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Assignment

Business Ethics

Topic:

 What are rights and its kinds? Explain.


 What is Justice? Explain.

Submitted to:

 Ma’am Anila

Submitted by:

 Ruqqia Saeed

Roll no: BSF1600409


BBA (HONS)
Semester 5th
Section B
Rights
Rights are those essential conditions of social life without which no person can generally realize his best
self. These are the essential conditions for health of both the individual and his society. It is only when
people get and enjoy rights that they can develop their personalities and contributes their best services
to the society.

Meaning:

In simple words, rights are the common claims of people which every civilized society recognizes as
essential claims for their development, and which are therefore enforced by the state.

Definition:

 "Rights are those conditions of social life without which no man can seek in general, to be
himself at his best." (Laski)
 "Rights are powers necessary for the fulfilment of man’s vocation as a moral being.” (T. H.
Green)
 "Rights are nothing more nor less than those social conditions which are necessary or favourable
to the development of personality" (Beni Prasad)

As such, Rights are common and recognized claims of the people which are essential for their
development as human beings.

Characteristics of rights:

 Rights are those claims of the individual


 Rights are granted to the people by the state which are essential for his development and self-
realization.
 Rights must serve the higher interests of society. They have a moral basis.
 They are recognized by the society.
 Rights and duties are correlated.
 Rights are dynamic in nature.
 Rights are related to politics but they differ in their nature.
 Rights are not absolute. Restrictions can be placed on rights in the interest and welfare of
society as a whole.
 Rights should be universal. They should be given to all members of society.
 Rights must be related to the needs of people.

Types of rights:
Types of rights are:

 Moral rights
o Negative rights
o Positive rights
o Contractual rights
 Legal rights
o Civil rights
o Political rights
o Economic rights
 Fundamental rights
 Human rights

Moral rights:

Moral rights are based on our ethical awareness and on a sense of morality and Justice. As these rights
are not normally enforced by the court of law but by the customary provision, its breach may not
amount to punishment by the state.

There are three types of moral rights:

 Negative rights:

A right is a negative right when the duty implied by the right is the duty of others to not do
something.

Example:

o Property, life, freedom of speech etc


 Positive rights:
A right is a positive right when it implies the duty of someone else to DO something for the right
holder.
Example:
o Due process, legal representation, informed consent accessibility life etc.

 Contractual rights:

Contractual rights and duties (sometimes called special rights and duties or special obligations)
are the limited rights and correlative duties that arise when one person enters an agreement
with another person.

Example:

o If I contract to do something for you, then you are entitled to my performance. You
acquire a contractual right to whatever I promised, and I have a contractual duty to
perform as I promised.

Legal rights:

Legal rights are recognized by the state and are enforced by the court of law. Therefore, its violation will
lead to punishment.

There are three types of legal rights:


 Civil rights:
Civil rights are the basic rights. It is sanctioned by the government. They are the right of
individual to receive the equal treatment in the number of settings including education,
employment, housing and more and based on certain legally-protected characteristics.
These rights include rights to life, family, equality of law, religion, and freedom of speech,
freedom of movement, freedom of profession, form association, property and social security.

 Political rights:
Political right includes right to vote, contest elections, public employment, and petition and
criticize the government.

 Economic rights:
These are the rights by which you can lead your life and fulfil the basic needs. Economic rights
include right to work, property, economic security and rest.

Fundamental rights:
Fundamental rights are a charter of rights contained in the constitution. It guarantees civil liberties
which includes individual rights common to most liberal democracies. The fundamental rights are basic
human freedoms which every citizen has the right to enjoy. These rights include rights against
exploitation, cultural and educational rights and right to constitutional remedies.

Human rights:
Human rights are the rights that all people have by virtue of being human beings. Human rights are
derived by the inherent dignity of human person and are defined internationally, nationally and locally
by various law making bodies.
Key principles of human rights are:
 Fairness
 Respect
 Equality
 Dignity

The characteristics of human rights:

 Universal
 Internationally guaranteed
 Legally protected
 Protects individuals groups
 Cannot be taken away
 Equal and indivisible
 Oblige states and state actors
Theories of right:
There are compelling theories of rights offered by several scientists

 Utilitarianism:

For the utilitarian, the just action is that which, relative to all other possible actions, maximises utility
or “the good”. This is the utility principle. Utilitarianism is solely consequentialist; the justice or
injustice of an action or state of affairs is determined exclusively by the consequences it brings about.
If an action maximises utility, it is just. On this account, therefore, rights are purely instrumental. It is
also worth noting that many in the utilitarian tradition have expressed hostility to the notion of rights
of any sort. Utilitarian will honour a right if and only if it will lead to the maximisation of utility. This
statement also indicates the limits of all rights. If the exercise of a particular will not maximise utility,
the utilitarian is obligated to violate that person’s rights for the sake of utility. The point at which the
letter of the right defeats the purpose is the point at which society may justly curtail that right.

