International Relations Questions
Uploaded by CaseyP on Jan 16, 2017
Student
Instructor
Course
Date
Moral Versus Legal Rights and Restorative Versus Retributive Justice
Question One: Human Rights: Moral or Legal Rights?
Introduction. By definition, human rights are privileges that are believed to belong justifiably to every human being; fundamentally, they apply to all human beings, regardless of their culture, race, ethnicity, religion, or sexual orientation — everybody is entitled to them by virtue of being human. Correspondingly, legal rights are claims that are recognized and delimited by the law with the aim of securing them; they are all the rights that are traceable in existing local codes. Essentially, legal positives assert that only the rights that can be alleged to exist legitimately are legal. Contrarily, moral rights are more of moral claims that may or may not be assimilated within international or national law; they propose what society thinks is the ethically right way to treat all people due to the fact that they are human. Over the years, a discourse has emerged on whether human rights should be categorized as legal or moral rights, as they fit various criteria of each of the two groups (Steiner, Alston, and Goodman 78). Nevertheless, prevailing studies as well as logical thinking demonstrate that human rights are more of moral rights than they are legal rights and should be classified as such. Essentially, this paper will defend this stand by demonstrating that both moral and human rights apply equality, and are inalienable, universal, and natural.
Equality. First both human rights and moral rights are equal; it is impossible for them to be distributed unjustly. Contrarily, it is possible for legal rights to be unequal; for instance, it is not rare for murderers to walk free after convincing a court of law after exploiting certain legal loopholes, consequently leading to injustice on the part of the victim and his/her family. As mentioned earlier, human rights automatically apply to everyone by virtue of them being human; there is no basis for discrimination, whether race, religion, or sexuality among others, meaning that they apply equally (Wellman 76). On this basis, human rights are moral rights due to the fact that they apply equally to all human beings.
Concept of Inalienability. Moreover, human rights, similar to moral rights are inalienable, whereas legal rights are alienable. Essentially, moral rights cannot be taken from a person without his/her consent, unless the person voluntarily surrenders them (Shortall 112). In a similar manner, human rights apply to every human...