The Hohfeldian Analysis Of Rights Philosophy Essay

The Hohfeldian Analysis Of veraciouss Philosophy Es recordThe concept of analyzing level-headed matures in a broader sense experience was presumptuousness by professor Wesley Newcomb Hohfeld. prof Hohfeld was born in 1879. He graduated in 1901 from the University of California and travel to Harvard Law School. in that location, he served in the capacity of editor of Harvard Law inspection and graduated with honors in 1904. Professor Hohfeld then taught from 1905-1913 at Stanford Law School. by and by in his c atomic number 18er, he shifted to Yale Law School. He taught at the prestigious justness school until his demise in 19181.Professor Hohfeld has contri hardlyed signifi fucktly to the field of Jurisprudence. He attempted to simplify the term full by creating an analysis that separates various core concepts in faithfulness. These core concepts were then shown to be inter-related and a role model of much(prenominal) relationships was construed. The analysis of the co nnectivity in relationships can shed out of work on implications of policy and decision making. Thus, his work has permitted the deconstruction of court-ordered principles into individual elements2.Professor Hohfeld has propounded that the diverse meanings of the term proper be often conflated in a single sentence. In any given sentence, the customs province is switched several sequences. This neediness of preciseness in the language subsequently bodes a lack of precision in thought and the conclusions that be derived in turn. His efforts to facilitate reasoning lead him to break the meaning of properlys into eight unique concepts. These terms ar defined with venerate to unrivalled a nonher to eliminate the presence of any ambiguity. intravenous feeding pairs of foes and interchangeables argon utter to subsist as illustrated below3.Jural Opposites lay out of the following1. Right/No-Right2. Privilege/Duty3. Power/Disability4. exemption/ financial obligationJur al Correlatives argon mainly listd by1. Right/Duty2. Privilege/No-Right3. Power/Liability4. Immunity/DisabilityRIGHTS AND DUTIESWhat is a c everywhere? A indemnify can be defined as an interest recognized, protected and enforced by law. rightness Strong has held The cry set is defined by lexicographers to donate, among early(a) things, property, interest, bureau, prerogative, opposition, privilege (Walkers Dict. intelligence service Right). In law it is most frequently applied to property in its limit sense, but it is often employmentd to designate provide, prerogative, and privilege,4Justice Jackson5 hike solid grounds The words compensate or privilege cede, of course, a variety of meanings, jibe to the connection or context in which they are used. Their definition, are given by standard lexicographers, imply that which one and only(a) has a sanctioned bang to do, sub judice mightiness, authority, immunity granted by authority, the investiture with special or peculiar arights.A man has several rights over both genuine as well as intangible asset objects. He in any case possesses rights as a individual such as the right to enjoy a certain reputation, the right to non be assaulted or injured, rights in a domestic environment and rights that are related to early(a) rights e.g. contractual rights. accredited other rights of a contractual temperament may also exist such as those rendered for service e.g. master and servant, doctor and patient. Rights over intangible objects would include copyrights, patents, trademarks etc. Thus, rights can be considered as advantages or benefits that are conferred by law6.Rights can be divided into 4 different kindsRights in the stringent senseLibertiesPowersImmunitiesThe correlatives of each of these rights are illustrated belowDutiesNo-RightsLiabilitiesDisabilities from each one and every right has a corresponding job. Duty may be defined as an internal feeling of an obligation towards someo ne. A transaction or a licit obligation is that which one ought or ought non to do. Duty and right are correlative terms. When a right is invaded, a duty is separated.7Rights and duties are like 2 sides of a coin and always go hand in hand. Thus, right and duty are correlative. This implies that if X enjoys a right against Y, then Y is duty bound to respect this right. Rights in the nonindulgent sense can therefore, be held to be benefits, which are derived from duties imposed upon others8. Several different kinds of rights exist. These are elucidated below.The archetypal classification is that of completedive tenseive rights and perfect duties. Rights which go a eagle-eyed with perfect duties are cognize as perfect rights and perfect duties are those which not only possess legal recognition but are also, strictly enforceable. Thus, a breach would constitute some action or prosecution and the State may use presumable force if requisite9.However, both rights and duties f all short of this perfect system10. Some exemplars of imperfect legal rights would include time prohibit claims, claims that cannot be enforced due to lack of proof, certain claims against states etc. art object in all these cases, there is no cause of action as yet legal recognition still exists. The principle of ubi jus ibi rapid eye movementedium which elbow room where there is a right, there is a rapid eye movement sleepedy, serves an exception to imperfect rights11.The second category is that of corroboratory and shunly charged rights. The