Declaration of Right
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| Long title | An Act Declaring the Rights and Liberties of the Subject and Settling the Succession of the Crown. |
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| Citation | 1 William & Mary Sess 2 c 2 |
| Dates | |
| Commencement | 1689 |
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Status: Amended
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| Revised text of statute as amended | |
| The Bill of Rights | |
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| Created | 1689 |
| Ratified | December 16, 1689 |
| Location | Parliamentary Archives |
| Author(s) | Parliament of England |
| Purpose | Assert the rights of Parliament and the individual, and ensure a Protestant political supremacy |
The Bill of Rights is an Act of the Parliament of England that deals with constitutional matters and sets out certain basic civil rights. Passed on 16 December 1689, it is a restatement in statutory form of the Declaration of Rights presented by the Convention Parliament to William and Mary in February 1689, inviting them to become joint sovereigns of England. The Bill of Rights lays down limits on the powers of the monarch and sets out the rights of Parliament, including the requirement for regular parliaments, free elections, and freedom of speech in Parliament. It sets out certain rights of individuals including the prohibition of cruel and unusual punishment and reestablished the liberty of Protestants to have arms for their defence within the rule of law. Furthermore, the Bill of Rights described and condemned several misdeeds of James II of England.
These ideas reflected those of the political thinker John Locke and they quickly became popular in England. 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 the United Kingdom, the Bill of Rights is further accompanied by Magna Carta, the Petition of Right, the Habeas Corpus Act 1679 and the Parliament Acts 1911 and 1949 as some of the basic documents of the uncodified British constitution. A separate but similar document, the Claim of Right Act 1689, applies in Scotland. The Bill of Rights 1689 was one of the inspirations for the United States Bill of Rights.
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