HUMAN RIGHTS AS A VALUE IN THE CONTEMPORARY PERIOD: HISTORICAL AND PHILOSOPHICAL ANALYSIS

Abstract

The article presents a historical and philosophical analysis of human rights as a fundamental value that retains key significance in contemporary Ukrainian society and legal scholarship. Special attention is devoted to the natural law approach as a source of universal moral guidelines that remain relevant amid military aggression, deep transformations of statehood, challenges to legal order, and Ukraine’s strategic course toward European integration. It is emphasized that under conditions of legal deformation or the limitations of positive law, natural law provides the legitimacy and justice of the legal system, serving as a foundation not only for formal but also for value-based legal understanding. The article traces the evolution of natural law ideas in Ukrainian legal tradition, from S. Orikhovskyi to the human rights movement of the second half of the twentieth century. Particular attention is given to how, in the Ukrainian context, human rights were perceived not only as individual freedoms but as morally grounded imperatives that must be embodied in legal reality. The appeal to international instruments (such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union) combined with national legal heritage contributes to the formation of a unique philosophical and legal model, grounded in the concepts of dignity, freedom, and duty. The study substantiates the integrative nature of modern legal understanding, which unites philosophical, moral, cultural, and legal dimensions. Special attention is paid to the interrelation of rights and duties as the foundation of a just and solidaristic society. It is concluded that the natural law approach serves not only as a philosophical basis but also as a practical guideline for building a democratic rule-of-law state capable of defending human dignity and freedoms amid instability, war, and the threat of authoritarianism. The interpretation of human rights as a deeply rooted value should be seen not only as a theoretical construct but also as a real tool for shaping legal culture, one that harmonizes national continuity with the universal principles of the European legal tradition.