Human Relations as a Source of Law

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According to John Finnis, legal norms are based on the relationship between people and must include the aspirations and parameters of the members of a society, recognizing and respecting human dignity as an intrinsic principle for all. The law must serve the human person in the search for human flourishing and must be the main source of guarantee of human rights.

At present, we can observe the great importance of the law-creating institutions (parliament, legislative branch) in the states since they are the main source of law creation. On the other hand, emphasis should be placed on the institutions responsible for interpreting these laws (constitutional or supreme judges) since they are responsible for interpreting the loopholes of the law through judicial decisions and putting into practice the laws that have been created before these situations occur in today’s society.

Over time the constitutional court judges in different countries have performed an overly central role in the process of creating and interpreting laws and legal norms, becoming the only one who has been able to adapt it with situations that arise in today’s societies and that adapt to public morality. However, this function has been the subject of multiple discussions as many argue that it is not the judge who should create norms because it is a function of the legislative power while others express that the supreme or constitutional judge is responsible for interpreting the constitutional norm in different states and, therefore, can create law in this way.

Being an advocacy intern has helped me understand the importance of the role of institutions that create and interpret the law in today’s societies. Similarly, living this experience in the World Youth Alliance has taught me that all norms promulgated and interpreted must be based on the recognition and respect for the human dignity of each and every member of a given society, from conception without any distinction.

 

Having the opportunity to attend the commissions developed at the United Nations by ECOSOC on behalf of WYA was a unique opportunity to understand the importance of the resolutions that are approved. In the same way, this experience taught me that any policy that states implement in the internal legal order must be based on the person as the essential tool of social development.

I believe that despite the multiple positions facing judicial activism today, we must consider that it has served as a central tool to interpret current legal norms and provide a direct relationship between law and social problems. This is due to judges who can take reasonable measures in situations that are not foreseeable by the same law and that ultimately result in the general interest. Finally, it is of great importance to mention that the effective and positive way of accepting judicial activism is that it is based on guaranteeing human relations as the center of its foundation.

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Published: June 12, 2020
Written by: Mauricio Toledo, a WYA Advocacy intern from Colombia

WYA is currently offering online internships through our regional offices! Send your WYA regional office an email for more details. 

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