Bill of rights

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The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen of 1789 is a fundamental document of the French Revolution and in the history of human rights. Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen in 1789.jpg
The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen of 1789 is a fundamental document of the French Revolution and in the history of human rights.
Draft of the United States Bill of Rights, also from 1789 Bill of Rights Pg1of1 AC.jpg
Draft of the United States Bill of Rights, also from 1789

A bill of rights, sometimes called a declaration of rights or a charter of rights, is a list of the most important rights to the citizens of a country. The purpose is to protect those rights against infringement from public officials and private citizens. [1]

Contents

Bills of rights may be entrenched or unentrenched. An entrenched bill of rights cannot be amended or repealed by a country's legislature through regular procedure, instead requiring a supermajority or referendum; often it is part of a country's constitution, and therefore subject to special procedures applicable to constitutional amendments.

History

The history of legal charters asserting certain rights for particular groups goes back to the Middle Ages and earlier. An example is the Magna Carta, an English legal charter agreed between the King and his barons in 1215. [2] In the early modern period, there was renewed interest in the Magna Carta. [3] [4] English common law judge Sir Edward Coke revived the idea of rights based on citizenship (see history of citizenship) by arguing that Englishmen had historically enjoyed such rights. The Petition of Right 1628, the Habeas Corpus Act 1679 and the Bill of Rights 1689 (English Bill of Rights) established certain rights in statute.

In the Thirteen Colonies, the English Bill of Rights was one of the influences on the 1776 Virginia Declaration of Rights, which in turn influenced the United States Declaration of Independence later that year. [5] [6] After the Constitution of the United States was adopted in 1789, the United States Bill of Rights was ratified in 1791. The U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights were influenced by British constitutional history. [7] [8] [9]

Inspired by the Age of Enlightenment, the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen asserted the universality of rights. [10] It was adopted in 1789 by France's National Constituent Assembly, during the period of the French Revolution.

The 20th century saw different groups draw on these earlier documents for influence when drafting the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the European Convention on Human Rights and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. [11]

Exceptions in Western democracies

The constitution of the United Kingdom remains uncodified. [2] However, the Bill of Rights 1689 is part of UK law. The Human Rights Act 1998 also incorporates the rights contained in the European Convention on Human Rights into UK law. In the 21st century, there were proposals for a British Bill of Rights and the UK Parliament debated a Bill of Rights Bill but it was not passed into legislation.

Australia is the only common law country with neither a constitutional nor federal legislative bill of rights to protect its citizens, although there is ongoing debate in many of Australia's states. [12] [13] In 1973, Federal Attorney-General Lionel Murphy introduced a human rights Bill into parliament, although it was never passed. [14] In 1984, Senator Gareth Evans drafted a Bill of Rights, but it was never introduced into parliament, and in 1985, Senator Lionel Bowen introduced a bill of rights, which was passed by the House of Representatives, but failed to pass the Senate. [14] Former Australian Prime Minister John Howard has argued against a bill of rights for Australia on the grounds it would transfer power from elected politicians to unelected judges and bureaucrats. [15] [16] Victoria, Queensland and the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) are the only states and territories to have a human rights Act. [17] [18] [19] However, the principle of legality present in the Australian judicial system, seeks to ensure that legislation is interpreted so as not to interfere with basic human rights, unless legislation expressly intends to interfere. [20]

List of bills of rights

The Bill of Rights 1689 is an Act of the Parliament of England asserting certain rights English Bill of Rights of 1689.jpg
The Bill of Rights 1689 is an Act of the Parliament of England asserting certain rights

