
men, to the society and the world.
• On 10 December 1948, the General Assembly of the United
Nations approved and proclaimed the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights.
• After World War I some initial attempts were made to develop a
more comprehensive notion of universal human rights. This is not
to say that these developments occurred smoothly. For example,
Japan failed in trying to include provisions against discrimination
based on race and religion in the Covenant of the League of
Nations.
• The momentum for human rights slowed down during the Great
Depression but these earlier developments had an important
influence on the drafting of the Universal Declaration by the UN in
1948, after the horrors of World War II.
 INTRODUCTION
• This declaration was the starting point for the
development of current human rights practices. The
Declaration formed the foundation for international
human rights law that was created in the following
decades (for example, the International Covenant on
Civil and Political Rights and the International
Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights).
• Human rights are ‘a special class of urgent rights’ that
are necessary to any reasonable idea of justice and
thus, not ‘peculiarly liberal or special to the western
tradition’ (Rawls, 1999, pp. 79-80). Included are rights
to life, personal liberty, and equal treatment under
law.
TRACING HUMAN RIGHTS: HISTORICALLY

• The first approach traces the deeper origins to

ancient religious and philosophical concepts of
compassion, charity, justice, individual worth, and
respect for all life found in Hinduism, Judaism,
Buddhism, Confucianism, Christianity and Islam.
• Precursors of human rights declarations are found
in the ancient codes of Hammurabi in Babylon
(about 1772 BCE), the Charter of Cyrus the Great
in Persia (about 535 BCE), edicts of Ashoka in
India (about 250 BCE), and rules and traditions of
pre-colonial Africa and pre Columbian America.
TRACING HUMAN RIGHTS: HISTORICALLY

• Second Approach: Others trace modern human rights to the

emergence of natural law theories in Ancient Greece and
Rome and Christian theology of the Middle Ages,
culminating in the rebellions in the 17th and 18th century
Europe, the philosophers of the Enlightenment and the
Declarations that launched the French and American
revolutions, combined with the 19th century abolitionist,
workers’ rights and women’s suffrage movements.
• A third trend is to trace human rights to their enthronement
in the United Nations Charter of 1945.
• A fourth view is the very recent revisionist history that
considers human rights as peripheral in the aftermath of
World War II.
 Evolution of human rights
• In 1215, the english nobles and members of the clergy
made the king of england agree to abide by the
conditions of the Magna Carta. This document,
however, protected only the rights of the privileged. it is
but widely cited in defence of human liberties because it
imposed a limitation on the powers of the king in
recognition of people’s liberties.
• In 1689, the bill of rights was introduced which
denounced royal interference in parliamentary affairs.
• Around the same time John locke propounded that
every human being has certain rights which they derive
from their own nature. The legitimacy of the
government rested on the fact that it afforded these
natural rights to the people.
 Evolution of human rights
• In 1776, most of the british colonies in north america proclaimed
independence from the british empire in the United states
declaration of independence. This was largely based on locke’s
natural rights theories.
• In 1789, the french overthrew their monarchy and established the
french republic. The french declaration on the rights of man and of
the citizens was and outcome of this revolution and defined the
natural rights of man as liberty, property, security and the right to
resist oppression.
• the 19th and 20th century saw a number of human rights issues
being dealt at an international level. in 1814, british and french
governments signed the Treaty of paris, aimed at cooperation to
suppress traffic in slaves. In 1890, at the brussels conference, an
anti-slavery act was signed.
• In 1919, the ILO was established with the goal of promoting social
justice to ensure lasting peace.
 Evolution of human rights

The idea of protecting human rights to prevent

oppression by the governments gained pace in the 20th
century with the emergence of ILO and the League of
Nations.

Going forward, we shall be tracing and discussing the

major milestones in the evolution of the human rights
regime.
 539 BC: The Cyrus Cylinder

In 539 BC, Cyrus the Great conquered the city of Babylon,

freed slaves to return home, and declared that people should
have a choice in their religion. This event is considered by
many to be the world’s first charter of human rights in history.
Prior to this, people had rights based on membership to a
group, such as a family for example. This event served as an
inspiration to the civilizations of India, Greece, and Rome,
cultures that are known these days for their contributions to
rights and freedoms.
 MAGNA CARTA
Undoubtedly a great first step in the long journey for
human rights, a document like this would not come to be
for another thousand years. Then in 1215, the Magna
Carta, translated from Latin to mean “The Great Charter”
was issued by King John of England. This document, too,
was a big step for rights because it established that the
king was in fact subject to the law, despite a long history
of actions without consequences. This was written a long
time ago, when monarchies were commonplace, so is it
still relevant? Many clauses are no longer applicable to
modern times, however, the charter still holds timeless
fundamental values such as the right to justice and a fair
trial.
 Nikesh Tarahchand v. Union of India (2018)
FACTS
• the case was concerning the constitutional validity of
Section 45 of the prevention of money laundering act,
2002. Sec 45 imposed two conditions on grant of bail in
offences punishable by more than 3 years imprisonment:
– public prosecutor to be given the opportunity to
oppose the application for such release and
– where the Public Prosecutor opposes the application,
the court is satisfied that there are reasonable
grounds for believing that the accused is not likely to
commit any offence while on bail.
 Nikesh Tarahchand v. Union of India (2018)

• In this case the court noted that the provision of bail

goes back to clause 39 of Magna Carta which stated
that “No free man shall be outlawed or exiled, or
deprived of his standing in any other except by the
lawful judgment of his equals or by law of the land.”
• The judgment also referred the Bill of rights (1689)
and the habeas corpus act (1679).
 1628: The Petition of Rights

