Civil and Political Rights vs. Social and Economic Rights: A Brief Overview

There have been significant conflicts in constituting both civil & political and economic & social rights. While some advocate the civil and political rights as primary rights, others claim that civil and political rights are nothing without social and economic regulations. In this paper, the emergence of these rights, their characteristics, the divisions and interdependence between them will be viewed in general terms. The ambiguous distinction between two sets of rights and the opposition to these rights will be analysed from different points of view. Related to the economic and social rights, the impact of globalisation and the role of international organisation will be explained by referring the WTO and TRIPS. Consequently the interdependence between both sets of rights will be detailed generally by referring Fredman and Sen.