A Historical Study of Contemporary Human Rights: Deviation or Extinction?

• Main Authors: Tanel Kerikmäe, Ondrej Hamuľák, Archil Chochia
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Estonian Association of the History and Philosophy of Science 2016-10-01
• Series: Acta Baltica Historiae et Philosophiae Scientiarum
• Subjects: EU charter; generations of human rights; history of human rights; individual values; international legal standards; theoretical framework; state sovereignty
• Online Access: http://www.bahps.org/06_Kerikmae-Hamulak-Chochia-2016-2-06.pdf

Human rights is a core issue of continuing political, legal and economic relevance. The current article discusses the historical perceptions of the very essence of human rights standards and poses the question whether the Realpolitik of the changed world and Europe can justify the deviation from the “purist” approach to human rights. The EU Charter, as the most eminent and contemporary “bill of rights”, is chosen as an example of the divergence from “traditional values”. The article does not offer solutions but rather focuses on the expansive development in the doctrinal approach of interpreting human rights that has not been conceptually agreed upon by historians, philosophers and legal scholars.