HUMAN´S AND ANIMAL´S RIGHTS

To introduce this topic is important to understand that human rights are linked to the dignity of the individuals in contrast to the state.

Human dignity is not a human right, it is the foundation of the rights granted to every men,  women and child. Because of this, our Constitution and international treaties host and in which our legislation is based.

Therefore, the public administration must first ensure the needs of its citizens and the proper coexistence in society, passing laws to ensure the healthy enjoyment of fundamental rights. To do this, one of the items that empower the human being to the enjoyment of these rights relates to the simple fact of being a person. The article 31 of the Civil Code of Costa Rica says: "The existence of the individual begins at birth and is said to be born alive 300 days before his birth ..."

This article refers basically that the rights of each person are attributes that are inherent to their dignity and the state is obliged to respect, protect and fulfill compliance.

The recognition of the dignity and equal rights are inalienable for the people but has not always been so, for this, the man has had to fight for freedom, justice and peace.

This struggle has been proclaimed as the highest aspiration of the human kind and has been an achievement of freedom from fear and misery, to be able to enjoy the freedom of speech, freedom of belief and foremost be protected by the rule of law which hosts the human rights.

However, it is unfortunate that now days there are still some countries that are part of the ignorance and contempt for the human rights to perform these acts of abuse to humanity.


The individual rights are regulated in our Constitution. Some of the rights that are established are: freedom of a person, meaning that, no one can be slave. Human life is inviolable. The right to move freely within the country or in a foreign country. The right to private home and inviolability of home. The right to privacy and to freedom. The right to form associations and hold peaceful gatherings. The right of opinion, whether they manifest orally or in writing.

Right to equality before the law prohibiting all discrimination. No one may be arrested without a hint of having committed a crime. No one shall be subjected to cruel treatment or to life imprisonment.

The above rights are just some of the many that Costa Rican citizens enjoy. However, each and everyone of them has limits, and you cannot abuse the enjoyment of the right to violate the rights of another person. For example, people have the right to roam free for the Republic; however, can not violate someone else's home. Or, people are entitled to express their opinion, however cannot harm the reputation of another person or company image with fake reviews. Likewise, everyone has the right of freedom, but if someone kills or commit murder, his or her freedom will be limited.

For these reasons and more, we must define certain rules of conduct, that can be found in our Penal Code, in order to regulate these behaviors and define the penalties for noncompliance.

Another set of penalties that are stablished for exceeding the limits of decency, refers to the mistreatment of animals. If it is true, animals do not have rights, as well as discussed earlier, rights are inherent to individuals only. Meaning that, we understand the inherent rights people are born with and clearly, the state cannot give rights to animals, because in this way animal will then be valued as equal to humans. With this, I'm not saying that I agree with animal abuse, but the animal rights cannot overcome the legally protected human rights. In what I totally agree, is that there should exist regulations containing fines for people who mistreat animals, in order to regulate this injustice.

The article governing animal abuse is the 385 of the Penal Code: "There shall be a fine from five to thirty days. For those who mistreat animals, causes death without a necessity, or use them as subjects of  manifestly excessive work."