If Courts create rights” “

“The battle over rights corresponds to a commitment on the part of the human person. Laws cannot mend men’s hearts. Attempts to change the lives of individuals or societies which fail to include the human person, are doomed to failure. Nor can laws annihilate men’s hearts. Thus man is the cornerstone of recovery”. The reflection by Andrea Pin, Professor of Law at the University of Padua, expert in constitutional law, focused on “The new legal frameworks” of the Old Continent expanding beyond the field of rules and regulations. Moreover, the scholar placed special emphasis on cultural, ethical, and social transformations of the present times. Pin shared his reflections with the spokespersons of the European Bishops’ Conferences gathered for the CCEE meeting in Bucharest June 12 through 15.  Professor, in which direction are new legislations – notably those involving bioethics and the family – evolving?”We should start by saying, as pointed out during the CCEE meeting, that the spheres of economy, social life and politics are undergoing rapid transformations. Within these spheres, individual and societal behaviours, along with developments in science and technology, pave the way to new realms. Technology for example has opened new otherwise unconceivable avenues for action. In the same way, new laws confer legitimacy to what was previously beyond belief. This approach is upheld by the theory of the utmost expansion of rights, which is gaining grounds across European countries. It is generally believed that if a solution, a procedure, or a behaviour are possible, and accepted by the public at large, they should also be given a legal framework. In concrete terms, laws should contain, or rather regulate, scientific progress and societal transformations. Naturally, this state of affairs has offset the juridical landscape, and the hierarchical order of the rights enshrined therein”.Accordingly, do judges assume an ever more important role in collective life? “With no doubt. It could be said that before the lack of assertiveness of policymakers, tasked with regulating social relations via the enactment of legislation, Courts act as their substitutes. But the latter address ongoing changes with their own tools, namely through Court decisions and rulings, which in turn trigger major transformations to the extent that tribunals have replaced national parliaments. Moreover, tribunals not only stipulate and identify rights, but also codify them enshrining them into fundamental sets of norms. But there’s a price to pay: the claims submitted to the Courts have no value in Parliament sittings and viceversa. In other words, anthropological motivations, or claims pertaining to social justice are deemed less important”.This creates a short circuit between legislators and those tasked with law enforcement responsibilities.”The enforcement of laws and the act of monitoring their adoption, i.e., ensuring that they comply with the founding principles of democracies and freedoms represents a basic ambiguity. The judge has understandably assumed an ever-greater role, owing to his reputation. In modern European culture the judiciary was meant to counterbalance and monitor political power. In history, legislators and governments trampled upon fundamental rights more frequently than representatives of judicial authority did… But that is not enough to replace legislators with judges. The sustainability of rights, that includes the so-called new rights, is comprehensive, which means that it involves societal balance. There is a general framework that cannot be disregarded. But legislators are no longer aware of it”.Does the extension of rights – in Budapest speakers voiced their concerns over homosexual marriage, abortion and euthanasia, along with heterologous fertilization – correspond to a transformation of current modes and mentality? “It should be said that the expansion of rights has ideological and moral points of reference, which should be connected to a strong form of anthropological individualism, to the concept of self-determination, whereby each person is at the center of the universe”.   What is the role of the political realm?”It can be said that the ongoing political agenda, called to address momentous challeges, is lacking long-term planning approaches. This is true also as pertains to individual rights. But actions are needed. I deem it essential to expand our horizons, providing reflections on ongoing events and changes that will illuminate grey areas, while highlighting the impact of the evolution of legislation and economy on democracy, society, solidarity, and the very understanding of social institutions such as the family”.