ORIGIN OF THE CONCEPT (1) :

The idea of protecting human beings by codified laws is an age-old phenomenon. One of the most famous texts is the 1215 Magna Carta of England which emphasises the right to personal freedom. At the same time, in West Africa, the Mandé Charter or « KOUROUKAN FOUGA » defined the relationship between peoples based on ethical principles for purposes of maintaining peace. In England, the Magana Carta of 1215 was supplemented by the Petition of Rights of 1628 (which lays down the immutable freedoms of the subject before the King) and the Bill of Rights of 1689.

With the 16th century reformation, the Protestant reformation by Calvin established the principle of equality of all men before God; then Grotius, a Protestant legal expert, stated in 1625 that the human being certainly had duties but also inalienable rights. The English revolutions then became critical milestones in the formulation of the concept, whether by way of proclamations or after the restoration in 1660, the adoption of the habeas corpus in 1679 by the English Parliament which prohibited arbitrary detention. From 1688 onwards, the rule of law, a critical factor in the revolution, was institutionalised.

The Enlightenment philosophers propounded a theory out of it, in particular J. Locke, in his Treatise on Civil Government, advocated that power can only be legitimate when it is conferred on the holder by the subjects through consensus and that natural rights make it mandatory that State authority should be curtailed.

During the entire 16th century, the Declaration of Independence in 1776 by the United States and the Declaration of 26 August 1789 by French constituents made freedom an essential attribute of man. Above all, the 1789 Declaration was aimed at ensuring that individuals had the right to self-determination and to property ownnership, under the control of the State. These were called first generation « rights » inspired by the liberal-minded model.

The second generation « rights » (labour and cultural rights...) are rights to claims in the area of services which call for State guarantee or intervention, and it was inspired by the Socialists.

	ORIGIN OF THE CONCEPT (1) : The idea of protecting human beings by codified laws is an age-old phenomenon. One of the most famous texts is the 1215 Magna Carta of England which emphasises the right to personal freedom. At the same time, in West Africa, the Mandé Charter or « KOUROUKAN FOUGA » defined the relationship between peoples based on ethical principles for purposes of maintaining peace. In England, the Magana Carta of 1215 was supplemented by the Petition of Rights of 1628 (which lays down the immutable freedoms of the subject before the King) and the Bill of Rights of 1689. With the 16th century reformation, the Protestant reformation by Calvin established the principle of equality of all men before God; then Grotius, a Protestant legal expert, stated in 1625 that the human being certainly had duties but also inalienable rights. The English revolutions then became critical milestones in the formulation of the concept, whether by way of proclamations or after the restoration in 1660, the adoption of the habeas corpus in 1679 by the English Parliament which prohibited arbitrary detention. From 1688 onwards, the rule of law, a critical factor in the revolution, was institutionalised. The Enlightenment philosophers propounded a theory out of it, in particular J. Locke, in his Treatise on Civil Government, advocated that power can only be legitimate when it is conferred on the holder by the subjects through consensus and that natural rights make it mandatory that State authority should be curtailed. During the entire 16th century, the Declaration of Independence in 1776 by the United States and the Declaration of 26 August 1789 by French constituents made freedom an essential attribute of man. Above all, the 1789 Declaration was aimed at ensuring that individuals had the right to self-determination and to property ownnership, under the control of the State. These were called first generation « rights » inspired by the liberal-minded model. The second generation « rights » (labour and cultural rights...) are rights to claims in the area of services which call for State guarantee or intervention, and it was inspired by the Socialists.
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