• Government institutions outline the rights and duties of individuals living in a country.State Capital Building image by ne_fall_photos from Fotolia.com
  
  Philosophers such as Wesley Newcomb Hohfeld agree that there is a correlation between rights and duties. For example, in the United States citizens are given certain rights set forth by the Constitution and yet there are duties that every citizen is required to fulfill. Duties often exist to protect any given rights.
  
  

Rights to Freedom

• Some of the most important rights of Americans are defined by the Bill of Rights. This includes a person's freedom of speech, freedom of (or from) religion, freedom to assemble, and freedom to petition the government for redress of grievances, according to USConstitution.net. Other freedoms grant individuals the right to be free from cruel and unusual punishment and the right to vote for government representatives.
  
  

Rights to Justice

• Laws provide citizens the right to justice. This means that no person can be prosecuted for a crime unless he has stood before a grand jury. This ensures that a person is given a fair trial and that all of the facts and evidence are heard before any decisions are made.
  
  Another law protects the public from unlawful search and seizure without the presence of a warrant according to USConsitituion.net. These laws grant rights so that a person's privacy is protected. Rights that protect justice ban slavery and discrimination, for example.
  
  

Duties that Protect Rights

• In order for rights to exist, there are duties that individuals must follow. For example, it is a citizen's duty to obey the law that is put into place to protect rights. If citizens deny their duties, it can lead to a dangerous outcome for the existence of rights. According to Professor Mark Cooray, "a dangerous byproduct of the welfare state and the growth of government is a profound attitudinal change in society which makes people demand more and more and contribute less and less."