All over the world, judiciaries have been entertaining complaints and issuing writs pursuant to their task of pacifying disputes and resolving conflicts—more importantly, in guaranteeing the protection and vindication of rights of the individual against violations by public authorities and private entities.

In the history of law, filing an individual petition before courts to invoke constitutional rights has long been granted a substantive recognition. The first and perhaps most famous of these is the petition for a writ of habeas corpus, roughly translated, “You should have the body.” FULL TEXT OF SPEECH