Legal rights and fundamental rights
We have six fundamental rights (FRs) enshrined in our Constitution. But, do you know that originally there were not six but seven of these rights?
The Fundamental Right to Property (Article 31) was deleted from the list of fundamental rights via 44th Constitutional Amendment Act 1978. It was made a legal right under Article 300-A in Part XII of the Constitution.
So, this begs a question that,
what is the difference between a fundamental right and a legal right?
Well, that’s exactly what we are going to cover in this part of our ‘Difference between series’.
Fundamental Rights | Legal Rights |
| Protected and guaranteed by the Constitution of the country. | Legal rights are protected and enforced by ordinary law of the country. |
| Can only be changed by amending the Constitution itself. | May be changed by the legislature by ordinary process of law making. |
| Part of the basic structure of the Constitution. | Not a part of the Basic structure doctrine. |
| It cannot be waived-off by an individual. | It can be waived-off by an individual. |
If these are violated then an individual can move to Supreme Court or High Court.
| If these are violated then an individual have to move to ordinary court first. |
| Individual has these rights against the state. | These rights impose a corresponding obligation on the individual (and in some cases state too). For eg: Right to vote is a legal right |
We hope now you are absolutely clear about the difference between fundamental and legal rights.
Till next time.
| Also read: Other ‘Difference between’ series articles |