Rights are limited by the utility principle. If the exercise of a right maximises the good, the right ought
to hold. If it fails to do so, the right may be justly abridged.

 Kantianism (Deontology):

Kant proposes that the essence of morality is captured by what has been called the Categorical
Imperative.

The Categorical Imperative is a rule for testing rules of conduct. It will exclude as immoral any rule of
conduct that implies that one person may do something but another, in relevantly similar
circumstances, may not. In other words, it demands consistency.

This is relevant to human rights, because we think of human rights as universally applicable to human
beings. And Kant says that what is morally permissible applies to all rational beings. It is also relevant
that this test tends to endorse rules of action that protect our most basic interests, just the sorts of
things that rights protect.

Kantianism is an explicitly non-consequentialist ethic. Kant believed that the consequences of our
actions are often determined by contextual factors beyond the control of the individual. Ethics must
be a matter of intentions, these being the only things we can evaluate without extrinsic influence.
The right action therefore is that which is done in conformity with our moral duty, regardless of
consequence.

In the Groundwork for the Metaphysics of Morals, Kant argued that one ought to “act only according
to that maxim whereby one can, at the same time, will that it should become a universal law.” In
other words, our own conduct is only ever just if we can in all conscience will that every other person
acted the same way. In the same work, he also professed that one should “Treat humanity, never
merely as a means to an end, but always at the same time as an end.” Similarly, our conduct is only
just if, in acting, we do not use any other person as a tool to achieve our own objectives. In common
way, our moral duty is to only act where our actions satisfy the two tests outlined universalizability
and the ends/means requirement.
 Laski's Theory of Rights:

Harold Laski describes rights as “those conditions of social life without which no man can seek, in general,
to be himself at his best”. Laski calls rights as conditions of social life. Rights are social concept and deeply
linked with social life. The essentiality of rights is established by the fact that individuals claim them for the
development of their best self. He places rights, individuals and state on the same board in the sense that
they cannot be separated from each other and there is no antagonism between them. Laski recommends the
long-cherished view that the state has a very important role to play in the realisation and, before that,
recognition of human rights. On legal theories of rights, Laski examines the legal theory of state. The central
principle of the legal theory of rights is that they completely depend upon the institutions and recognition of
state. An individual cannot claim rights if those are not recognised by the state. Mere recognition, moreover,
is not sufficient for the exercise of rights. The state must, through law and institutions, implement the rights.

The most significant part of Laski’s theory is functional aspect of rights. It emphasizes on the relation
between right and duty. He stated that Rights are correlative to functions. The functional theory emphasizes
that an individual is entitled to claim rights only when he performs duty otherwise the claim or demand for
right cannot be entertained. This definitely opposes widely known theory of legal theory of rights. But today,
rights are recognised and protected mainly on political considerations.

 Barker’s Theory of Right:


Barker’s view is not theoretically dissimilar from that of Laski. Both are liberal philosophers, but Barker
has a clear bias to idealism. The main purpose of every political organisation called state is to see that
the personality of the individual gets ample scope for development. It is the duty of the state to
guarantee and secure the conditions essential for that objective. These secured and guaranteed
conditions are called rights. Individual’s personality cannot develop automatically or under most
adverse or antagonistic environment. Development of personality requires favourable conditions and
these are to be guaranteed by the state through the enactment of law.

Barker also discusses the moral aspect of rights. He says that law of the state helps me to secure
rights. But rights are claims and the origin is the individual himself. The individual is a moral person
and it is his determination that he will develop his moral personality through the rights.

Q2: What is Justice?

Justice is the most important and most discussed objective of the State, and Society. It is the basis of
orderly human living. Justice demands the regulation of selfish actions of people for securing a fair
distribution, equal treatment of equals, and proportionate and just rewards for all. It stands for harmony
between individual interests and the interests of society.

Justice is of central importance to political theory. In defending or opposing laws, policies, decisions and
actions of government, appeals are made in the name of justice. Persons involved in every agitation for
securing their interests always raise the slogan: “We want Justice”. All civil rights movements are
essentially movements for justice.
Justice stands for rule of law, absence of arbitrariness and a system of equal rights, freedoms and
opportunities for all in society. In fact, Justice Stands recognized as the first virtue or ideal or objective to
be secured.

