History knows many documents, the signing of which has influenced entire nations. An important place among them is also occupied by several bills signed in England and the USA, which will be discussed.
Bill in England
The Bill of Rights of 1689 is a constitutional act that was passed by the British government and fundamentally influenced the development of the parliamentary monarchy in the state. It became the legal expression of the Glorious Revolution, as a result of which Jacob II Stewart was overthrown from the throne, and his place was taken by the new monarch - William III of Orange.
In order not to revolt against the new government, the king agreed to the signing of the Declaration of Rights, which took place
on February 13, 1689. Thanks to this document, the lords and communities recognized the monarch, and later the Bill of Rights was created on its basis.
How did the bill affect the crown and the people?
The main innovations indicated in the document concerned the correlation of powers and the monarch, who now had to obey the acts of parliament. The king was deprived of the opportunity to repeal the laws of the parliament regarding penalties and to suspend the work of other laws without the consent of the parliament. This led to the fact that the king no longer had the highest power in the legislative sphere, in addition, his powers in the field of legal proceedings were made more limited. Serious restrictions on the interaction of the crown and the church were also introduced. From the moment the bill came into force, the monarch was no longer able to levy taxes on the needs of the people and the maintenance of the army in a peaceful period, and church courts were closed. The funds needed to maintain the royal court and the army were allocated for an exceptionally short period of time, which is why the monarch was forced to apply for subsidies all the time.
What else changed the bill?
In addition, thanks to innovations, the parliament received more powers. Now the king was obliged to arrange convocations of the parliament at least every three generations, and members of parliament received, albeit conditional, but still freedom of speech. The changes also affected the electoral law. The Bill of Rights forbade the recruitment of candidates loyal to the throne. In addition, the document proclaimed the possibility of petitions, as well as freedom of parliamentary debate. The new laws also defined the principles of representation in parliament, which were calculated in proportion to the tax paid. Although in reality only large bourgeois and aristocrats could be vested with suffrage.
Bill and Judiciary
Special subsections of the rights document dealt with the powers of the judiciary. They determined that the courts cannot resort to excessively high pledges, fines, or even cruel punishments. The practice of artificial jury selection that could be used to influence a court decision was no longer legal.
However, the jurisdiction of the jury increased, they were given the right to consider any violations recognized by high treason cases. However, the confiscation of the personal property of those arrested was prohibited even up to the jury. Thus, the bill was intended to stop judicial arbitrariness.
The Bill of Rights, however, did not affirm direct parliamentary rule, and the king still had the right to elect and remove ministers and judges, as well as the ability to convene and dissolve parliament. However, the document actually marked the introduction in England of a regime of a renewed constitutional monarchy.
Bill of Rights-1791
The name is the first 10 amendments to the US Constitution, adopted in 1789, which entered into force in 1791. This was a document significantly expanding the rights of ordinary people. Thanks to him, freedom of speech, assembly, press, the inviolability of man, freedom of religion and many other important postulates were proclaimed. This document was the most important turn in the history of the new state, which ensured personal political rights, as well as the freedoms of US residents. The bill of human rights could put an end to the omnipotence of the monarch and government, which were very common during the early Middle Ages in Europe and in the era of absolutism.
Background of the document
The main provisions of the new bill were based on a document such as the Magna Carta, signed in Britain in 1215, thanks to which the possibilities of the king were significantly limited. The most important point of the document - the inviolability of the person - was first officially enshrined in another British document - the Habeas Corps Act, which was signed on May 27, 1679.
War for independence
After the revolution of 1688, other rights and freedoms were officially secured. When the war for independence began in the USA, a number of similar documents were signed. All of them somehow summed up what was adopted earlier. For example, the Virginia Bill of Rights. However, during the war, guarantees of rights were not provided for opponents of independence.
Federal interaction
The U.S. Bill of Rights also had some flaws. So, despite the fact that the federal authorities now had strong power, the citizens of the country were not protected from their arbitrariness. Therefore, James Madison proposed to make some amendments to the constitution. The bill entered into legal force only when Virginia, the 11th of 14 states that existed at that time, fully accepted it and ratified it on its territory. Initially, it was considered solely as a law that would protect citizens from unlawful actions of the federal authorities. So, the 14th amendment, adopted in 1866, equalized white and African-Americans, who previously could be infringed on. Later, in 1873, the decision was canceled, considering it unacceptable, but already in 1925 it entered into force again, as a resolution was issued prohibiting states from creating laws that restrict or in any way infringe upon the rights and liberties of U.S. citizens.
Amendments
The most important of the bill items is considered the 1st amendment, which proclaims freedom of the press, speech and assembly. It is on it that the basic rights of US citizens and various associations are based. According to the 2nd amendment, it was recognized that the states may have a militia, and the people have the right to store and carry weapons for their own safety. Now there is a debate around this point, as opponents of free sale are seeking to cancel it. The 3rd amendment, which prohibits soldiers from living in private homes in peacetime, is no longer relevant today. The Bill of Rights, in particular the 4th Amendment, ensures the inviolability of property and personality, that is, prohibits any searches by law enforcement agencies without proper permission. According to paragraph 5 of the document, a jury is introduced, and it becomes impossible for a person to be forced to testify against himself. The three subsequent amendments relate directly to legal proceedings. Paragraph 9 determines that it is impossible to take away from the people the rights that it already enjoys, and the 10th, in turn, states that the rights of the state, which were not transferred to the federal government, remain inviolable.
International Bill of Human Rights
This is a series of documents, the totality of which should ensure the rights and freedoms of all people on the planet. The norms contained in these documents are the foundation of international UN human rights standards. All states that have signed the International Bill of Rights undertake to provide their citizens with a number of freedoms and rights that should be granted to all equally without any discrimination.
Conclusion
All the documents mentioned above, one way or another, have affected the current state of human rights. The first bill, adopted in England, actually laid the foundation for a parliamentary monarchy, which limited the power of the monarch and was actually the first step on the road to democracy. The American bill became more revolutionary from this point of view, which already guaranteed people not only equal rights in society, but also prohibited any discrimination, but this has not yet become the final point on the path to a free society. The pinnacle of democracy, of course, was a series of documents adopted by the UN, which were based on all those that had been created earlier, but were, so to speak, presented in modern times, which allows them today to ensure equal rights and freedoms for every person on Earth.