correlative of these rights are positive and negative duties and acts performed by those in whom the duty vests determine the nature of the right. A positive act relates to a positive right whereas any abstinence from it would constitute a negative right12.A third distinction is made amidst rights in rem and rights in soulfulnessam. Both these terms energize been derived from civil law13. A right in rem is a right that exists agai nst the built-in world whereas a right in personam is against a specific individual. The right to spend my money from my wallet is a right in rem but the right to get it from a debtor is a right in personam. Similarly, the right to exclusive enjoyment of my apartment is a right in rem whereas upon the lease of the same apartment, only a right in personam would exist against the leasee. Rights in rem are considered as negative rights whereas rights in personam are usually positive in nature14.Rights in personam are pre prevalently derived from the existence of personal relations whereas rights in rem offer a relation between the owner and a plethora of individuals. Thus, rights in personam are held to be paucital rights and rights in rem are multital rights. A contractual right is a paucital right as it is specifically enforceable only between the parties placeing into a contract. A property right, on the other hand, is a multital right as the person has a right to exclude any an d every individual. In essence, it can be shelp that multital rights are constituted by several, separate yet identical paucital rights15. patented and personal rights form the fourth category. The former is concerned with value opus the latter(prenominal) is not. Value, in the case of proprietary rights, is derived from assets, estate, property and so forth. Rights, therefore, which are proprietary in nature deal with monetary or scotch value. On the contrary, personal rights are associated with status, reputation and welfare16. Right of not being inflicted with harm and rights in respect of domestic relationships can be called as personal rights17.Rights are also divided into jura in re propria and jura in re aliena. A right in re aliena, also termed as an encumbrance, is one which detracts from another(prenominal) in reference to a subject. Thus, the right is limited in its ambit with respect to the superior right. For instance, a attainlords right to use the property temporar ily may be restricted by a tenant. The 4 main classes that constitute jura in re aliena are servitudes, trusts, securities and leases. All other rights fall in the domain of jura in re propria18.A property owner has a jus in re propria i.e. a right over the property owned while a pledgee possesses a jus in re aliena i.e. a right over another persons property. A right is known as servient when it is subject to an encumbrance whereas the encumbrance derived is called dominant19. By subletting a property, the sublessee is conferred with a jus in re aliena by the tenant. Thus, the right of the tenant is servient with respect to the sublessee but dominant as against the landlord20.Servient and dominant rights are concomitant and may vary in their floor of coexistence. Leases, owes and easements are examples of the same. An opposite relationship is observed in the case of principal and accessory rights21. emancipation AND NO-RIGHTSLiberty is defined as the mold of a right without the dissonance of law. To say that A has part withdom means that A can do all that pleases because there exists no duty to refrain and at the same time, no one else can prohibit X from exercising casualness. There exists a relationship between all individuals that is woven together and held in a matrix. By collectively adding all the rights and duties across relationships, the extent and degree of autonomy can be determined. The classic example of perfect liberty is one where no one has any exclusive right to continue the occurrence of a given act22.Legal liberty encompasses a sphere within which the law leaves the individual alone. Liberty, however, does not mean interposition with another e.g. liberty to voice opinion on public personal business does not grant a person the right to publish defamation. Similarly, one has the liberty to self-defense against violence but no right is conferred to contain in revenge against someone who has caused the injury. A man has a perfect ri ght to fire off a gun, means, apparently, that a man has a freedom or liberty to fire of a gun, so long as he does not violate or infringe anyones rights in doing so, which is very different thing from a right, the violation or disturbance of which can be remedied or pr resultant roleed by legal process.23In Quinn v. Leatham24, cleric Lindley has stated The complainant had the ordinary rights of the British subject. He was at liberty to earn his living in his own way, willd he did not violate some law prohibiting him from so doing, and provided he did not infringe the rights of other people. This liberty involved the liberty to deal with other persons who were willing to deal with him. This liberty is a right recognised by law its correlative is the general duty of every one not to prevent the free exercise of this liberty or right to deal with others is nugatory unless they are at liberty to deal with him if they choose to do so. Any hang-up with their liberty to deal with him affects him.Liberty is therefore, the exercise of unrestrained activity permitted chthonic law. The primary