Bill of rights
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]
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 An entrenched bill of rights cannot be amended or repealed by a country's legislature through regular procedure, instead requiring a supermajority or referendum; often it is part of a country's constitution, and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
In the
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
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.
List of bills of rights
General
Specifically targeted documents
- Consumer Bill of Rights
- Homeless Bill of Rights
- Taxpayer Bill of Rights
- Academic Bill of Rights
- Veterans' Bill of Rights
- G.I. Bill of Rights, better known as the G.I. Bill
- Homosexual Bill of Rights, drafted by North American Conference of Homophile Organizations
- Library Bill of Rights, published by the American Library Association
- Environmental Bill of Rights or Agenda 21
- Creator's Bill of Rights, comic writers and artists
- Donor's Bill of Rights, for philanthropic donors[22]
- Law Enforcement Officers' Bill of Rights
- Voting Rights Act
- Islamic Bill of Rights for Women in the Mosque
- New Jersey Anti-Bullying Bill of Rights Act
- Credit Cardholders' Bill of Rights, contained within the Credit CARD Act of 2009
- Sexual Assault Survivors' Bill of Rights (Sexual Assault Survivors' Rights Act)
See also
- Inalienable rights
- International Bill of Human Rights
- International human rights instruments
- Natural rights
- Rule of law
- Second Bill of Rights
References
- ISBN 978-94-007-7598-5.
- ^ ISBN 978-1317278597.
Britain in its history proposed many pioneering documents - not only Magna Carta, 1215 but those such as the Provisions of Oxford 1258, the Petition of Right 1628, the Bill of Rights 1689, and the Claim of Right 1689
- ^ "From legal document to public myth: Magna Carta in the 17th century". The British Library. Retrieved 2017-10-16
- ^ "Magna Carta: Magna Carta in the 17th Century". The Society of Antiquaries of London. Archived from the original on 2018-09-25. Retrieved 2017-10-16.
- ^ "Constitutionalism: America & Beyond". Bureau of International Information Programs (IIP), U.S. Department of State. Archived from the original on 24 October 2014. Retrieved 30 October 2014.
The earliest, and perhaps greatest, victory for liberalism was achieved in England. The rising commercial class that had supported the Tudor monarchy in the 16th century led the revolutionary battle in the 17th and succeeded in establishing the supremacy of Parliament and, eventually, of the House of Commons. What emerged as the distinctive feature of modern constitutionalism was not the insistence on the idea that the king is subject to law (although this concept is an essential attribute of all constitutionalism). This notion was already well established in the Middle Ages. What was distinctive was the establishment of effective means of political control whereby the rule of law might be enforced. Modern constitutionalism was born with the political requirement that representative government depended upon the consent of citizen subjects... However, as can be seen through provisions in the 1689 Bill of Rights, the English Revolution was fought not just to protect the rights of property (in the narrow sense) but to establish those liberties which liberals believed essential to human dignity and moral worth. The "rights of man" enumerated in the English Bill of Rights gradually were proclaimed beyond the boundaries of England, notably in the American Declaration of Independence of 1776 and in the French Declaration of the Rights of Man in 1789.
- ISBN 0-679-45492-6.
- ISBN 9780945612285.
- ISBN 9780945612292.
- ISBN 9780618833108.
- ISBN 0271040130.
- ^ Hugh Starkey, Professor of Citizenship and Human Rights Education at UCL Institute of Education, London. "Magna Carta and Human rights legislation". British Library. Retrieved 22 November 2016.
- ^ Suter, Keith (18 July 2008). "Does Australia need a Bill of Rights?". Wesley Mission. Archived from the original on 2013-11-10.
- ^ Anderson, Deb (21 September 2010). "Does Australia need a bill of rights?". The Age. Melbourne.
- ^ a b "Part Four: A Human Rights Act?" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-02-13. Retrieved 2014-10-26.
- ^ "Howard opposes Bill of Rights". PerthNow. The Sunday Times. 2009-08-27. Retrieved 2009-09-14.[permanent dead link]
- ^ Howard, John (2009-08-27). "2009 Menzies Lecture by John Howard (full text)". The Australian. News Limited. Archived from the original on 2009-08-30. Retrieved 2009-09-14.
- ^ Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities Act 2008 (Vic).
- ^ Human Rights Act 2004 (ACT).
- ^ "Human Rights Act 2019". legislation.qld.gov.au. Queensland Government. 7 March 2019. Retrieved 4 April 2019.
- ^ Potter v Minahan [1908] HCA 63, (1908) 7 CLR 277, High Court (Australia).
- ^ "Constitution of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania - 1776". Duquesne University. Archived from the original on October 21, 2016. Retrieved December 29, 2016.
- ^ "The Donors Bill of Rights". Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP). 2022-12-21. Retrieved 2022-12-22.