The paradigm of the right to defense in ancient thought and its significance for legal realities
Authors: Vynokurov V. V. 
Published: December 2023

The article is devoted to the analysis of ancient opinion regarding the human right to protection. The importance of understanding the right to protection in the legal and philosophical thought of antiquity and its influence on the development of human rights in the modern world are highlighted. Attention is drawn to the fact that the concept of the right to protection is not a new phenomenon, that it existed in ancient times, as evidenced by the opinions of ancient thinkers, who in their works reflected on various aspects of law, including the right to protection, in particular through the understanding of such categories as justice, equality before the law, as well as the role of the state in ensuring these rights. The views of Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, and Cicero, who initiated a theoretical approach to the problems of the state, law, and other state-legal phenomena, are considered. It is noted that all these thinkers considered the right to protection one of the most important human rights, which should be guaranteed by the state. The article analyzes some works of these philosophers. It was noted that each of them put their own context into the right to protection, and expressed views on the topic of justice and equality before the law, which can be considered as primitive forms of understanding this right. It is noted that ancient Greek and ancient Roman thinkers in their reasoning about human rights evolved in their understanding of the nature of these rights. Ancient Greek philosophers considered the right to defense as an important component of justice and political order, establishing a connection between law and moral values, while on the other hand, ancient Roman philosophers considered the right to defense as a natural right that belongs to every person from birth, regardless of laws or political system. It is emphasized that the defense of the right to protection plays an important role in history, as it provides the possibility of protecting human rights from any excessive actions by the state or other subjects, and is also an important task of society, including science, since in in the modern world, the right to protection is recognized by all democratic countries and enshrined in constitutions, international conventions and declarations, which indicates that the right to protection is an important element of the legal system that ensures the protection of human rights and freedoms and guarantees democratic principles of governance. It was concluded that the ideas of ancient thinkers regarding the right to protection had a significant impact on the further development of human rights in history and on European justice and legislation, became the basis for the further development of legal systems and influenced the formation of the modern idea of the right to protection, as well as for the development legal culture and legal awareness of society.

Key words: human rights, right to protection, protection of human rights, human freedom, law, justice, equality, natural law, Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Cicero