General

TitleEffective YearRealmNotes
Charter of Liberties 1100Royal Banner of England.svg England Rights of inheritance and marriage, amnesty, and environmental protection
Magna Carta 1215Royal Banner of England.svg England Rights for barons
Great Charter of Ireland 1216Banner of the Lordship of Ireland.svg  Ireland Rights for barons
Golden Bull of 1222 1222Flag of Hungary (13th century).svg Hungary Rights for nobles
Statute of Kalisz 1264Banner of the Kingdom of Poland.svg Poland Jewish residents' rights
Charter of Kortenberg 1312Banner of the Duchy of Brabant.svg Brabant Rights for all citizens "rich and poor"
Dušan's Code 1349Divellion of Emperor Dusan.svg Serbia
Twelve Articles 1525 Swabian League
Pacta conventa 1573Choragiew krolewska krola Zygmunta III Wazy.svg Poland–Lithuania
Henrician Articles 1573Choragiew krolewska krola Zygmunta III Wazy.svg Poland–Lithuania
Petition of Right 1628Flag of England.svg  England
Declaration of Right, 1689
Bill of Rights 1689
Claim of Right Act 1689
1689Flag of England.svg  England Flag of Scotland.svg  Scotland This applied to all British Colonies of the time, and was later entrenched in the laws of those colonies that became nations—for instance in Australia with the Colonial Laws Validity Act 1865 and reconfirmed by the Statute of Westminster 1931
Virginia Declaration of Rights 1776Flag of the United States (1776-1777).svg  United States: Flag of Virginia.svg  Virginia June 1776, Preamble to the United States Declaration of Independence, July 1776
Chapter 1 of the Pennsylvania Constitution 1776Flag of the United States (1776-1777).svg  United States: Flag of Pennsylvania.svg  Pennsylvania July 1776 [21]
Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen 1789Flag of France (1790-1794).svg  France
Bill of Rights of the United States Constitution 1791Flag of the United States (1777-1795).svg  United States Completed in 1789, ratified in 1791
Declaration of the Rights of the People1811Flag of the First Republic of Venezuela.svg Venezuela
Article I of the Constitution of Connecticut 1818Flag of the United States (1818-1819).svg  United States: Flag of Connecticut.svg  Connecticut
Constitution of Greece 1822Flag of Greece (1822-1978).svg  Greece
Hatt-ı Hümayun 1856Flag of the Ottoman Empire (1844-1922).svg  Ottoman Empire
Article I of the Constitution of Texas 1875Flag of the United States (1867-1877).svg  United States: Flag of Texas.svg  Texas
Basic rights and liberties in Finland 1919Flag of Finland.svg  Finland [ citation needed ]
Implied Bill of Rights (a theory in Canadian constitutional law)1938Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada The bill of rights implied by the Constitution Act, 1867, first identified in Reference Re Alberta Statutes in 1938.
Articles 13-28 of the Constitution of Italy 1947Flag of Italy.svg  Italy
Universal Declaration of Human Rights 1948Flag of the United Nations.svg  United Nations
Fundamental rights and duties of citizens in People's Republic of China 1949Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg  People's Republic of China
Fundamental Rights of Indian citizens 1950Flag of India.svg  India
European Convention on Human Rights 1953Flag of the Council of Europe.svg  Council of Europe Drafted in 1950
Part II of the Constitution of Malaysia 1957Flag of Malaya.svg  Malaya (until 1963)/Flag of Malaysia.svg  Malaysia (since 1963)
Canadian Bill of Rights 1960Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada
Part I of the Constitution of Portugal 1976Flag of Portugal.svg  Portugal
International Bill of Human Rights 1976Flag of the United Nations.svg  United Nations
Quebec Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms 1976Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada: Flag of Quebec.svg  Quebec
Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms 1982Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada
Declaration of the Basic Duties of ASEAN Peoples and Governments 1983Infobox ASEAN flag.svg  ASEAN Signed in Manila by the Regional Council on Human Rights in Asia, the first to draft a pan-Asian declaration of human rights
Article III and XIII of the Constitution of the Philippines 1987Flag of the Philippines.svg  Philippines The Bill of Rights encapsulating Article III regulates duties and responsibilities of the government toward the rights of citizens, while Article XIII is specifically about human rights and social justice
Article 5 of the Constitution of Brazil 1988Flag of Brazil.svg  Brazil
New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990Flag of New Zealand.svg  New Zealand
Charter of Fundamental Rights and Basic Freedoms of the Czech Republic 1991Flag of the Czech Republic.svg  Czech Republic
Hong Kong Bill of Rights Ordinance 1991Flag of Hong Kong 1959.svg  Hong Kong
Chapter 2 of the Constitution of South Africa 1996Flag of South Africa.svg  South Africa Entitled "Bill of Rights"
Human Rights Act 1998 1998Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom
Human Rights Act 2004 2004Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia: Flag of the Australian Capital Territory.svg  Australian Capital Territory
Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union 2005Flag of Europe.svg  European Union
Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities Act 2006 2006Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia: Flag of Victoria (Australia).svg  Victoria
Chapter Four of the Constitution of Zimbabwe 2013Flag of Zimbabwe.svg  Zimbabwe
Queensland Human Rights Act 20182019Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia: Flag of Queensland.svg  Queensland

Specifically targeted documents

See also

Related Research Articles

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The Constitution of Canada is the supreme law in Canada. It outlines Canada's system of government and the civil and human rights of those who are citizens of Canada and non-citizens in Canada. Its contents are an amalgamation of various codified acts, treaties between the Crown and Indigenous Peoples, uncodified traditions and conventions. Canada is one of the oldest constitutional monarchies in the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen</span> 1789 document of the French Revolution

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Magna Carta Libertatum, commonly called Magna Carta or sometimes Magna Charta, is a royal charter of rights agreed to by King John of England at Runnymede, near Windsor, on 15 June 1215. First drafted by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Cardinal Stephen Langton, to make peace between the unpopular king and a group of rebel barons, it promised the protection of church rights, protection for the barons from illegal imprisonment, access to swift and impartial justice, and limitations on feudal payments to the Crown, to be implemented through a council of 25 barons. Neither side stood by their commitments, and the charter was annulled by Pope Innocent III, leading to the First Barons' War.

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References

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