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# Rights theory: rights, duties and their limits

- Theory

A right is a justified claim that binds others; every right has a matching duty held by someone.

Updated Nov 13, 2026

## Key points

- Correlativity: every claim-right is matched by a duty held by another person.
- Negative rights (non-interference) versus positive rights (provision, such as health care).
- Will theory (control) versus interest theory (protection of interests).
- Most rights are not absolute: they are prima facie and can give way to other rights.
- In Colombia, health is an autonomous fundamental right (Law 1751 of 2015, art. 2), protected through tutela.

## What it is

Rights theories explain morality in terms of what each person can legitimately demand of others or of the State. The jurist Wesley Hohfeld distinguished four elements of a right: the privilege (having no duty to refrain), the claim (being able to demand something of another, who has the correlative duty), the power (being able to change a legal position, for example by consenting) and the immunity (another cannot change one's own position). Negative rights ask for non-interference (not being touched without consent); positive rights ask for a provision (receiving health care). There are two theories about what rights do: the will theory (a right gives control over another's duty) and the interest theory (a right protects important interests). Ronald Dworkin described rights as «trumps» over social goals; Robert Nozick, as side constraints on the pursuit of good outcomes. This page goes deeper than the summary in «Ethical theories in brief».

## Core ideas

- Privilege (liberty): the holder has no duty to refrain from something.
- Claim: the holder can demand an action or omission from another; the other has the correlative duty.
- Power: the holder can change their own or another's position (consenting, waiving, delegating).
- Immunity: another has no power to change the holder's position.
- Rights as trumps (Dworkin) or as side constraints (Nozick): they limit what may be done for the common good.

## Hohfeld's four elements in the clinic

| Element | Correlative | Example |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Privilege | No-claim of another | The patient is free to ask for a second opinion |
| Claim | Duty of another | The patient can demand confidentiality; the doctor has the duty to keep it |
| Power | Liability of another | By consenting, the patient authorises surgery |
| Immunity | Disability of another | No one can waive, on behalf of a patient with capacity, their right to decide |

## In clinical practice

- The right to refuse treatment is a strong negative right: no one may impose an intervention on a patient with capacity.
- The right to health is positive: it requires someone (the State, the insurer, the provider) to provide services, within resource limits.
- Consenting is exercising a power: the patient changes the situation and permits what would otherwise be an assault.
- Patients' rights come with duties (self-care, proper use of resources, good faith), as Law 1751 of 2015 (art. 10) sets out.

## Criticisms and limits

- The will theory struggles to explain the rights of those who cannot decide (infants, unconscious people).
- The interest theory does not explain why not every important interest gives rise to a right.
- Positive rights need institutions to settle who must meet them and how far.
- A language of rights alone can make the doctor-patient relationship adversarial and forget virtues and care.
- Law 1751 of 2015: art. 2 (health as an autonomous, unwaivable fundamental right), art. 10 (people's rights and duties); official text checked on 2026-11-05 in the Función Pública Gestor Normativo.

## Test yourself

Think of the answer, then tap the question to see it.

## What does it mean that rights and duties are correlative?

Every claim-right of one person is matched by a duty of another, for example the right to confidentiality and the doctor's duty to keep it.

## What is the difference between a negative and a positive right?

A negative right asks for non-interference (refusing treatment); a positive right asks for a provision (receiving health care).

## What did Dworkin describe by calling rights «trumps»?

That rights can prevail over social goals, such as increasing overall welfare.

## Which law recognises health as an autonomous fundamental right in Colombia?

Statutory Law 1751 of 2015, art. 2.

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## Connections

## Related 4

- [Ethical theories in brief: duty, consequences, virtue, casuistry, care](https://durgical.com/en/medical-ethics/ethical-theories-in-brief-duty-consequences-virtue-casuistry-care/)
- [Patients' rights and duties in Colombia](https://durgical.com/en/medical-ethics/patients-rights-and-duties-in-colombia/)
- [Ley Estatutaria 1751 de 2015: health as a fundamental right](https://durgical.com/en/medical-ethics/ley-estatutaria-1751-de-2015-health-as-a-fundamental-right/)
- [Tutela in health](https://durgical.com/en/medical-ethics/tutela-in-health/)

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Educational content on ethics and health law; not legal advice. Laws and case law change: each page links the official text and says when it was last checked. For a real case, read the text in force and ask a lawyer or the medical ethics tribunal.

Sources: [Rights](https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/rights/) (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 2025); [Ley Estatutaria 1751 de 2015](https://www.funcionpublica.gov.co/eva/gestornormativo/norma.php?i=60733) (Función Pública, Gestor Normativo, 2015); [Universal Declaration on Bioethics and Human Rights](https://www.unesco.org/en/legal-affairs/universal-declaration-bioethics-and-human-rights) (UNESCO, 2005).

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