What is meant by a positive and a negative right?
April 17, 2013 April 17, 2013
[Jurisprudence]
According to Salmond, “a positive right corresponds to a positive duty and entitles its owner to have something done for him without the performance of which his enjoyment of the right is imperfect and incomplete. Negative rights have negative duties corresponding to them and enjoyment is complete unless interference takes place. The majority of negative rights are against the world at large.” In the case of positive rights, the person subject to the duty is bound to do something. In the case of a negative right, others are restrained from doing something.