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# 1 Course overview

This course will look at the concept of rights in their broadest sense:

- a freedom to do or be protected from something;

- a claim to do or enjoy something;

- a power to do something which affects others and not to be challenged over that use of power.

This concept of rights defines the position of an individual and does not consider collective or majority rights. As you may already know, the subject of rights, and in particular of human rights, is a growing area. There are a number of differing academic opinions as ideas about rights change and expand alongside changes and developments in society.

## Activity 1: Rights

0h 15m

The table below lists articles and corresponding rights established by the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). Look at that table and think of an example of a right for each of the three categories below:

- a freedom to do or be protected from something;

- a claim to do or enjoy something;

- a power to do something which affects others and not to be challenged over that use of power.

## Table 1 European Convention articles and corresponding rights

Article of ECHR | Right
--- | ---
2 | Right to life
3 | Right to be free from torture and from inhuman and degrading treatment
4 | Freedom from slavery and enforced labour
5 | Liberty of the person
6 | Right to a fair trial
7 | Freedom from retrospective punishment
8 | Right to respect for private and family life, home and correspondence
9 | Freedom of thought, conscience and religion
10 | Freedom to receive and impart ideas and information
11 | Freedom of association
12 | Right to marry and found a family
13 | Right to an effective remedy
14 | Right to enjoy other Convention rights without discrimination
Protocol 1 Article 1* | Right to peaceful enjoyment of possessions
Protocol 1 Article 2 | Right to education
Protocol 1 Article 3 | Right to free and fair elections
Protocol 4 Article 1 | Prohibition of imprisonment for debt
Protocol 6 Article 1 | Abolition of the death penalty
Protocol 7 Article 2 | Right to appeal on conviction or sentence
Protocol 7 Article 3 | Right to compensation for victims of miscarriages of justice

* A total of 14 protocols have been added to the original ECHR. These reflect changing cultures and needs.

### Discussion

Although there may be different ways of interpreting these categories, some of the examples you may be aware of include:

- a freedom to do or to be protected from something, such as freedom of association, freedom from slavery and enforced labour, freedom from retrospective punishment;

- a claim to do or enjoy something, such as the right to peaceful enjoyment of possessions, the right to a fair trial;

- a power to do something which affects others and not to be challenged over that use of power, such as the freedom to receive and impart ideas and information.

◄Contents►Next: 2 Part A: The growth of international human rights and humanitarian law

OpenLearn - Human rights and law
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