In this book I argue for an approach that conceives human rights as both moral and legal
rights. The merit of such an approach is its capacity to understand human rights more in terms
of the kind of world free and reasonable beings would like to live in rather than simply in
terms of what each individual is legally entitled to. While I acknowledge that every human
being has the moral entitlement to be granted living conditions that are conducive to a
dignified life I maintain at the same time that the moral and legal aspects of human rights
are complementary and should be given equal weight. The legal aspect compensates for the
limitations of moral human rights the observance of which depends on the conscience of the
individual and the moral aspect tempers the mechanical and inhumane application of the
law.Unlike the traditional or orthodox approach which conceives human rights as rights that
individuals have by virtue of their humanity and the political or practical approach which
understands human rights as legal rights that are meant to limit the sovereignty of the state
the moral-legal approach reconciles law and morality in human rights discourse and underlines
the importance of a legal framework that compensates for the deficiencies in the implementation
of moral human rights. It not only challenges the exclusively negative approach to fundamental
liberties but also emphasizes the necessity of an enforcement mechanism that helps those who
are not morally motivated to refrain from violating the rights of others. Without the legal
mechanism of enforcement the understanding of human rights would be reduced to simply framing
moral claims against injustices.From the moral-legal approach the protection of human rights
is understood as a common and shared responsibility. Such a responsibility goes beyond the
boundaries of nation-states and requires the establishment of a cosmopolitan human rights
regime based on theconviction that all human beings are members of a community of fate and that
they share common values which transcend the limits of their individual states. In a
cosmopolitan human rights regime people are protected as persons and not as citizens of a
particular state.
