Editing Hope (section)

== The Right to Hope ==
Hope has been widely recognized as a crucial and inherent aspect of human existence, not only by philosophers from various backgrounds but also by national and international courts, particularly in the past decade. Serving as an existential element within each individual, hope manifests itself in various ways in both private and public spheres. While past court considerations often focused on hopes arising from legal disputes and everyday life, the current predominant topic of discussion centers around the hope of incarcerated individuals seeking release, as in Graham v. Florida.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Graham v. Florida, 560 U.S. 48 (2010) |url=https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/560/48/ |access-date=2024-01-15 |website=Justia Law |language=en}}</ref>

Riofrio's examination delves not only into specific expressions of the right to hope but also into the right to hope itself as a comprehensive concept.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last=Riofrio |first=Juan Carlos |date=2023-10-01 |title=The Right To Hope: A New Perspective Of The Right To Have Expectations, Opportunities And Plans |url=https://scholarlycommons.law.wlu.edu/crsj/vol30/iss1/6 |journal=Washington and Lee Journal of Civil Rights and Social Justice |volume=30 |issue=1 |pages=79 |issn=1535-0843}}</ref> In this exploration, he draws connections between numerous legal doctrines addressing everyday hopes, such as the doctrines of legitimate expectations and loss of a chance.

Drawing insights from extensive case law explicitly referencing the right to hope, international legal precedents, philosophical teachings from eminent scholars, and certain theological arguments, Riofrio concludes that the unenumerated right to hope encompasses four essential elements:<ref name=":0" />

# The right to have wishes, aspirations, plans, and beliefs, while avoiding actions that illegitimately discourage individuals, such as demoralizing troops during wartime.
# The right to some specific opportunities, sometimes aligning with programmatic Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights (ESCR), but also incorporating the doctrine of legitimate expectations.
# The right to the means of realizing hope, prohibiting harm to the means that grounds hope, such as the limbs of a dancer or the vision of a painter.
# The right to some established chances, wherein the doctrine of loss of a chance plays a significant role.