5.4.7 Human Rights as a Legal Safeguard

(This is an archived extract from the book Patterns of Power: Edition 2)

The moral aspect of human rights, as the basis of an agreed standard of behaviour, was discussed in the previous chapter (4.2.4). A society can embody some human rights in the Legal Dimension of a governance structure, as principles that are deemed important and enduring; laws can be changed by later generations of legislators, but if the separation of powers is operating correctly (5.2.8) the changing of a law requires a wider consensus than the support of the government of the day. Human Rights are often embodied in a Constitution, which can only be changed with a very large majority, as a way of making it less likely that they would be overridden in some future moment of stress (5.2.2).

Human rights can provide various forms of safeguard, as follows:

· They can protect individuals from oppression (5.4.7.1).

· Entitlements can be guaranteed as human rights (5.4.7.2).

· Human rights can support the exercise of judicial discretion (5.4.7.3).

· Governments can be prevented from legalising oppression (5.4.7.4).

· National court rulings can be overruled (5.4.7.5).