Evolution of Legal Frameworks for Human Rights Protection: From Early Foundations to Contemporary Norms

Introduction: A historical analysis reveals the changing views on freedom and dignity and helps to understand the sources of international norms and their adaptation to the realities of different countries. Analysing the past helps avoid mistakes and improve the legal system to address contemporary challenges.Objective: This research aims to review the historical and contemporary processes of human rights formation and determine ways to improve their normative support.Methods: Various methods were used for the analysis: the historical method – for studying the development of human rights; the comparative method – for comparing national legal systems; the empirical method – for analysing practices of rights protection; the documentary method – for studying international and national legal acts; the systematic method – for reviewing rights as a complex system; and generalisation – for making proposals regarding the improvement of the normative framework in the future.Results: It was established that the evolution of the formation of normative support for human rights is divided into two historical periods: origin and development. It was outlined that the evolution of human rights illustrates their transition from privileges of specific groups to universal rights, and normative support, particularly international standards, is critical to their protection on a global level. The peculiarities of adapting national systems to international human rights standards in specific regions and countries were highlighted. The main aspects of human rights' role in forming a just society were determined.Conclusions: The research results outlined critical directions for forming human rights in modern globalisation processes to improve normative support.