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A Bill of Rights is a list or summary of rights that are considered important and essential by a nation
Nation

A nation is a cultural and social community. In as much as most members never meet each other, yet feel a common bond, it may be considered an imagined community....
. The purpose of these bills is to protect those rights against infringement by the government. The term "bill of rights" originates from Britain, where it referred to a bill
Bill (proposed law)

A bill is a proposed new law introduced within a legislature that has not been ratification, adopted, or received royal assent. Once a bill has become law, it is thereafter an Statute; but in popular usage the two terms are often treated interchangeably....
 that was passed by Parliament
Parliament

A parliament is a legislature, especially in those countries whose system of government is based on the Westminster system modeled after that of the United Kingdom....
 in 1689. An entrenched bill of rights exists as a separate instrument that falls outside of the normal jurisdiction of a country's legislative body.






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A Bill of Rights is a list or summary of rights that are considered important and essential by a nation
Nation

A nation is a cultural and social community. In as much as most members never meet each other, yet feel a common bond, it may be considered an imagined community....
. The purpose of these bills is to protect those rights against infringement by the government. The term "bill of rights" originates from Britain, where it referred to a bill
Bill (proposed law)

A bill is a proposed new law introduced within a legislature that has not been ratification, adopted, or received royal assent. Once a bill has become law, it is thereafter an Statute; but in popular usage the two terms are often treated interchangeably....
 that was passed by Parliament
Parliament

A parliament is a legislature, especially in those countries whose system of government is based on the Westminster system modeled after that of the United Kingdom....
 in 1689. An entrenched bill of rights exists as a separate instrument that falls outside of the normal jurisdiction of a country's legislative body. In many governments, an official legal bill of rights recognized in principle holds more authority than the legislative bodies alone. A bill of rights, on the other hand, may be weakened by subsequent acts passed by government, and they do not need an approval by vote to alter it.

An unentrenched bill of rights exists as a separate act that is presented by a legislative body. As such it can be changed or repealed by the body that created it. It is not as permanent as a constitutional bill of rights. A constitutional bill cannot be changed except with the approval of that country's voting public.

In other jurisdictions, the definition of rights may be statutory
Statute

A statute is a formal written enactment of a legislative authority that governs a country, state, city, or county. Typically, statutes command or prohibit something, or declare policy....
. In other words, it may be repealed just like any other law, and does not necessarily have greater weight than other laws. Not every jurisdiction enforces the protection of the rights articulated in its bill of rights.

Australia
Australia

Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the southern hemisphere comprising the Australia of the world's smallest continent, the major island of Tasmania, and numerous list of islands of Australia in the Indian Ocean and Pacific Oceans....
 is the only Western
Western world

The term Western world, the West or the Occident can have multiple meanings dependent on its context . Accordingly, the basic definition of what constitutes "the West" varies, expanding and contracting over time, in relation to various historical circumstances....
 country with neither a constitutional nor legislative bill of rights, although there is ongoing debate in many of Australia's states.

Important bills of rights

  • The Code of Hammurabi
    Code of Hammurabi

    The Code of Hammurabi is a well-preserved ancient law code, created ca. 1760 BC in ancient Babylon. It was enacted by the sixth Babylonian king, Hammurabi....
    , a 4,000 year old document of laws and punishments that apply to every human being (and thus, vicarious freedoms) literally "set in stone." One of several similar codes from this period in the Middle East
    Middle East

    File:GreaterMiddleEast1.pngThe Middle East is a region that spans southwestern Asia, western Asia, and northeastern Africa. It has no clear boundaries, often used as a synonym to Near East, in opposition to Far East....
    .
  • Constitution of Ancient Athens
    Athens

    Athens , the Capital and largest city of Greece, dominates the Attica periphery; as one of the List of cities by time of continuous habitation, its recorded history spans around 3,400 years....
    , establishing the Athenian democracy
    Athenian democracy

    Athenian democracy developed in the Ancient Greece city-state of Classical Athens, comprising the central city-state of Athens and the surrounding territory of Attica, around 500 BC....
    , allowing elected leaders and separate branches of government written by Cleisthenes
    Cleisthenes

