be open to the presentation of my final considerations in the form of epilogue.
II.
Considerations regarding the Conceptualization of Person and
Victim within Human Thinking.
11.
The exam of the conceptualization of victim must not be disassociated from
that of the conceptualization of person, which unravels an ample and fertile panorama
of human thinking throughout the centuries. Said conceptualization leads to the
comparison of personality with regard to individuality, to the formation of personalism
beyond individualism, to the relation of juridical personalism with subjective law, to
the evolution of subjective law to the new dimension of international juridical
protection of human beings, and, in synthesis, to the conceptualization of the victim
taking into account the contribution of International Human Rights Law. These are the
matters I will refer to below.
1.
The Conceptualization of Person, and
Personality with regard to Individuality.
the Comparison of
12.
The conceptualization of person has not been limited, throughout the
centuries, to the science of Law. Other areas of human knowledge, such as philosophy
and even theology, have also dealt with this matter. Within the framework of the
latter, it has been observed, v.g., that
"C'est par métaphore que le mot persona, qui d'abord voulait dire
masque, acteur, rôle, a été ensuite employé pour
désigner
un
être
capable de jouer un rôle dans le monde, un être sui generis, un tout indivisé et
incommunicable, intelligent et libre"2.
13.
But it was naturally within the field of Law that the means used by people to
make their rights effective were created. Thus, the conceptual construction of legal
personality, next to that of legal capacity. But, at the same time, the study of legal
personality and capacity cannot, in my understanding, ignore the philosophical
thoughts regarding personality and individuality. Contrary to that proclaimed by the
heralds of legal positivism, jurists have a lot to learn from other areas of human
knowledge, such as history, philosophy, theology, psychology, among others.
14.
Just like said areas of knowledge took care of the conceptualization of the term
person, they also did so with regard to the answers to the violations of the rights
inherent to human beings. This is not something exclusive of juridical science, which
has been highly enriched with the contributions of other fields of human knowledge.
Thus, v.g., when considering the consequences of the violations to human rights, we
turn to conceptions belonging to history (the determination of truth), philosophy (the
realization of justice), theology (pardon as satisfaction for the victims),3 and
psychology (the rehabilitation of victims).4
.
Ch. Journet, Introduction à la Théologie, Paris, Desclée de Brouwer Édit., 1947, p. 56,
and cf. pp. 297-299. – It has been considered that “the person, the human being as a person, is
subject to an existence and actions, although it is important to point out that the existence,
that, that is personal and not only individual in the sense of individual nature. Therefore, actions
(…) are also personal;" K. Wojtyla, Persona y Acción, Madrid, BAC, 1982, p. 90.
2
.
Cf. A.A. Cançado Trindade, "Responsabilidad, Perdón y Justicia como Manifestaciones de
la Conciencia Jurídica Universal", 8 Revista de Estudios Socio-Jurídicos - Universidad del
Rosario/Bogotá (2006) n. 1, pages 15-36.
3
.
Cf., v.g., M. Minow, Between Vengeance and Forgiveness, Boston, Beacon Press, 1998,
p. 147.
4