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[[Image:English Bill of Rights of 1689.jpg|thumb|right|250px|English Bill of Rights (1689).]] |
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The word '''Bill of Rights''' (or '''Declaration of Rights''') is an act of the [[Parliament of England]], whose formal name is ''An Act Declaring the Rights and Liberties of the Subject and Settling the Succession of the Crown''. |
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The Bill of Rights of the United Kingdom is largely a statement of certain [[right]]s to which [[citizen]]s and [[Permanent residency|permanent residents]] of a [[constitutional monarchy]] were thought to be entitled in the late 17th century, asserting subjects' [[right to petition]] the monarch, as well as to bear arms in defence. It also sets out—or, in the view of its drafters, restates—certain constitutional requirements of [[the Crown]] to seek the consent of the people, as represented in [[parliament]]. In this respect, the Bill of Rights differs from other bills of rights, including [[United States Bill of Rights|that of the United States of America]], although many of the first eight [[List of amendments to the United States Constitution|amendments to the US constitution]] echo the contents of the 1689 Bill of Rights.{{Fact|date=October 2008}} |
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Along with the [[Act of Settlement 1701|1701 Act of Settlement]] the Bill of Rights remains, today, one of the main constitutional laws governing the [[Line of succession to the British Throne|succession]] to not only the [[Monarchy of the United Kingdom|throne of the United Kingdom]], but, following [[British Empire|British colonialism]], the resultant [[doctrine of reception]], and independence, also to those of the other [[Commonwealth realm]]s, whether by willing deference to the act as a British statute or as a [[Patriation|patriated]] part of the particular realm's constitution.<ref name=Topo>{{cite web| author=Toporoski, Richard| publisher=| url=http://www.monarchist.ca/mc/invisibl.htm| title=''Monarchy Canada'': The Invisible Crown| date=Summer, 1996}}</ref> Since the implementation of the [[Statute of Westminster 1931|Statute of Westminster]] in each of the Commonwealth realms (on successive dates from 1931 onwards) the Bill of Rights cannot be altered in any realm except by that realm's own parliament, and then, by [[Convention (norm)#Government|convention]], and as it touches on the succession to the shared throne, only with the consent of all the other realms.<ref>[http://www.statutelaw.gov.uk/content.aspx?activeTextDocId=1081723 Statute of Westminster; 1931 c.4 22 and 23 Geo 5]</ref> |
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In the United Kingdom, the Bill of Rights is further accompanied by the [[Magna Carta]] and [[Parliament Acts]] as some of the basic documents of the [[Constitution of the United Kingdom|British constitution]]; a separate but similar document, the [[Claim of Right Act 1689|Claim of Right Act]], applies in [[Scotland]]. Further, the bill is listed, in the [[Republic of Ireland]]'s [[Statute Law Revision (Pre-Union) Bill 2006|2006 Statute Law Revision (Pre-Union) Bill]], as an English act of parliament to be retained as part of the country's law.<ref>[http://www.attorneygeneral.ie/slru/retention.pdf Acts Retained]</ref> |
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==Provisions of the act== |
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The Bill of Rights laid out certain basic [[wikt:Tenet|tenets]] for, at the time, all [[England|Englishmen]]. These rights continue to apply today, not only in England, but in each of the jurisdictions of the [[Commonwealth realm]]s as well.{{Fact|date=November 2008}} The people, embodied in the [[parliament]], are granted immutable civil and political rights through the act, including: |
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* Freedom from royal interference with the law. Though the sovereign remains the fount of justice, he or she cannot unilaterally establish new courts or act as a judge. |
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* Freedom from [[taxation]] by [[Royal Prerogative]]. The agreement of parliament became necessary for the implementation of any new taxes. |
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* Freedom to [[petition]] the monarch. |
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* Freedom from the [[standing army]] during a time of peace. The agreement of parliament became necessary before the army could be moved against the populace when not at war. |
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* Freedom for [[Protestant]]s to bear arms for their own defence, as suitable to their class and as allowed by law. |
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* Freedom to elect members of parliament without interference from the sovereign. |
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* Freedom of speech in parliament. This means that the proceedings of parliament can not be questioned in a court of law or any other body outside of parliament itself; this forms the basis of modern [[parliamentary privilege]]. |
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* Freedom from cruel and unusual punishment, as well as excessive bail. |
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* Freedom from fine and forfeiture without a trial. |
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Certain acts of [[James II of England|James II]] were also specifically named and declared illegal by the Bill of Rights, while James' flight from England in the wake of the [[Glorious Revolution]] was also declared to be an [[abdication]] of the throne. |
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Also, in a prelude to the [[Act of Settlement 1701|Act of Settlement]] to come twelve years later, the Bill of Rights barred [[Roman Catholic Church|Roman Catholics]] from the throne of England as "it hath been found by experience that it is inconsistent with the safety and welfare of this Protestant kingdom to be governed by a papist prince"; thus [[William III of England|William III]] and [[Mary II of England|Mary II]] were named as the successors of James VII and II and that the throne would pass from them first to Mary's heirs, then to her sister, [[Anne of Great Britain|Princess Anne of Denmark]] and her heirs and, further, to any heirs of William by a later marriage. The monarch was further required to swear a [[Oath of office#Coronation Oath|coronation oath]] to maintain the [[Protestantism|Protestant religion]]. |
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The act also required the monarch to summon parliament frequently, a clause that was later reinforced by the [[Triennial Act 1694|1694 Triennial Act]]. |
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==Augmentation and effect== |