    Cleisthenes was a noble Athens of the Alcmaeonidae family. He is credited with reforming the constitution of ancient Athens and setting it on a Athenian democracy footing in 508 BC or 507 BC....
     (508BC; Greece)
  • Magna Carta
    Magna Carta

    Magna Carta , also called Magna Carta Libertatum , is an Kingdom of England legal charter, originally issued in the year 1215. It was written in Latin....
     (1215; England)
  • Dušan's Code
    Dušan's Code

    File:DusanovZakonik.jpgDu?an's Code is a legal code, one of two the most significant cultural-historical monuments of medieval Serbia, accompanying St....
     (1349; Serbia)
  • Pacta Conventa
    Pacta conventa

    Pacta conventa may mean:*Pacta conventa , a contractual agreement between the Polish nobility and king, in force from 1573 to 1764*Pacta conventa , a contractual agreement between the Croatian nobility and the Hungarian king, in force from 1102 to 1918...
     (1573; Poland)
  • Henrician Articles
    Henrician Articles

    The Henrician Articles, or Henrycian Articles , or more often stated in English literature as King Henry's Articles, were a permanent contract that stated the fundamental principles of governance and constitutional law in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in the form of 21 Articles written and adopted by the szlachta in 1573 at t...
     (1573; Poland)
  • Petition of Right
    Petition of right

    In English law, a petition of right was a remedy available to subjects to recover property from the Crown.Before the Crown Proceedings Act 1947, the United Kingdom Crown could not be lawsuitd in contract....
     (1628; England)
  • Bill of Rights 1689
    Bill of Rights 1689

    The Bill of Rights is an Act of Parliament of the Parliament of England, whose long title is An Act Declaring the Rights and Liberties of the Subject and Settling the Succession of the Crown....
     (England) and Claim of Right Act 1689
    Claim of Right Act 1689

    The Claim of Right is an Acts of Parliament passed by the Parliament of Scotland in April 1689. It is one of the key documents of constitution of the United Kingdom law....
     (Scotland)
  • Virginia Bill of Rights (June 1776)
  • Preamble to the United States Declaration of Independence
    United States Declaration of Independence

    The United States Declaration of Independence is a statement adopted by the Second Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, which announced that the Thirteen Colonies then at war with Kingdom of Great Britain were now independent states, and thus no longer a part of the British Empire....
     (July 1776)
  • Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen
    Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen

    The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen is a fundamental document of the French Revolution, defining the individual and collective rights of all the estates of the realm as universal....
     (1789; France)
  • United States Bill of Rights
    United States Bill of Rights

    In the United States, the Bill of Rights is the name by which the first ten amendments to the United States Constitution are known. They were introduced by James Madison to the First United States Congress in 1789 as a series of constitutional amendments, and came into effect on December 15, 1791, when they had been United_States_Constitution...
     to the United States Constitution
    United States Constitution

    The Constitution of the United States of America is the supreme law of the United States. It is the foundation and source of the legal authority underlying the existence of the United States of America; the Federal Government of the United States; and all the State & local governments and Territorial Administrative bodies contained therein....
     (completed in 1789, ratified in 1791)
  • Constitution of Greece
    Constitution of Greece

    The Constitution of Greece , was created by the Fifth Revisional Parliament of the Hellenes and entered into force in 1975. It has been revised twice since, in 1986 and in 2001....
     (1822; Epidaurus)
  • Basic rights and liberties in Finland
    Constitution of Finland

    The Constitution of Finland is the supreme source of national law of Finland. It defines the basis, structures and organisation of government, the relationship between the different constitutional organs, and lays out the fundamental rights of Finnish citizens....
     (1919)
  • Universal Declaration of Human Rights
    Universal Declaration of Human Rights

    The Universal Declaration of Human Rights is a declaration adopted by the United Nations General Assembly . The Guinness Book of Records describes the UDHR as the "Most Translated Document" in the world....
     (1948)
  • Fundamental rights and duties of citizens in People's Republic of China
    Constitution of the People's Republic of China

