📚Understanding Access to Remedies

🗿What are Human Rights?

Human rights are a set of universal principles concerned with the inherent dignity of a person, equality, and fairness. They recognize the inherent value of each person, regardless of background, status, geographical location, beliefs, appearance, and thoughts. Universal human rights are often expressed and guaranteed by law in the forms of treaties, customary international law, general principles, and other sources of international law.

Human rights include the right to life and liberty, freedom from slavery and torture, freedom of opinion and political expression, the right to work and education, and many more. They are indivisible and interdependent.

Article 5 to Article 10 of Malaysia’s Federal Constitution safeguards the rights of all persons in Malaysia.

PART II OF MALAYSIA’S FEDERAL CONSTITUTION

FUNDAMENTAL LIBERTIES

5. Liberty of the person 6. Slavery and forced labour prohibited 7. Protection against retrospective criminal laws and repeated trials 8. Equality 9. Prohibition of banishment and freedom of movement 10. Freedom of speech, assembly and association 11. Freedom of religion 12. Rights in respect of education 13. Rights to property

Source

• Malaysia’s Federal Constitution

📐What is the Rule of Law?

The rule of law is a principle of governance in which all persons, institutions, and entities, including public and private, are accountable to laws that are publicly promulgated, equally enforced, and independently adjudicated, and which are consistent with international human rights norms and standards.

It requires measures to ensure adherence to the principles of

• supremacy of the law,

• equality before the law,

• accountability to the law,

• fairness in the application of the law, separation of powers,

• participation in decision-making,

• legal certainty and avoidance of arbitrariness,

• procedural and legal transparency.

The rule of law is fundamental to international peace and security and political stability; to achieve economic and social progress and development, and to protect people’s rights and fundamental freedoms. It is foundational to people’s access to public services, curbing corruption, restraining the abuse of power, and establishing the social contract between people and the state. Rule of law and development are strongly interlinked, and a strengthened rule-of-law-based society should be considered as an outcome of the 2030 Agenda and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The rule of law is not an abstract concept. It intersects with all areas of life from the way people are treated in society, to the abuse of power, and our access to justice. For example, the rule of law lens is critical in analyzing emerging issues such as the proliferation of hate speech and incitement to violence; preventing radicalization/violent extremism; climate change and the environment impacting on the security and livelihoods of people; and the complexities of artificial intelligence and cybercrime.

Access to justice and remedies are basic principles of the Rule of Law.