difference between liberty and rights in strict sense is that things I may do for myself are classified as liberty whereas things which others ought to do in my respect are classified as rights in strict sense25.Legal liberty is considered as a legal right where any interference by other persons is not justified. During the prospect of ones opinions, it can be stated that other persons are legally duty bound not to curtail them. However, there exist liberties which do not enjoy the company of rights of a protective nature. Thus, a landowner, who gives a authorize to pass his property, can exercise an equal right to prevent the usage of his property as much as the liberty conferred by the pass granted by him. The license basically serves the purpose of making an improper act lawful. In Clifford v. ONeill26, the Court held A license is merely a permission to do an act whic h, without such permission, would amount to a trespassnor will the continuous enjoyment of the privilege conferred, for any period of time cause it to ripen into a tangible interest in the land affected.Similarly, a trustee has the liberty to ask for compensation from the estates beneficiaries for administration purposes. save the beneficiaries are low no duty or obligation to provide him with the same. Yet another example is that a extraneouser has the liberty to enter any country of his choice but the government can exercise an equal right to prevent the individual from entering. Thus, rights when classified as liberties aid in elucidating the meaning of law27.No-right is the correlative of liberty and consequently, of no duty. It is in truth a word that has been coined indicating the absence seizure of a right. The term no-right basically implies that a certain person does not have a right against another individual in a particular respect. The evolution of this term is verbal ize to have taken place in a negative context. So, if X has the liberty to undertake a particular act, it means that Y has no-right to say that the act will not be done e.g. a trespasser has no-right to be removed with force suggesting that the occupier has complete liberty of expulsion28.Another example that can be considered in the same light is that of an alien who has no duty not to enter a foreign country i.e. he has liberty to enter. By the same token, the authorities have a no-right against him i.e. they may not have any right in the strict sense though they may still possess a liberty to refrain him from entering. Cases in tort that are principally of Damnum sin Injuria in nature i.e. incurrence of some damage without the violation of a legal right are entirely no-right situations29.POWERS AND LIABILITIESYet another classification of legal rights can be seen in the form of powers. Several examples of powers exist. A few to name are the power to make a will, the power to r at a property if the mortgage holder does not beget pricker the mortgage money from the mortgagor, the right of re-entry that is possessed by a landlord, the power to destroy a contract for fraud, the power to take legal action against someone, the power to punish and arraign, the power to appoint officials for fulfilling functions, the right to issue an execution in respect of a certain judgement and other such powers vested in the judiciary to meet the ends of justice30.Powers constitute interests that are legally recognized. If one possesses power, one possesses the ability to change by ones own will, the liabilities, duties, rights and any other relations of oneself or with respect to other individuals31.Powers owe some affinity to liberties although they differ in the aspect that the act so performed need not be innocent. The power to create a will does not fee-tail that no wrong is done in the process. It does not mean that a will is made innocently, it simply implies tha t a right to create an strong will subsists. In a similar light, if a landlord possesses the right to re-enter his property, it does not mean that no wrong is committed but if such an act is committed, it does imply that the lease is effectively terminated32.Powers and rights in the strict sense can also be differentiated. In the latter case, a corresponding duty always coexists whereas this is absent in the former case. An example of the same is that the right to create a will does not dissolvent in a corresponding obligation for someone else. Similarly, one can see that the power to mete out the mortgagors property by a mortgagee does not create an obligation on the mortgagor to pay keister the mortgage money. It does, however, confer the right on the mortgagee to receive back the sum given as a debt to the mortgagor. A debt and an action to recover money fall under two different categories. While the first case can be classified as a right in the strict sense which would corr espond to a duty to repay, the latter is an example of a power given by law that imposes a liability and consequently, results in the institution of legal proceedings33.Powers can be classified based on the domains in which they are exercised. Hence, powers can be categorized as all private or public. Private powers are exercised by individuals with respect to themselves. Public powers, on the other hand, lie with state agencies or instruments that carry out public functions. Examples include powers exercised by the judiciary, law-makers and executive34.Power helps to determine legal relations and thus, gives rise to either authority