Document Type : Original Article

Author

• Ali Ansari Baygi

Ph.D student in the field of Islamic philosophy and theology, University of Tehran, Tehran, I.R.Iran

Abstract

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights is one of the most important and influential documents that casts a shadow on various areas of human life today. It is certain that this document was formed based on different foundations and schools. Examining the foundations of the declaration is important because it plays a role in determining the political and legal positions of every country and civilization. Among these foundations, we can mention the issue of the origin of rights and laws. The school of natural law, which seeks the origin of law in the essence of actions, is the oldest school in answering this issue. The main problem of the article is what is the relationship between the Universal Declaration and the school of natural law? Therefore, this research intends to examine the school of natural law, by referring to the in-text evidence of the declaration and with an inferential analytical approach and with an interpretive approach to some words of the declaration and also using its external references to measure the relationship of the universal declaration with it. The findings of the research show the special connection of the Universal Declaration with this school. The declaration's focus on the position of human dignity, the equality of rights and their inalienability in the introduction of the declaration, as well as the emphasis on its universality and inclusiveness towards religions, races, etc., indicate that the declaration cannot have a valid relationship with the schools of thematic law or the historical school. Rather, it is based on the school of natural law. Although in this field, sometimes non-independent and sometimes independent writings are found; However, the advantage of the present article can be seen in its analytical and interpretation method and its focus on the words of the declaration and its intra-textual and extra-textual centrality.

Keywords

• Universal Declaration of Human Rights
• Human Rights
• Natural Rights
• Positive Rights