Treatment of the Constitutional Duties of the Individual in Peru: An Introduction

Abstract

It is said that "just as we have rights, we have duties" or that "every right has a duty". Is this true? Does the Constitution establish duties as enforceable as rights? Throughout history and to date, the duties of the person have been relegated to a secondary place in Constitutional Law and in Constitutional Procedural Law. It is time to rescue them from oblivion. Through a preliminary and introductory analysis, the author states that constitutional duties: (i) are essential for contemporary constitutionalism; (ii) they are not only moral obligations, but are legally enforceable; and, (iii) that they must be legally enforceable. Many doubts and questions arise on the subject, but not all of them can be immediately answered. This is an introductory analysis about its treatment in the Peruvian constitutional regime.