Law. Human. Environment

Contemporary paradigm of human rights: Balancing universality and cultural relativism

Vsevolod Mitsik, Albina Basysta
Download article
Abstract

The study aimed to examine practices of relativisation of human rights in selected jurisdictions. The methodology was based on comparative law and systematic generalisation, which made it possible to critically examine the conceptual foundations of universalism and relativism and identify their practical manifestations. As a result, three main approaches to analysis of the relationship between universalism, moral relativism and interculturalism were identified. Based on an analysis of state practice, the study established that deviations from universal standards were most often justified by reference to traditional values without the development of clear legal mechanisms, which reduced the level of international guarantees for the protection of individuals. At the same time, the existence of a universal core of rights, in particular the prohibition of torture, slavery and genocide, which are not subject to relativisation, was confirmed. An analysis of constitutional practice in Ukraine, France, India revealed different strategies for reconciling universal standards with national traditions. In addition, the jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights (cases “S.A.S. v. France”, “Lautsi v. Italy”), as well as the decisions of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights and the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights were studied, confirming the importance of cultural context in the interpretation of human rights. The practical significance of the conclusions lies in their use for developing human rights strategies, adapting international standards, and improving education and institutional practices in this field

Keywords

globalisation; socio-cultural differences; morality; legal systems; autonomy; pluralism

