Take for instance a sales contract. When two parties have entered into a sales
contract, the seller is under an obligation to deliver what he has sold. The buyer has
a corresponding right to delivery. This right is only directed to the seller and is
therefore a right regarding a person. Such a right is also called a “claim”. The word
“obligation” is used both for the obligation that is the counterpart of the claim
(“obligation” in the narrow sense) and for the combination of the obligation in the
narrow sense and the claim that resulted from the contract (“obligation” in the broad
sense).
The claim is more than merely the flip side of the obligation. Most claims can be
transferred to someone else, and the holder of a claim usually can (i.e., has the
competence to) waive his right, thereby bringing an end to the corresponding
obligation.
3.5.2.2 Rights Regarding an Object
Where claims correspond to obligations and are therefore rights that someone does
something (or abstains from doing something), rights regarding objects are essen-
tially relations between the right holder and the object of the right. The most
familiar example of such a right regarding an object is the right of ownership,
which the owner has with regard to the owned object. Other examples of rights
regarding objects are copyright and mortgage.
Rights regarding objects are usually called “property rights”. They are the topic of Chap. 5.
What sets off rights regarding objects from claims is that the latter can only be
invoked against the specific person who is bound by the corresponding obligation,
while the former can be invoked against potentially everyone. The owner of a car,
for instance, can in principle invoke his ownership against everyone who happens to
have the car in his possession.
The French speak in this connection of a “droit de suite”, a right to follow the object of the
right wherever this object may find itself. See also Sect.5.1.1.
A right regarding an object normally goes together with a general prohibition for
everyone except the right holder to use, damage, or destroy the object of the right.
The right itself can then be seen as including anexplicit permissionto use, damage,
or destroy this object.
3.5.2.3 Liberty Rights
Liberty rights are usually a category of human rights. They involve an explicit
permission to do something, such as expressing one’s opinion, becoming a member
of a political party, or casting a vote.
The right to cast a vote is more than only a permission; it also involves a competence.
The right goes further than merely the permission, however. Precisely because it
is a right and not an “ordinary” permission, the permission cannot easily be
withdrawn. A government that recognizes the right to vote cannot simply cancel
the permission if it wants to.
3 Basic Concepts of Law 47