4.
1 INTRODUCTION
Rights and Duties are interrelated, because where there are rights, there are
duties, and people are given rights to protect them and fulfill their duties to the
state. Duties and rights go hand in hand. It is not wrong to say that both twins
grew up from one root. Both concepts of rights and duties have been
thoroughly discussed under the Jurisprudence. Many internationally
renowned lawyers and scholars try to define their ideas and criticize the ideas
of others.
Meaning of Rights
The Rights in the general sense mean different things, but it is usually
understood as the standard of actions allowed in a given area. As a legal
term, it refers to the standard of conduct permitted by law. Such permitted
action of the people is called their legal right. The Legal right should be
distinguished from the moral right or natural right. Legal rights are the
interests recognized and protected by law. Violation of this interest is a
violation of the law and respect for that is a legal duty. Moral law or natural
law refers to the interests recognized and protected by natural justice.
Violating this interest would be moral evil and respect, for that is, a sense of
moral duty.
Definitions of Rights
Broadly speaking, it means that actions permitted by law are called legal
rights, or actions recognized or protected by the state are called legal rights.
The definition is given by many lawyers such as Holland, Austin, Pollock, etc.
As per Austin, right is personnel which lives in a determinate party or parties
by temperance of a given law and which profits against a party or parties (or
answers to an obligation lying on a party or parties) other than the party or
parties in whom it lives. As indicated by him, an individual can be said to have
a privilege just when another or others are bound or obliged by law to
accomplish something or hold back concerning him. It implies that a right has
consistently a relating duty. This definition, as it shows up on its very face, is
defective on the grounds that in this definition there is no place for blemished
rights.
Holland in one way or another follows the definition given by Austin. As per
him, “capacity residing in one man of controlling, with the assent and
assistance of the state the actions of others.”
Salmond characterizes directly from an alternate point. He says, “A right is
an interest recognized and protected by a rule of right’. It is an interest in
respect for which is a duty, and disregard of which is wrong.”
According to Gray: A legitimate right is “that power which the man has, to
make an individual or people to do to or limit from doing a specific
demonstration or acts so particularly far as the power emerges from society
forcing a lawful duty upon the individual or people.” He expresses that the
“right isn’t simply the interest, it is the way to appreciate the interest got.”
In the case of the State of Rajasthan versus Union of India, the
Supreme Court expressed that “Legal rights in the exact sense are
correlatives of legitimate duties and lawful rights are characterized as the
interests which the law ensures by forcing duties on different people. In any
case, the lawful right in the exacting sense implies right is the insusceptibility
from the legal power of another. Immunity is no subjection by any means.”
Concept of Duties
Duty is also an action. Duty is a service to others, A person is responsible for
a country and a man. It acts against unfair laws. These are the main duties
enforced by the law. If the duty is not properly performed, it will constitute an
offense under the law. The kinds of duties consist of moral and legal duties.
The classification of duties includes primary and secondary duty, positive and
negative duty, and absolute and relative duty, such as protecting and
maintaining the environment. Cleanliness is a person’s responsibility to the
country.
Duties under the Constitution of India
Article 51-A of the Constitution of India guarantees certain duties to all Indian
citizens. Article 51-A of the Constitution of India stipulates that all Indian
citizens must abide by the provisions of the Constitution and respect the
national flag and the National anthem:
1. To safeguard the sovereignty and integrity of India
2. To follow the noble ideals of a national struggle
3. To defend the country and contribute to national service when called 4. To
preserve the national heritage of the country;
5. To promote and maintain the harmony of brotherhood amongst the people
of India. 6. To protect the dignity of women
7. To protect the natural habitat, including forests, lakes, rivers, and wildlife;
8. To protect public property and to avoid violence;
9. To contribute to the development of the nation in all spheres.
Importance and Characteristic of Legal
Rights:
1. Legal rights exist only in society– these rights are the
consequence of humans being a social animal.
2. Spurs the development of the nation– these rights are the
pillars to building a strong and constantly developing nation.
3. Rights are recognized by the all people in a society.
4. These are rational and moral claims– These are not illogical and
do not depend on hit and trial methods.
5. Since rights are present in a society, these cannot be exercised
against the society or against social good of the society.
6. Rights are equally available to all the people without any kind
of discrimination.
7. These rights are dynamic. They can be changed according to
the situations and conditions prevailing in the society.
8. Rights are not absolute. They can never be. These have certain
limitations attached to it that are deemed essential for
maintaining public health, security, order and morality.
9. Rights are correlated with duties. They have an intimate
relationship between them, they usually go hand in hand.
10. These are protected and enforced by the laws of the state. It
is the inherent duty of the government to take various measure to
protect the rights of the people.
Importance of Duties
Duties follow rights. The same is expressed by Mahatma Gandhiji in
these words, “If we discharge our duties, rights will not be far too
seek.”
Every right or duty comes with a covenant of obligation of legal nature
in which two or more persons are bound together. One has an
obligation to perform for the other and to ask for duty to be performed
is the other person’s right. Therefore, for any obligation to exist there
has to exist an entity to whom the obligation is due; similarly for a right
to exist there has to be an entity who asks for the obligation to be
performed to whom it is due; and for a violation to occur there has to
be a person whose obligation has not been met which means his right
to get the due obligation has been blocked. This is also called
as vinculum juris which means “a bond of the law”. It is a tie that
legally binds one person to another.[6]
Such a relationship is interpersonal in nature, rights and duties are
corresponding entities. Having a right implies that the other person
should respect that right by performing the corresponding duty. Right
to life also comes with a duty to respect the other’s right to life that is
to not disturb his life. Thus, it is this reciprocal and corollary nature of
duties that enhance our rights and govern the inter-relationship
between individuals in a democratic society.
When a person is required to fulfill two duties at the same time the
following guideline have to be followed :- [7]
1. Duties towards God must be given priority over those towards men.
2. Duties that secure public order or the common good have priority over
those that safeguard the individual.
3. Duties towards the family and relatives take precedence over those
towards strangers.
4. Duties of greater importance take precedence to those of lesser
importance.
5. Duties based on higher laws take precedence over those coming from
lower laws.
Characteristics of Duties
A duty is a responsibility to be fulfilled. It is the guideline, a
prescription to be followed which details the conduct which must
be followed when fulfilling duties which are moral or social in
nature. Professor Fuller states the main attributes of duty as :- [8]
1. It should be general, though limited exceptions are permissible.
2. It should be promulgated.
3. It should be prospective and intelligible.
4. It must be consistent.
5. It should be capable of fulfillment and congent with inner
morality.
Other characteristics can be summed as –
1. Basic ideology is that it is an obligation for something in return.
2. It is a concept that is prescribed -to be followed but is not
mandatory in nature.
3. It is a commitment which is moral towards someone and must be
performed for that individual.
4. There is restriction of free will but by the operation of law.
5. Negative Duties which arise from Natural Law are not exempted.
6. Affirmative Duties which arise from the affirmative precepts of
Natural Law admit exemptions only when the act is rendered
impossible to be performed under certain circumstances or if it is
causing excessive hardship on the person.
7. Hardships which are a part of the process of the obligation and
are a part of normalcy in accordance with the nature of the duty
will not result in any exemption
8. Only a strong reason can stop one from the compliance of a duty.
For instance, a student must attend classes unless sickness
prevents him from doing so.
