Characteristics of Personality Rights and Their Relationship with Human Rights
It is generally accepted that personality rights are absolute rights, rights associated with a person’s existence, that they end with death, and that they are closely tied to the individual. These characteristics of personality rights are explained in detail below.
The Absoluteness of Personality Rights
A question arises regarding what conditions must be met for a right to be considered an absolute right. For a right to be classified as absolute, it must be enforceable against everyone. The absoluteness of a right means that it is a right that must be recognized and respected by all other persons besides the right-holder. A person can demand that third parties respect the values inherent in their humanity, and when such respect is not afforded, they can demand that intervention be prevented either directly or through legal mechanisms such as state institutions. The enforceability of personality rights against everyone does not mean that these rights are limitless. The absoluteness of personality rights also imposes a duty on individuals within society to respect the personality and personality rights of others.[1] Moreover, it is not possible for a person to completely waive their personality rights or accept limitations that would eliminate them. This is explicitly regulated in Article 23 of the Turkish Civil Code (TMK). A similar provision is found in Article 27 of the Turkish Code of Obligations (TBK). In relation to the protection of personality rights, Article 17 of the Turkish Constitution regulates the protection of bodily integrity, and as a general rule, no one can consent to interventions that are considered attacks on their bodily integrity.[2] Furthermore, an individual cannot enter into contracts that involve fully waiving their rights to honor, dignity, and personal privacy, as these are intrinsic to their personality. When we look at the general principles related to the protection of personality rights, we see that in cases of attacks on personality, the legal defenses that eliminate the unlawfulness of the act include the victim’s voluntary consent (such as in medical interventions), a superior private interest (as in cases where consent cannot be obtained from a patient requiring surgery), a superior public interest (such as mandatory vaccination during an epidemic), and legal authority or legitimate defense, among others.[3]
Personality Rights as Personal Existence Rights
In the legal system, rights are divided into personal existence rights and property rights. Personality rights fall under personal existence rights, as they are closely tied to the individual. Personality rights involve requests for the protection of the possibilities inherent in human existence that every individual possesses, and the values that allow humans to engage in activities that distinguish them from other living beings. Attacks on personality rights harm the individual’s intrinsic value as a human being rather than their property. In such cases, the person suffers moral destruction because they are unable to use the possibilities that come with being human. Sometimes this leads to a loss of mental health, while at other times, unjust attacks on these values make the person feel worthless. As a result, humanity is deprived of the contributions that a person could make to society by exercising their human potential.
The Termination of Personality Rights Upon Death
Since death marks the end of an individual’s personality, personality rights also cease with death. As personality rights belong to each individual person, when that person dies, these rights also come to an end. Attacks on the deceased’s reputation are considered attacks on the personality rights of the deceased’s living relatives. In other words, requests to protect the memory of the deceased are personality rights granted to the deceased’s relatives. Claims for compensation for moral damage resulting from attacks on personality rights during the individual’s lifetime may, under certain conditions, be passed on to their heirs.
The Close Attachment of Personality Rights to the Individual
Because personality rights are tied to the individual as the bearer of the values inherent in humanity, any intervention or attack on these rights has different effects and consequences for each person. Therefore, personality rights are closely connected to the individual. These rights cannot be transferred or waived. If one were to waive these rights, they would lose their dignity and the value associated with being human. While personality rights cannot be waived or transferred, there are certain legal protections related to specific personal values that can be transferred, such as the use of a person’s photograph. In such cases, it is not the personality rights that are being transferred, but the use of a personally valuable object. As a result of the close connection of personality rights to the individual, these rights do not pass to heirs upon death and are extinguished upon the death of the person.[4]
The Relationship Between Personality Rights and Human Rights
Each individual, as a member of the human species, exercises the potential and activities of the human species within their own dynamic field, performing actions unique to themselves. Through their actions, individuals both preserve human dignity and assert their own respect, or alternatively, use their human potential to harm themselves, others, or human rights. For individuals to exercise their human potential in ways that preserve human dignity, it must be recognized that they possess both material and moral values, which must be protected. When the personal values associated with an individual’s material and moral existence are protected, their human rights are also safeguarded. However, in each situation where a person’s material and moral existence is under threat or violated, the relationship between their human potential and activities must be clearly understood to determine whether a human rights violation or threat exists. It is not accurate to make a general statement that all values protected under personality rights fall within the scope of human rights. For instance, protecting a person’s reputation, honor, or fame as part of their moral existence does not necessarily equate to protecting human dignity in every case. The protection of one’s life, material and moral integrity, health, and private life is directly related to the protection of human dignity. These claims are human rights demands aimed at realizing human rights for individuals. In this regard, there is no doubt that personality rights are themselves claims aimed at the realization of human rights. However, when considering the connection between personality rights and human rights, one must examine how a person’s name, image, and voice contribute to the realization of human potential. A person’s name, image, and voice represent forms of expression that make the individual recognizable and distinguish them from others.[5] This includes photographs, films, television appearances, paintings, drawings, and caricatures, as well as names, nicknames, titles, and symbols. These aspects of personality are considered part of an individual’s personality rights. Every person realizes their potential as a member of society, and these unique attributes, such as their name and image, help distinguish them from others and allow society to recognize and promote their achievements. Although a person’s name and image do not directly express their human potential, they serve as instruments for identifying and promoting individuals who are actualizing their potential for the benefit of humanity. The personal data associated with a person’s name, image, and voice, when related to their private life and the use of their human potential, certainly has a close connection to human rights.
[1] Jale G. Akipek-. Turgut Akıntürk – Derya Ateş, Türk Medeni Hukuku Başlangıç Hükümleri Kişiler Hukuku Beta Basım Aş. İstanbul, 2005, p. 347.
[2] Akipek-Akıntürk-Ateş, p.362.
[3] M. Kemal Oğuzman-Özer Seliçi-Saibe Oktay Özdemir, 13. Baskı, Filiz Kitabevi, 2013, s 191-211.
[4] Akipek-Akıntürk-Ateş, s.347.
[5] Akgül, s.63
Attorney Yalçın TORUN
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