Yet again, progress is made, but another 400 years goes by

with little focus on establishing rights for the people. In
1628, the Petition of Right set out the rights and liberties of
commoners, as opposed to the British Crown. English
Parliament demanded no taxation without Parliament’s
consent, no imprisonment without a reason, no quartering
soldiers, and no martial law in peacetime.
 English Bill of Rights 1689
• The english bill of rights set the stage for a constitutional
monarchy in britain. The act forbade the suspension of
law without parliamentary consent, levying of taxes and
maintenance of a standing army during peacetime
without parliamentary authorization. Some specific
rights laid out in the bill are:
– Freedom to elect members of parliament
– freedom of speech in parliament
– freedom to bear arms for self defence
– freedom from cruel punishment and excessive bail.
Virginia Declaration of Rights, 1776
• The virginia declaration was a model bill of rights. It
greatly influenced the US declaration of independence.
Some notable provisions:
– section 1: all individuals are naturally equal and
independent and have some inherent rights.
– section 3: empowered people to replace governments
that did not meet their needs.
– Section 4: rejected the hereditary principle.
– section 7: the power to suspend laws should rest with
representatives of the people.
– Section 11: protected the life and liberty of all and
prohibited discrimination.
– Section 12: freedom of speech.
 1776: The United States Declaration of
Independence
In 1776, Thomas Jefferson and other prominent US
political figures wrote the US Declaration of
Independence, which proclaimed the right to life,
liberty and the pursuit of happiness, as well as
announced the colonies’ separation from Great
Britain. Adopted by Congress, the declaration is
based on the statement “all men are created equal”.
Although not legally binding, the document would
come to inspire many great future human rights
documents.
 1787: The Constitution of the United
States of America
The Constitution of the United States of America was
written in 1787 and is the longest surviving written
governmental charter in the world. It formed the
fundamental law of the US federal system of
government and defined the basic rights of the citizen.
The authors of the Constitution outlined the 3 sectors
of government: the executive, legislative, and judiciary
branches. This separation of powers created a system
of checks and balances that arguably prevented one
branch from having too much power.
1789: The Declaration of the Rights of Man
and of the Citizen
Inspired by the US Declaration of Independence and
the Enlightenment, and born of the French Revolution,
the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen
explains a list of “natural and inalienable” rights, such
as security, ownership, freedom, and resistance to
oppression. It echoes the importance of separation of
powers set forth in the US Declaration, as well as the
values of liberty, equality, and fraternity. This
declaration, like others of the time, would become one
of the most revered in history.
 1787 The Constitution of the United
States of America
The Constitution of the United States of America was written in
1787 and is the longest surviving written governmental charter
in the world. It formed the fundamental law of the US federal
system of government and defined the basic rights of the
citizen. The authors of the Constitution outlined the 3 sectors
of government: the executive, legislative, and judiciary
branches. This separation of powers created a system of
checks and balances that arguably prevented one branch from
having too much power.
 1789 The Declaration of the Rights of
Man and of the Citizen
Inspired by the US Declaration of Independence the
Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen
explains a list of “natural and inalienable” rights,
such as security, ownership, freedom, and resistance
to oppression. It echoes the importance of separation
of powers set forth in the US Declaration, as well as
the values of liberty, equality, and fraternity.
 US Bill of Rights 1791
The next document to be created was so important that some
delegates present at the creation of the Constitution did not
in fact sign it due to its lack of this at the time: the US Bill
of Rights. The bill contains the first 10 Amendments of the
Constitution and limits the powers of the federal
government, guarantees civil rights and liberties, and
protects basic freedoms such as speech, press and religion,
and the rights of all citizens, residents and visitors on US
territory. Although many documents at the founding of the
United States stated equality for all, it was a long time until
this was an actual reality.
 Important Amendments
• 1st Amendment: Protects freedom of religion, freedom of
speech, freedom of the press, freedom of assembly and the
right to petition the government.
• 2nd Amendment: Protects the right to keep and bear arms.
• 5th amendment: Sets out rules for indictment by grand jury
and eminent domain, protects the right to due process, and
prohibits self-incrimination and double jeopardy.
• 6th amendment: Protects the right to a speedy public trial by
jury, to notification of criminal accusations, to confront the
accuser, to obtain witnesses and to retain counsel
• 8th amendment: Prohibits excessive fines and excessive bail,
as well as cruel and unusual punishment
• 9th amendment: States that rights not enumerated in the
Constitution are retained by the people
 14th amendment: brown vs. board of
education
Supreme Court ruled unanimously (9–0) that racial
segregation in public schools violated the Fourteenth
Amendment to the Constitution, which prohibits the
states from denying equal protection of the laws to any
person within their jurisdictions. The decision declared
that separate educational facilities for white and African
American students were inherently unequal. It thus
rejected as inapplicable to public education the “separate
 League of nations and UN
The terrible losses of World War I produced, as years went by
and peace seemed no nearer, an ever-growing public demand
that some method be found to prevent the renewal of the
suffering and destruction which were now seen to be an
inescapable part of modern war. So great was the force of this
demand that within a few weeks after the opening of the Paris
Peace Conference in January 1919, unanimous agreement had
been reached on the text of the Covenant of the League of
Nations. Although the League was unable to fulfill the hopes of
its founders, its creation was an event of decisive importance in
the history of international relations. The League was formally
disbanded on April 19, 1946; its powers and functions had been
transferred to the nascent United Nations.