THE MORAL AND ETHICAL DIMENSION OF THE EUROPE  AN CONVENTION ON THE PROTECTION OF HUMAN RIGHTS  AND FUNDAMENTAL FREEDOMS

Yuriy Bahriy

doi:10.23856/7014

Yuriy Bahriy Ukrainian State University named after Mykhailo Drahomanov https://orcid.org/0009-0003-6111-6066

Keywords: European law, international legal standards, principles of law, natural law, morality, moral values and principles, universal values, norms of international morality, jusnaturalism, legal reform

Abstract

The article highlights the problem of the moral and ethical dimension of the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. It emphasizes that for modern humanity, in the context of the attack of global dictatorships on the democratic world, it is very important to preserve and effectively utilize those legal acts that have become expressions of international legal standards, as they possess a profound humanitarian moral and legal significance. One of such international acts is the ECHR. This is an international legal act that embodies the universal humanistic experience. It is drafted in the framework of the natural law approach, which combines law with the spiritual culture of humanity, morality, ethics, religion, and God. The convention enshrines the principles of natural law, which, as distinctive programmatic guidelines for legislative activity, direct it towards a humanistic approach, orienting it towards the affirmation and protection of essential aspects of human existence and natural human rights. These principles, enshrining universal values and meanings, are intended to protect individuals and their rights from the arbitrariness of state power.The signatory states of the Convention are obliged to adhere to these legal standards in dealing with human beings. These principles, traditions, customs, values, meanings, etc., embody the fundamental principles of human existence. They concentrate everything that is universal, humanistic, and essential for people to fully develop and improve; without them, human existence is partial, incomplete, and distorted, which is why violating them is unacceptable. Each article of the Convention is filled with deep moral and ethical content. Each article, without exaggeration, embodies legal morality.Ukraine, having signed the Convention in 1997, undertook the obligation to implement its provisions into national legislation and to align legal practices with the legal standards enshrined in the Convention. Legal reform in modern Ukraine is aimed at transforming the legal sphere into a humanitarian one, filled with moral and legal content, thus overcoming the bankrupt legal reality.

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