Isabella Carter
The basis for English constitutional liberties is often dated back to the Magna Carta, an English legal charter agreed upon in 1215. The Magna Carta was based on pre-existing documents, including the Charter of Liberties. Civil liberties in the United Kingdom also stem from 17th-century common law and statute law, such as the 1628 Petition of Right, the Habeas Corpus Act of 1679, and the Bill of Rights of 1689.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Civil liberties | Freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution to protect citizens from tyranny |
| Bill of Rights | Freedom of speech, the right to bear arms, and the right to privacy |
| First Amendment | Freedom of speech |
| Fourteenth Amendment | Extended liberties and rights to formerly enslaved people |
| Fourteenth Amendment | Privileges or Immunities Clause, Due Process Clause, and Equal Protection Clause |
| Civil rights | Right to be free from employment discrimination based on a protected factor |
| Right to remain silent | |
| Right to a fair court trial | |
| Right to vote | |
| Right to privacy | |
| Sexual freedom | Sexual expression, sexual choices, sexual education, reproductive justice, and sexual health |
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What You'll Learn
The right to privacy
The earliest definition of privacy in English law was given by Thomas M. Cooley, who defined privacy as "the right to be left alone". The right to privacy is also linked to the right to form intimate relationships, which are thought to need privacy to flourish.
In the UK, the right to privacy was only recognised in 2000 with the introduction of the Human Rights Act, which incorporated the European Convention on Human Rights. Article 8 of the Convention protects the right to private and family life. Before 2000, there was only piecemeal protection of privacy through other areas of law, such as property law, trespass law, and bodily integrity.
The increasing protections for individuals' private lives have sparked a debate about whether English law gives enough weight to freedom of the press. Some argue that privacy law is a threat to a free press, while others argue that privacy law is necessary to expose corruption.
The European Convention on Human Rights has been used to protect privacy in several cases, including:
- A case where the European Court of Human Rights ruled that the Portuguese authorities had breached an individual's right to privacy by placing them under surveillance to get security clearance.
- A case where the Court ruled that Swiss law had violated an individual's privacy by allowing an insurance company to secretly follow them during a dispute over accident cover.
- A case where the Court ruled that French law had violated an individual's right to privacy by fining them for refusing to give a DNA sample to the police due to concerns about personal data.
- A case where the Court ruled that Lithuanian law had failed to protect an individual's right to privacy by imposing legal limits on damages awarded for disclosing HIV status.
- A case where the Court ruled that Belgian journalists' privacy had been violated by a police search and seizure operation aimed at identifying the source of leaked government information.
- A case where the Court ruled that Swedish law had violated a young woman's right to privacy, as it did not criminalise her stepfather for hiding a secret camera to record her undressing.
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Freedom of speech
One of the earliest cases indicating the establishment of freedom of speech in England was Haxey's case in 1396-97. While the outcome of this case is inconclusive, it highlights the early recognition of the importance of free expression. In 1455, Younge, a member of the House, petitioned for compensation after suffering consequences for a speech he made. He argued for the "olde liberte and fredom of the Comyns of this land... to speke and sey in the House... without any maner [of] chalenge, charge or punicion."
During the 17th century, the concept of freedom of speech continued to evolve. The Apology of 1604 asserted that it was erroneous to believe that the House's privileges were granted by the Sovereign and could be limited. In 1610, a Committee on the Commons petition expressed the view that freedom of speech "could not well be taken from us without shaking the foundations of the liberties of Parliament." However, in 1621, James VI and I challenged these assumptions. The Treason and Seditious Practices Act of 1667 also repeated the claim to freedom of speech in debate.
English thinkers such as John Milton (1608-1674) and John Locke (1632-1704) were at the forefront of early discussions on the right to freedom of expression. Locke established the individual as the bearer of rights to life, liberty, property, and the pursuit of happiness. Later, John Stuart Mill (1806-1873) defended the right to freedom of expression in his work "On Liberty" (1859). Mill argued that without human freedom, there could be no progress, and that the free expression of ideas, true or false, should not be feared. He believed that views should not be prohibited for their apparent falsity and that free discussion is necessary to prevent a stagnant and unchallenged opinion.
In the United States, the First Amendment to the Constitution explicitly prohibits Congress from making laws that abridge freedom of speech. James Madison wrote the amendments, including the First Amendment, to limit government power and protect individual liberties. The First Amendment ensures that Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof, or abriding the freedom of speech, or of the press.
The evolution of freedom of speech in England and its inclusion in the United States Constitution as a protected liberty highlights its significance as a foundational principle of constitutional liberties.