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The Bill of Rights was later supplemented by the Act of Settlement in 1701 (while the [[Claim of Right Act]] in Scotland was supplemented by the [[Act of Union, 1707]]). Both the Bill of Rights and the Claim of Right contributed a great deal to the establishment of the concept of [[parliamentary sovereignty]] and the curtailment of the powers of the [[monarch]]. Leading, ultimately, to the establishment of [[constitutional monarchy]], while also settling the political and religious turmoil that had convulsed [[Scotland]], [[England]] and [[Ireland]] in the 17th century. |
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It also became a predecessor of the [[United States Constitution]], the [[Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms]], the [[United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights]] and the [[European Convention on Human Rights]]. For example, as with the Bill of Rights, the US constitution requires [[jury trial]]s and prohibits excessive [[bail]] and "[[cruel and unusual punishment]]s." |
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Similarly, "cruel, inhuman or degrading [[punishment]]s" are banned under Article 5 of the [[Universal Declaration of Human Rights]] and Article 3 of the [[European Convention on Human Rights]]. |
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The bill continues to be cited in legal proceedings in the [[Commonwealth realm]]s. For instance, on 21 July 1995 a [[libel]] case brought by [[Neil Hamilton]] (then a member of parliament) against ''[[The Guardian]]'' was stopped after Justice May ruled that the Bill of Rights' prohibition on the courts' ability to question parliamentary proceedings would prevent ''The Guardian'' from obtaining a [[fair trial]]. Section 13 of the [[Defamation Act, 1996]], was subsequently enacted to permit an [[MP]] to waive his [[parliamentary privilege]]. |
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The Bill of Rights was also invoked in [[New Zealand]] in the 1976 case of [[Fitzgerald v. Muldoon and Others]], which centred on the purporting of newly appointed [[Prime Minister]] [[Robert Muldoon]] that he would advise the [[Governor-General]] to abolish a [[superannuation]] scheme established by the [[New Zealand Superannuation Act, 1974]], without new legislation. Muldoon felt that the dissolution would be immediate and he would later introduce a bill in parliament to retroactively make the abolition legal. This claim was challenged in court and the [[Chief Justice]] declared that Muldoon's actions were illegal as they had violated Article 1 of the Bill of Rights, which provides "that the pretended power of suspending laws of the execution of laws by regal authority without consent of parliament is illegal." |
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Two special designs of the [[United Kingdom|British]] commemorative [[British Two Pound coin|two pound coins]] were issued in the [[United Kingdom]] in 1989 to celebrate the [[tercentenary]] of the [[Glorious Revolution]]. One referred to the Bill of Rights and the other to the [[Claim of Right]]. Both depict the [[Royal Cypher]] of [[William and Mary]] and the [[Ceremonial mace|mace]] of the [[British House of Commons|House of Commons]]; one also shows a representation of the [[St. Edward's Crown]] and, another, the [[Crown of Scotland]]. |
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==See also== |
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* [[Charter of Liberties]] |
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* [[Habeas Corpus Act 1679]] |
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* [[English Civil War]] |
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* [[Fundamental Laws of England]] |
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* [[Crown and Parliament Recognition Act 1689]] |
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* [[Rights of Englishmen]] |
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==References== |
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{{reflist}} |
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==External links== |
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{{wikisource}} |
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{{commons|English Bill of Rights of 1689}} |
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*[http://avalon.law.yale.edu/17th_century/england.asp Text of the Bill of Rights] |
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*[http://www.parliament.uk/archives The Parliamentary Archives] - Holds the original of this Historic Record |
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*{{UK-SLD|1518621|the Bill of Rights 1689 (c.2)}} |
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{{UK legislation}} |
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[[Category:Constitution of Canada]] |
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[[Category:Constitutional laws of England]] |
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[[Category:United Kingdom constitution]] |
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[[Category:Succession to the British crown]] |
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[[Category:Succession to the Canadian Crown]] |
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[[Category:Acts of the Parliament of England]] |
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[[Category:1689 in law]] |
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[[Category:1689 in England]] |
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[[Category:Political charters]] |
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[[Category:History of human rights]] |
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[[ar:وثيقة حقوق 1689]] |
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[[bs:Deklaracija o pravu]] |
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[[cs:Bill of Rights]] |
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[[de:Bill of Rights (England)]] |
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[[es:Bill of Rights]] |
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[[eo:Bill of Rights (Anglio)]] |
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[[fr:Déclaration des droits]] |
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[[ko:영국의 권리장전]] |
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[[he:חוק הזכויות 1689]] |
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[[hu:Bill of Rights (Anglia)]] |
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[[ms:Perakuan Hak 1689]] |
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[[nl:Bill of Rights van 1689]] |
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[[ja:権利の章典]] |
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[[pl:Deklaracja praw]] |
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[[pt:Declaração de Direitos de 1689]] |
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[[ru:Билль о правах 1689]] |
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[[sv:Bill of Rights (England)]] |
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[[th:พระราชบัญญัติสิทธิ พ.ศ. 2232]] |
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[[uk:Білль про права 1689]] |
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[[zh:英国权利法案]] |
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Revision as of 16:44, 19 December 2008
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