Suggested citation
Mitsik, V., & Basysta, A. (2026). Contemporary paradigm of human rights: Balancing universality and cultural relativism. Law. Human. Environment, 17(2), 136-154. https://doi.org/10.31548/law/2.2026.136
References
  1. African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights. (1981, June). Retrieved from https://africanlii.org/akn/aa-au/act/charter/1981/human-and-peoples-rights/eng%401981-06-27.
  2. Akhmetova, I., Karipbayev, B., Jamaliyeva, G., Kendirbekova, Z., & Daulbayeva, Z. (2025). Challenges of volunteering and prospects for its development: International experience. Perspectives on Global Development and Technology, 24(5-6), 714-735. doi: 10.1163/15691497-12341731.
  3. Alkış, M. (2024). Rethinking the debate on universalism versus cultural relativism regarding human rights: The case of China. Human and Society, 14(1), 46-59.
  4. Allsobrook, C.J. (2023). African recognition of dignity as a basis for universal human rights. Acta Academica, 55(1), 20-40.
  5. American Convention on Human Rights: Pact of San Jose, Costa Rica. (1969, November). Retrieved from https://www.oas.org/dil/treaties_b-32_american_convention_on_human_rights.pdf.
  6. Arab Charter on Human Rights. (2004, May). Retrieved from https://digitallibrary.un.org/record/551368?v=pdf.
  7. Balynska, O., Yevkhutych, I.M., Serkevych, I.R., Zdrenyk, I., & Andrusyshyn, R. (2024). Transformation of the content of human rights under the influence of globalisation. Social and Legal Studios, 7(1), 116-123. doi: 10.32518/sals1.2024.116.
  8. Bennett, M.J. (2023). The relational roots of intercultural communication. In J. Baumann Montecinos, T. Grünfelder & J. Wieland (Eds.), A Relational View on Cultural Complexity. Relational Economics and Organization Governance (pp. 34-47). Cham: Springer. doi: 10.1007/978-3-031-27454-1_2.
  9. Budiana, M. (2024). Human rights and international politics: From universalism to relativism. Journal of Law, Social Science and Humanities, 1(2), 188-203.
  10. Bukhanevych, O.M., Mernyk, A.M., & Petryshyn, O.O. (2021). Approaches to understanding the category “special legal regimes”. Bulletin of the National Academy of Legal Sciences of Ukraine, 28(1), 71-78.
  11. Constitution of India. (1950, January). Retrieved from https://www.constitutionofindia.net/constitution/constitution-of-india-1950/.
  12. Constitution of the French Republic. (1958, October). Retrieved from https://www.conseil-constitutionnel.fr/en/constitution-of-4-october-1958.
  13. Constitution of Ukraine. (1996, June). Retrieved from https://zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/254%D0%BA/96-%D0%B2%D1%80.
  14. Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. (1979, December). Retrieved from https://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/cedaw/cedaw.htm.
  15. Convention on the Rights of the Child. (1989, November). Retrieved from https://www.unicef.org/child-rights-convention/convention-text.
  16. Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: India. (2023). Retrieved from https://www.state.gov/reports/2023-country-reports-on-human-rights-practices/india/.
  17. Derkach, V.L. (2022). Arguments against moral realism. Philosophy and Society, 89, 29-53. doi: 10.17721/2415-881x.2022.88.29-53.
  18. Eggel, D., Mallard, G., & Galvin, M. (2022). Human rights in flux: New directions beyond universalism. Global Challenges, 11. doi: 10.71609/iheid-rkte-k510.
  19. Ewelukwa, U.U. (2006). Litigating the rights of street children in regional or international fora: Trends, options, barriers and breakthroughs. Yale Human Rights and Development Law Journal, 9.
  20. Geneva Conventions. (1949, August). Retrieved from https://www.icrc.org/sites/default/files/external/doc/en/assets/files/publications/icrc-002-0173.pdf.
  21. Gümüştaş, D. (2021). Protocol No. 15 to the ECHR: A new era of subsidiarity or a symbolic change? Retrieved from https://ohrh.law.ox.ac.uk/protocol-no-15-to-the-echr-a-new-era-of-subsidiarity-or-a-symbolic-change/.
  22. Hassanein, A.A.M. (2025). The complementarity of ijtihad and the Maqasid al-shariah in Islamic law: An analytical study. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 15(5), 847-859. doi: 10.6007/IJARBSS/v15-i5/25424.
  23. Hogemann, E.R. (2020). Human rights beyond the dichotomy between cultural universalism and relativism. Age of Human Rights Journal, 14, 19-36. doi: 10.17561/tahrj.v14.5476.
  24. Hromovchuk, M.V. (2022). The principle of humanism and its content in the formation of a new paradigm in law. Uzhhorod National University Herald. Series: Law, 70, 77-78. doi: 10.24144/2307-3322.2022.70.12.
  25. International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. (1966, December). Retrieved from https://www.ohchr.org/en/instruments-mechanisms/instruments/international-covenant-economic-social-and-cultural-rights.
  26. Judgment of the Court of Appeal of Nigeria in Case “Brigadier General Maude Aminun Kano v. Nigeria Army & Anor”. (2008, June). Retrieved from https://www.lawglobalhub.com/brigadier-general-maude-aminun-kano-v-nigeria-army-anor-2008-lljr-ca/.
  27. Judgment of the European Court of Human Rights in Case No. 30814/06 “Lautsi v. Italy”. (2009, November). Retrieved from https://hudoc.echr.coe.int/eng?i=001-95589.
  28. Judgment of the European Court of Human Rights in Case No. 43097/15 “Gülcan v. Türkiye”. (2024, June). Retrieved from https://hudoc.echr.coe.int/fre#{%22itemid%22:[%22001-234122%22]}.
  29. Judgment of the European Court of Human Rights in Case No. 43835/11 “S.A.S. v. France”. (2014, July). Retrieved from https://hudoc.echr.coe.int/fre?i=001-145466.
  30. Judgment of the High Court of Kenya in Case “Republic v. Mohamed Abdow Mohamed”. (2013, May). Retrieved from https://www.scribd.com/document/860664522/REPUBLIC-v-MOHAMED-ABDOW-MOHAMED-2013KEHC3425-KLR.
  31. Judgment of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights in Case “Sawhoyamaxa Indigenous Community v. Paraguay”. (2013, March). Retrieved from https://www.escr-net.org/caselaw/2013/case-sawhoyamaxa-indigenous-community-v-paraguay/?utm.