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Right to bear arms
The right to bear arms is a contentious issue in the United States, with the Second Amendment to the US Constitution stating:
> "A well-regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."
The Second Amendment has its roots in English history and law. The English Bill of Rights of 1689, for instance, includes language protecting the right of Protestants to own arms, stating:
> "That the Subjects which are Protestants may have Arms for their Defence suitable to their Conditions and as allowed by Law."
This law was later commented on by Sir William Blackstone, who described the possession of weapons as an "auxiliary right", supporting the natural rights of self-defence and resistance to oppression. During the colonial and revolutionary periods, legal documents such as the Virginia Declaration of Rights and the Pennsylvania Constitution also asserted the right for citizens to arm themselves as fundamental.
After the American Revolution, there were concerns about the potential for oppressive regimes to use soldiers from large armies to oppress their people. This led to the proposal that each state should raise its own militia, composed of average citizens who would be granted the right to gather and possess armaments. The Second Amendment was thus seen as a bulwark against foreign invasion and federal overreach.
In modern times, the Second Amendment has been interpreted by the Supreme Court as protecting the right of all individual citizens to keep and bear arms for self-defence, rather than solely for a state-run militia. This interpretation has been reaffirmed in landmark cases such as District of Columbia v. Heller (2008) and McDonald v. City of Chicago (2010).
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Right to vote
The right to vote in the United States has been a moral and political issue throughout the country's history. The Constitution, which came into effect on March 9, 1789, did not originally define who was eligible to vote, leaving each state to determine voter eligibility for its citizens.
In the early history of the U.S., most states allowed only white male adult property owners to vote. Certain states and cities, including New Jersey and some local jurisdictions in other northern states, allowed free African Americans and women to vote, provided they met property requirements. In the late 18th century, the Founders' approach to voting was that each of the states would determine voter eligibility.
The Fourteenth Amendment, passed by Congress on June 13, 1866, and ratified on July 9, 1868, extended liberties and rights granted by the Bill of Rights to formerly enslaved people. It granted citizenship to "all persons born or naturalized in the United States" and stated that no state shall "deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws."
The Fifteenth Amendment, ratified on February 3, 1870, grants the right to vote for all male citizens regardless of their race or prior slave status. It states that "the right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude." However, despite the Fifteenth Amendment and its two predecessors, the right to vote was interpreted relatively narrowly by the Supreme Court throughout the late 19th and mid-20th centuries. Discriminatory practices and laws, such as poll taxes, literacy tests, and the activities of the Ku Klux Klan, prevented many African Americans in the Southern states from exercising their constitutional right to vote.
The Nineteenth Amendment, ratified in 1920, gave American women the right to vote. The Twenty-fourth Amendment, ratified in 1964, eliminated poll taxes, which had been used to disenfranchise African American voters. The Twenty-sixth Amendment, ratified in 1971, lowered the voting age for all elections to 18.
The Voting Rights Act of 1965 prohibited voter discrimination based on race, colour, or membership in a language minority group. It also required certain places to provide election materials in languages other than English and placed limits on states with a history of voter discrimination.
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The Fourteenth Amendment
A major provision of the Fourteenth Amendment was to grant citizenship to "All persons born or naturalized in the United States," thereby granting citizenship to formerly enslaved people. The amendment also states that "nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws." This Due Process Clause explicitly applies the Fifth Amendment's similar clause to state governments, protecting all people against the arbitrary denial of life, liberty, or property.
Section 1 of the Fourteenth Amendment, the most frequently litigated part of the amendment, formally defines United States citizenship and protects various civil rights from being abridged or denied by any state law or state action. It also addresses citizenship rights and equal protection under the law at all levels of government. The amendment states that the "right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude."
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Frequently asked questions
The basis for English constitutional liberties is the Magna Carta, an English legal charter agreed upon in 1215.
The Magna Carta was based on pre-existing documents, namely the Charter of Liberties.
The Magna Carta granted liberties such as freedom from unlawful imprisonment ("no free man shall be seized or imprisoned"), right to a trial, and limitations on taxes without representation, among others.
Yes, over time, there have been changes and additions to the liberties outlined in the Magna Carta. For example, the 17th century in England saw the development of common law and statute law, including the 1628 Petition of Right, the Habeas Corpus Act of 1679, and the Bill of Rights in 1689. Parts of these laws remain in statute today and are supplemented by other legislation that collectively forms the uncodified Constitution of the United Kingdom.
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