Constitutional rights and reciprocal duties. A special reference to the relationship between private parties and the state action doctrine in American law

Abstract

The rise of individual rights came at the expense of some of the fundamental elements of the system of legal protection. Maximum individual utility served to justify the immunity of the individual from the rights of others and, instead of the reciprocal duties of individuals, the state was attributed the ownership of the duties of protection and non-interference. We wonder whether the State is the true holder of the correlative obligation of constitutional rights. On the other hand, what is the role of general interests in private law? We will argue that the structure of the system of legal protection of the individual cannot be reduced to the traditional scheme between individual rights and the state, but must also include as correlative elements the social and public duties of each individual.