  32. Judgment of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights in Case “Villagrán-Morales et al. (Street Children) v. Guatemala”. (1999, November). Retrieved from https://archive.crin.org/en/library/legal-database/villagran-morales-et-al-v-guatemala.html.
  33. Judgment of the Supreme Court of India in Case “Shayara Bano v. Union of India and Others”. (2017, August). Retrieved from https://cdnbbsr.s3waas.gov.in/s3ec0490f1f4972d133619a60c30f3559e/documents/aor_notice_circular/42.pdf.
  34. Káčer, M. (2021). The universality of human rights against cultural relativism: Between fiction and reality. Lawyer Quarterly, 11(3), 506-517.
  35. Ketners, K. (2025). Adaptation of state security to modern military operations and terrorist risks in the world. Space and Culture India, 13(1), 1-5. doi: 10.20896/e3p2jm77.
  36. Khan, S. (2021). Implementation of international human rights in Pakistan: Finding a balance between Western conceptions and Islamic law. Manchester Journal of Transnational Islamic Law & Practice, 17(1), 168-185.
  37. Khazhynskyi, R.M. (2024). Universality and relativism of the modern human rights system and the establishment of somatic rights: Theoretical and methodological aspect. Scientific Notes of the V.I. Vernadsky Taurida National University. Series: Legal Sciences, 35(74), 122-129. doi: 10.32782/TNU-2707-0581/2024.4/21.
  38. Kurylo, V., Karaman, O., Yurkiv, Y., Krasnova, N., & Shabaieva, N. (2026). Innovative Social Work Models in Europe: Addressing the Needs of Vulnerable Populations. Comparative Sociology, 25(1), 79-106. doi: 10.1163/15691330-bja10161.
  39. Lafaye de Micheaux, E. (2024). The Universal Declaration of Human Rights: A normative benchmark for Southeast Asia? In G. Facal, E. Lafaye de Micheaux & A. Norén-Nilsson (Eds.), The Palgrave handbook of political norms in Southeast Asia (pp. 31-57). Singapore: Palgrave Macmillan. doi: 10.1007/978-981-99-9655-1_3.
  40. Law of France No. 2004-228 “On the Regulating, in Accordance with the Principle of Secularism, the Wearing of Symbols or Clothing Indicating Religious Affiliation in State Primary and Secondary Schools”. (2004, March). Retrieved from https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/jorf/id/JORFTEXT000000417977.
  41. Marchenko, A.O. (2023). Religion and human rights in discourse and practice of cultural relativism and universalism. SOPHIA: Human and Religious Studies Bulletin, 20(2), 36-40. doi: 10.17721/sophia.2022.20.8.
  42. Muntarbhorn, V. (2021). Challenges of international law in the Asian region: An introduction. Singapore: Springer. doi: 10.1007/978-981-16-2047-8.
  43. Myroniuk, O. (2024). Universality of human rights: Theoretical dimension. Analytical and Comparative Jurisprudence, 1, 55-59. doi: 10.24144/2788-6018.2024.01.8.
  44. Popovski, V. (2024). Human rights and the Charter of the United Nations. Retrieved from https://ebooks.inflibnet.ac.in/hrdp07/chapter/human-rights-and-the-charter-of-the-united-nations/.
  45. Protocol Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, and relating to the Protection of Victims of Non-International Armed Conflicts (Protocol II). (1977, June). Retrieved from https://ihl-databases.icrc.org/en/ihl-treaties/apii-1977.
  46. Refugee Convention. (1951, July). Retrieved from https://www.unhcr.org/sites/default/files/legacy-pdf/4ca34be29.pdf.
  47. Reservations to CEDAW. (1979). Retrieved from https://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/cedaw/reservations.htm.
  48. Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. (1998, July). Retrieved from https://www.icc-cpi.int/sites/default/files/2024-05/Rome-Statute-eng.pdf.
  49. Sewpaul, V., & Kreitzer, L. (2021). Emancipatory social work, Ubuntu, and Afrocentricity: Antidotes to human rights violations. In V. Sewpaul, L. Kreitzer & T. Raniga (Eds.), The tensions between culture and human rights. emancipatory social work and afrocentricity in a global world (pp. 273-295). Calgary: University of Calgary Press.
  50. Sinha, M.K. (2023). Symposium on international conflict and security law: A research handbook – human rights: Between universalism and relativism. Retrieved from https://opiniojuris.org/2023/04/19/symposium-on-international-conflict-and-security-law-a-research-handbook-human-rights-between-universalism-and-relativism.
  51. Sklar, S. (2005). Case of the Indigenous Community Yakye Axa v. Paraguay. Retrieved from https://legal.earthrefuge.org/yakye-axa-v-paraguay.
  52. Strauß, J.D. (2024). Universalism of human rights versus cultural relativism within the African discourse. Retrieved from https://africanlegalstudies.blog/2024/08/30/universalism-of-human-rights-versus-cultural-relativism-within-the-african-discourse.
  53. Tanbir, K. (2022). Universalism v Cultural Relativism: Does the debate matter for human rights’ protection in the 21st century?”. SSRN. doi: 10.2139/ssrn.4319122.
  54. United Nations (UN) Charter. (1945, October). Retrieved from https://www.un.org/en/about-us/un-charter.
  55. United Nations (UN) Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. (2026). The Core International Human Rights Instruments and their monitoring bodies. Retrieved from https://www.ohchr.org/en/core-international-human-rights-instruments-and-their-monitoring-bodies.
  56. Universal Declaration of Human Rights. (1948, December). Retrieved from https://www.un.org/en/about-us/universal-declaration-of-human-rights.
  57. Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties. (1969, May). Retrieved from https://legal.un.org/ilc/texts/instruments/english/conventions/1_1_1969.pdf.
  58. Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action. (1993, June). Retrieved from https://www.ohchr.org/en/instruments-mechanisms/instruments/vienna-declaration-and-programme-action.
  59. Wadud, P. (2025). The inviolability of the ‘essential core’ of human rights: An intersectional feminist vindication. Dhaka University Law Journal, 35(1), 177-192. doi: 10.3329/dulj.v35i1.77566.
  60. Zhang, H. (2023). How Lea Ypi defines freedom: The Albanian-British political philosopher insists that democracy is a “demanding ideal”. Retrieved from https://www.newyorker.com/culture/persons-of-interest/how-lea-ypi-defines-freedom.