or capacity. The term authority is defined as the movement of power over others whereas capacity is defined as the power exerted over oneself35.Liability of an individual arises when power is vested in another. It can broadly be defined as the alteration of a persons legal rights by the person who exercises power. A few examples that illustrate this concept are the determination of a lease by reentry of the landlord that places a liability on the tenant, liability of a disloyal partner to seek divorce, one against whom a judgement has been passed is nonresistant to have a decree of execution issued and the liability of a mortgagor that arises from the sale of the property by a mortgagee in the event of non-payment of the loan advanced36.Liability is unconcerned with the fruitful or unsuccessful result in any given case. It is inherent in nature and bears no relation with any duty to pay compensation. For instance, a person committing a tort is duty bound to pay compensation and is reasonable for an action to be brought against him/her as well. However, someone who is not a tortfeasor is not under any duty to pay compensation but is equally liable for an action to be instituted, that in all prospect will fail, as no grounds exist. Similarly, a statute in Virginia provided that all free white male persons who are twenty-one a ge of age and not over sixty, shall be liable to serve as jurors except as hereinafter provided.37This enactment resulted in the imposition of a liability and not a duty.Liability is said to be pure in nature with no-right. If a tenants goods are seized for non-payment of rent, he has no-right not to take into account his supplies to be handled by the landlord and at the same time, the liability to secure and sell the merchandise against his pleasure also remains in effect38.Liability can also be seen as an advantage or benefit. A person who professes to transfer his property as a gift by dint of the exercise of power, the person en actd to the gift has a liability to receive it. While referring to a gift causa mortis and the liability of the donee to have his gift revoked, Justice Smith has saidThe denomination to the gift causa mortis passed by the delivery, defeasible only in the lifetime of the donor, and his death perfects the title in the donee by terminating the donors right of power of defeasance. The property passes from the donor to the donee directlyand after his death it is liable to be divested only in favor of the donors creditors.His right and power ceased with his death.39IMMUNITIES AND DISABILITIESAnother category of rights is immunity from legal power. Immunity grants an exception to change any legal relations. The right of an individual to be tried by members of society of equal rest creates an exclusion from being tried by a jury. The relationship between immunity and power is identical to that of liberty and right in the strict sense. Immunity implies a complete lack of liability40.Cases of immunity from tax revenue are well documented in the U.S. In Phoenix Ins. v. Tennessee41, Justice Peekham stated the followingIn granting to the De Soto Company all the right, privileges, and immunities of the Bluff urban center Company, all words are used which could be regarded as necessary to carry the exemption from tax possessed by the Bl uff city Company while in the next following grant, that of the character of the plaintiff in error, the word immunity is omitted. Is there any meaning to be attached to that omission, and if so, what? We think some meaning is to be attached to it. The word immunity express more clearly and definitely an intention to include therein an exemption from taxation than does either of the other words. Exemption from taxation is more accurately described as an immunity than as a privilege, although it is not be denied that the latter word may sometimes and under some circumstances include such exemptions.Disability, the correlative of immunity, is better known as inability and signifies the absence of power. The legal maxim Nemo dat quod non habet which means that no person can transfer a better title in property than what is possessed by oneself, is an expression of disability42. abridgmentIn conclusion, 4 independent, unique and distinct classes of rights are guaranteed by law. These ar e rights in the strict sense, where law restricts others in my respect liberty, which permits a reasonable degree of freedom to pursue uninterrupted and unrestrained activity power, that gives a right to execute an action effectively and immunity, which creates an exemption from being subjected to a power. A right in the strict sense imposes a duty on others, a liberty allows an action to be performed innocently, a power confers the right to accomplish effectively and an immunity denies others the right to exercise power effectively in my respect43.Correlatives are related vertically and lease as is the presence of in another. Thus, duty is the presence of right in another and power is the presence of liability in another.Diagonal relationships indicate jural contradictories and are read as is the absence of in oneself. Thus, liberty is the absence of duty in oneself and immunity is the absence of liability in oneself.The contradictions of jural correlatives are connected by hori zontal arrows and can be read either way as is the absence of in another. Thus, no-right is the absence of duty in another and disability is the absence of liability in another44.