LIBERTATEA DE CONȘTIINȚĂ ȘI ROLUL EI ÎN APĂRAREA DREPTURILOR OMULUI
FREEDOM OF CONSCIENCE AND ITS ROLE IN DEFENDING HUMAN RIGHTS

Summary/Abstract: Freedom of conscience and its role in defending human rights. Given the nature of conscientious objection, it is inevitable for judicial bodies or other state authorities to determine with absolute certainty whether a person’s objection is based on their deeply held moral convictions. This draws attention to the fact that by allowing and adapting conscientious objections in practice, frivolous and eccentric claims would generally be natural. Such an observation, however, is mistaken, both because some might try to abuse the right to conscientious objection, which may negate or weaken the protection of the fundamental right to freedom of conscience, and because conscience cannot be used as a carte blanche to break the law or promote anarchy, since the category of claim is necessarily a narrow one, more specific than the broader protection afforded to “beliefs.” The refusal to fulfill a legal obligation stems from a moral obligation derived from a religious or non-religious belief. This is the topic we are trying to address here from a legal and religious perspective.

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