[10]
The role of the state in the implementation of human rights
Fundamental rights and human rights regulate the relationship between people and the state. The state has various functions in the realisation of these rights: Depending on its content, a right can give the bearer claims to defence, claims to benefits or claims to protection.
The defensive claim is intended to prevent state intervention and protect the self-determination of the individual. This is particularly important in the case of civil liberties, for example, if the state is not supposed to interfere with the free opinion-forming of the population.
In other cases, the state can or even must act: If there is a right to benefits, the state has a duty to ensure that the right in question is realised. For example, the state must operate schools in order to realise the fundamental right to free schooling.
Finally, a duty to protect exists when the state is supposed to protect people from assaults by third parties.