A Bill of Rights is a charter enumerating civil, political, and sometimes social rights that the state must respect. It functions as a constraint on government power, usually justiciable by courts, and often forms the backbone of constitutional review.
The term traces to the English Bill of Rights 1689, an Act of Parliament that limited the Crown after the Glorious Revolution, established parliamentary supremacy, and barred cruel and unusual punishments. It became a model for later instruments.
The most cited example is the United States Bill of Rights, comprising the first ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution, ratified on 15 December 1791. It protects, among other things, freedom of speech, religion, and assembly (First Amendment), the right against unreasonable search (Fourth), due process (Fifth), and rights of the accused (Sixth).
Other prominent examples include:
- Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (1982), Part I of the Constitution Act, 1982.
- South African Bill of Rights, Chapter 2 of the 1996 Constitution, notable for including socio-economic rights.
- New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990, a statutory (non-entrenched) bill.
- Hong Kong Bill of Rights Ordinance (1991), incorporating the ICCPR domestically.
Bills of rights vary on three axes: (1) entrenchment — whether they sit above ordinary legislation; (2) scope — civil-political only, or also economic, social, and cultural rights; and (3) enforcement — judicial strike-down powers versus weaker "declarations of incompatibility" as under the UK Human Rights Act 1998.
Internationally, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) is sometimes called an "international bill of rights" together with the ICCPR and ICESCR (both 1966, in force 1976). Unlike domestic bills, the UDHR is not itself legally binding, though many of its provisions are now considered customary international law.
For MUN delegates, distinguishing domestic bills of rights from international human rights instruments is essential when drafting language on state obligations.
Example
When South Africa adopted its 1996 Constitution, the Bill of Rights in Chapter 2 was used by the Constitutional Court in *Government of the Republic of South Africa v Grootboom* (2000) to require the state to develop a reasonable housing policy.
Frequently asked questions
No. A Bill of Rights is a domestic constitutional or statutory instrument binding one state's government, while human rights treaties like the ICCPR create international obligations between states parties.
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