    The Constitution of the People's Republic of China is the highest law within the People's Republic of China. The current version was adopted by the 5th National People's Congress on December 4, 1982 with further revisions in 1988, 1993, 1999, and 2004....
     (1949)
  • European Convention on Human Rights
    European Convention on Human Rights

    The Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms , was adopted under the auspices of the Council of Europe in 1950 to protect human rights and fundamental Freedom in Europe....
     (1950)
  • Fundamental Rights of Indian citizens (1950)
  • Implied Bill of Rights
    Implied Bill of Rights

    The Implied Bill of Rights is a judicial theory in Canadian jurisprudence that recognizes that certain basic principles are underlying the Constitution of Canada....
     (a theory in Canadian constitutional law)
  • Canadian Bill of Rights
    Canadian Bill of Rights

    The Canadian Bill of Rights is a federal statute and bill of rights enacted by Prime Minister of Canada John Diefenbaker's government on August 10, 1960....
     (1960)
  • Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms
    Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms

    The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms The Charter was preceded by the Canadian Bill of Rights, which was enacted in 1960. However, the Bill of Rights was only a federal statute, rather than a constitutional document....
     (1982)
  • Article 5 of the Constitution of Brazil
    Constitution of Brazil

    Because of its volatile political history, Brazil has had a number of constitutions. The most recent was ratified on October 5 1988....
     (1988)
  • New Zealand Bill of Rights Act
    New Zealand Bill of Rights Act

    The New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990 is a statute of the New Zealand Parliament setting out the rights and fundamental freedoms of the citizens of New Zealand as a Bill of rights....
     (1990)
  • Hong Kong Bills of Rights Ordinance (1991)
  • Constitution of South Africa Chapter 2: Bill of Rights
    Constitution of South Africa Chapter 2: Bill of Rights

    Chapter 2 of the 1996 Constitution of South Africa is a bill of rights. It protects negative and positive rights of all people against the government of South Africa, including its executive, legislative and judicial branches, and some provisions provide rights against the actions of other persons....
     (1996)
  • Human Rights Act 1998
    Human Rights Act 1998

    The Human Rights Act 1998 is an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom which received Royal Assent on 9 November 1998, and mostly came into force on 2 October 2000....
     (United Kingdom)
  • Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union
    Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union

    The Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union is a document enshrining certain fundamental rights.The wording of the document has been agreed at ministerial level and has been incorporated into the draft Constitution for Europe....
     (2006)


See also

  • British Bill of Rights
    British Bill of Rights

    The British Bill of Rights can refer to:* The Bill of Rights 1689 - An Act of the Parliament of England made following the Glorious Revolution, considered one of the fundamental parts of the Constitution of the United Kingdom....
  • Natural rights
    Natural rights

    Some philosophy and political science make a distinction between natural and legal rights. Natural rights are rights which are not contingent upon the laws, customs, or beliefs of a particular society or polity....
  • Civil rights
    Civil rights

    Civil and political rights are a class of rights ensuring things such as the protection of peoples' physical integrity; procedural fairness in law; protection from discrimination based on sexism, religious intolerance, Racism, Homophobia, etc; individual freedom of freedom of belief, freedom of speech, freedom of association, and freedom...
  • Inalienable rights
  • Human rights
    Human rights

    Human rights refer to the "basic rights and freedom to which all humans are entitled." Examples of rights and freedoms which have come to be commonly thought of as human rights include civil and political rights, such as the right to life and liberty, freedom of speech, and equality before the law; and social, cultural and economic rights, i...
  • United States Bill of Rights
    United States Bill of Rights

    In the United States, the Bill of Rights is the name by which the first ten amendments to the United States Constitution are known. They were introduced by James Madison to the First United States Congress in 1789 as a series of constitutional amendments, and came into effect on December 15, 1791, when they had been United_States_Constitution...
  • Bill of Rights Defense Committee
    Bill of Rights Defense Committee

    The national Bill of Rights Defense Committee is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization which encourages local communities to take an active role in the ongoing national debate about threats to civil liberties guaranteed by the Bill of Rights, such as the USA PATRIOT Act, NSA warrantless surveillance controversy, and the Military Commissions...
  • Constitution of South Korea


External links

  • from the National Archives.
  • in various formats with audio.