Typology of the fourth generation of human rights

Abstract

The article examines the approaches of foreign and Ukrainian scientists to the division of human rights into three generations and the adoption of the category «fourth generation of human rights» into the scientific turnover. It has been established that both the initiative to put the said proposal into practice and the legislative consolidation of human rights defined as belonging to the fourth generation of human rights at national and international levels are ambiguously perceived by representatives of different nations. It is emphasized that human rights are a complex of natural and indestructible freedoms and legal possibilities, which have emerged due to the fact of human existence in society. Jurisprudence acknowledges the existence of three generations of human rights, each of which had arisen from the need to meet needs that arose alongside the course of human evolution. Nowadays, we can say that a radically new generation of human rights is emerging. Its appearance is related to the technological progress of humanity. The rights of the fourth generation are a category of rights that is ambiguously perceived by society in different countries. A large number of such rights is criticized both by religion and by morality. At the same time, notwithstanding the ongoing scientific debate on the formation of the fourth generation of human rights, it is necessary to acknowledge the existence of human rights, which include the right to die, the human right to dispose of the organs and tissues of his body, sexual rights, reproductive rights, the right to change sex, digital rights. The fourth generation of human rights is in its formation, and therefore the scientists’ proposed approaches to the classification of human rights based on exhaustive lists cannot fully reflect its actual state. In our opinion, at the present stage of its formation, the catalog of human rights of the fourth generation should include digital rights and somatic rights. It is important to emphasize that the doctrinal discussion of the fourth generation of human rights will not provide a complete overview of the topic. Therefore, there is a need to conduct a comprehensive analysis of specific human rights of the fourth generation at the international level, taking into account the consequences that their introduction or refusal to be recognized and implemented may result.