Bill of Rights (redirected from bills of rights)

Bill of Rights, in British history

Bill of Rights, 1689, in British history, one of the fundamental instruments of constitutional law. It registered in statutory form the outcome of the long 17th-century struggle between the Stuart kings and the English Parliament. Its principles were accepted by William III and Mary II in the Declaration of Rights as a condition for ascending the throne after the revolution in which James II was dethroned (1688). The Bill of Rights stated that certain acts of James II were illegal and henceforth prohibited; that Englishmen possessed certain inviolable civil and political rights; that James had forfeited the throne by abdication and that William and Mary were lawful sovereigns; that the succession should pass to the heirs of Mary, then to Princess Anne (later queen) and her heirs; and that no Roman Catholic could ever be sovereign of England. By its provisions and implications it gave political supremacy to Parliament and was supplemented (1701) by the Act of Settlement.

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Bill of Rights, in U.S. history

Bill of Rights, in U.S. history: see Constitution of the United States.

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Bill of Rights

(1689) British law, one of the basic instruments of the British constitution. It incorporated the provisions of the Declaration of Rights, which William III and Mary II accepted upon taking the throne. Its main purpose was to declare illegal various practices of James II, such as the royal prerogative of dispensing with the law in certain cases. The result of a long struggle between the Stuart kings and the English people and Parliament, it made the monarchy clearly conditional on the will of Parliament and provided freedom from arbitrary government. It also dealt with the succession to the throne.

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Bill of Rights

First 10 amendments to the Constitution of the United States, adopted as a group in 1791. They are a collection of guarantees of individual rights and of limitations on federal and state governments that derived from popular dissatisfaction with the limited guarantees of the Constitution. The first Congress submitted 12 amendments (drafted by James Madison) to the states, 10 of which were ratified. The 1st Amendment guarantees freedom of religion, speech, and the press and grants the right to petition for redress and to assemble peacefully. The 2nd Amendment guarantees the right of the people to keep and bear arms. The 3rd prohibits the quartering of soldiers in private dwellings in peacetime. The 4th protects against unreasonable search and seizure. The 5th establishes grand-jury indictment for serious offenses, protects against double jeopardy in criminal cases, and prohibits compelling testimony by a person against himself. The 6th establishes the rights of the accused to a speedy trial and an impartial jury and guarantees the right to legal counsel and to the obtaining of witnesses in his favour. The 7th preserves the right to trial by jury in serious civil suits and prohibits double jeopardy in civil cases. The 8th prohibits excessive bail and cruel and unusual punishment. The 9th states that enumeration of certain rights in the Constitution does not mean the abrogation of rights not mentioned. The 10th reserves to the states and people any powers not delegated to the federal government.

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Bill of Rights

(1791) term popularly applied to first 10 Amendments of U.S. Constitution. [Am. Hist.: Payton, 78]

See : Freedom