The Possessors of Right

For “right” to be established in the objective world, it is necessary to suppose a possessor of right to which it belongs. Without such an assumption, one is unable to imagine any right. This is why one of main issues in the domain of the philosophy of right is the question of who possesses the right; are any conditions required for the right holder? Is consciousness and life required for it? Can animals, plants, and inanimate entities be regarded among the possessors of right? The author in this article reviews different ideas in this regard, both in the western schools and in the Islamic main sources and concludes that, contrary to the ideas suggested by western philosophers, no condition is necessary for any being to hold some rights, and therefore, one can assume genetic as well as conventional rights for any being.