Meaning:

Justice is a complex concept and touches almost every aspect of human life. The word Justice has been
derived from the Latin word Jungere meaning ‘to bind or to tie together’. The word ‘Jus’ also means
‘Tie’ or ‘Bond’. In this way Justice can be defined as a system in which men are tied or joined in a close
relationship. Justice seeks to harmonise different values and to organise upon it all human relations. As
such, Justice means bonding or joining or organising people together into a right or fair order of
relationships.

Definitions:
 “Justice means to distribute the due share to everybody.” (Salmond)
 “Justice protects the rights of the individual as well as the order of society.” (Dr. Raphael)
 “Justice consists in a system of understandings and a procedure through which each is accorded
what is agreed upon as fair.”-C.E. Merriam
In other words, Justice means securing and protecting of rights of all in a fair way. It stands for harmony
among all the people, orderly living and securing of rights of all in a just and fair way.

Key Features of Justice:

 Justice is related to mutual relationships of persons living in society.


 Justice is based on values and traditions of society.
 Justice is related to all aspects of human behaviour in society. Laws are made and courts are set
up with this aim in view.
 Aim of Justice is to provide equal rights, opportunities and facilities to all in a fair way.
 The function of Justice is to harmonise individual interests with the interests of society
 Justices is a primary value and it is inseparably related to other values like Liberty, Equality and
Property.
 Justice is the principle of balancing or reconciling human relations in society in such a way as
enables each one to get his due rights, towards and punishments.
 Justice has several dimensions: Social Justice, Economic Justice, Political Justice and Legal
Justice.

Types of Justice
There are different kinds of justice:

 Distributive justice
 Procedural justice
 Retributive justice
 Restorative justice
 Compensatory justice

Distributive justice
Distributive justice, or economic justice, is concerned with giving all members of society a "fair share" of
the benefits and resources available. However, while everyone might agree that wealth should be
distributed fairly, there is much disagreement about what counts as a "fair share." Some possible criteria
of distribution are equity, equality, and need. Fair allocation of resources, or distributive justice, is
crucial to the stability of a society and the well-being of its members. When issues of distributive
justice are inadequately addressed and the item to be distributed is highly valued, intractable conflicts
frequently result.

Procedural justice
Procedural justice is concerned with making and implementing decisions according to fair processes that
ensure "fair treatment." Rules must be impartially followed and consistently applied in order to
generate an unbiased decision. Those carrying out the procedures should be neutral, and those directly
affected by the decisions should have some voice or representation in the decision-making process. If
people believe procedures to be fair, they will be more likely to accept outcomes, even ones that they
do not like. Implementing fair procedures is central to many dispute resolution procedures,
including negotiation, mediation, arbitration, and adjudication.

Retributive justice
Retributive justice appeals to the notion of "just desert" the idea that people deserve to be treated in
the same way they treat others. It is a retroactive approach that justifies punishment as a response to
past injustice or wrongdoing. The central idea is that the offender has gained unfair advantages through
his or her behavior, and that punishment will set this imbalance straight. In other words, those who do
not play by the rules should be brought to justice and deserve to suffer penalties for their
transgressions. In addition to local, state, and national justice systems, retributive justice also plays a
central role in international legal proceedings, responding to violations of international law, human
rights, and war crimes.

Restorative justice
Restorative justice focuses on violations as crimes against individuals. It is concerned with
healing victims' wounds, restoring offenders to law-abiding lies, and repairing harm done to
interpersonal relationships and the community. Victims take an active role in directing the exchange
that takes place, as well as defining the responsibilities and obligations of offenders. Offenders are
encouraged to understand the harm they have caused their victims and take responsibility for it.
Restorative justice aims to strengthen the community and prevent similar harms from happening in the
future. At the national level, such processes are often carried out through victim-offender mediation
programs, while at the international level restorative justice is often a matter of instituting truth and
reconciliation commissions.
Compensatory justice
Compensatory justice refers to the extent to which people are fairly compensated for their injuries by
those who have injured them; just compensation is proportional to the loss inflicted on a person. This is
precisely the kind of justice that is at stake in debates over damage to workers' health in coal mines.
Some argue that mine owners should compensate the workers whose health has been ruined. Others
argue that workers voluntarily took on this risk when they chose employment in the mines.

Principles of justice

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