Web Encyclopedia News Blogs Forums

Civil rights

Civil rights refers to two related but different terms. In civil law jurisdictions, a civil right is a right or power which can be exercised under civil law, which includes things such as the ability to contract. In civil law jurisdictions, lawsuits between private parties for things such as breach of contract or a tort are usually expressed in terms of infringement of a civil right. For example, Article 2 of the Contract Law of the People's Republic of China defines a contract as "an agreement establishing, modifying and terminating the civil rights and obligations between subjects of equal footing".

In common law jurisdiction, the term civil right is distinguished from "human rights" or "natural rights". Civil rights are rights that are bestowed by nations on those within their boundaries, while natural or human rights are rights that many scholars claim that individuals have by nature of being born. For example, the philosopher John Locke (1632–1704) argued that the natural rights of life, liberty and property should be converted into civil rights and protected by the sovereign state as an aspect of the social contract. Others have argued that people acquire rights as an inalienable gift from a deity (such as God) or at a time of nature before governments were formed.

Laws guaranteeing civil rights may be written down, or derived from custom, or implied. In the United States and most continental European countries, civil rights laws are most often written. Examples of civil rights and liberties include the right to get redress if injured by another, the right to privacy, the right of peaceful protest, the right to a fair investigation and trial if suspected of a crime, and more generally-based constitutional rights such as the right to vote, the right to personal freedom, the right to freedom of movement and the right of equal protection. As civilizations emerged and formalized through written constitutions, some of the more important civil rights were granted to citizens. When those grants were later found inadequate, civil rights movements emerged as the vehicle for claiming more equal protection for all citizens and advocating new laws to restrict the effects of discrimination.

Implied rights

"Implied" rights are rights that a court may find to exist even though not expressly guaranteed by written law or custom, on the theory that a written or customary right must necessarily include the implied right. One famous (and controversial) example of a right implied from the U.S. Constitution is the "right to privacy", which the U.S. Supreme Court found to exist in the 1965 case of Griswold v. Connecticut. In the 1973 case of Roe v. Wade, the court found that state legislation prohibiting or limiting abortion violated this right to privacy. As a rule, state governments can expand civil rights beyond the U.S. Constitution, but they cannot diminish Constitutional rights.

United States

Civil rights can refer to protection against public (government) and or private sector discrimination. In the United States, the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution protects citizens against many forms of State discrimination, with its due process and equal protection requirements.
Civil rights can also refer to protection against private actors or entities. The U.S. Congress subsequently addressed the issue through the Civil Rights Act of 1964 Sec. 201. which states: (a) All persons shall be entitled to the full and equal enjoyment of the goods, services, facilities, privileges, advantages, and accommodations of any place of public accommodation, as defined in this section, without discrimination or segregation on the ground of race, color, religion, or national origin or sex. This legislation and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 are constitutional under the Commerce Clause, as the Supreme Court has ruled that the Fourteenth Amendment only applies to the State. States generally have the power to enact similar legislation, provided that they meet the federal minimum standard, under the doctrine of police powers.

The terms civil rights and civil liberties are often used interchangeably in the United States. Thomas Jefferson wrote, "a free people

their rights as derived from the laws of nature, and not as the gift of their chief magistrate."Thomas Jefferson: Rights of British America, 1774. ME 1:209, Papers 1:134 http://etext.virginia.edu/jefferson/quotations/jeff0100.htm

The United States Constitution recognizes different civil rights than do most other national constitutions. Two examples of civil rights found in the US but rarely (if ever) elsewhere are the right to bear arms (Second Amendment to the United States Constitution) and the right to a jury trial (Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution). Few nations, not even including a world organization body such as the United Nations, have recognized either of these civil rights. Many nations recognize an individual's civil right to not be executed for murdering another, a civil right not recognized within the US.

Germany

The civil rights are declared in the Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany, especially in the articles 1 - 19.

Notes

References

Arendt, Hannah, The Origins of Totalitarianism (1951)

Hohfeld, W. N., Fundamental Legal Conceptions as Applied in Judicial Reasoning, ed. by W.W. Cook (1919); reprint, New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1964.

Nozick, Robert, Anarchy, State, and Utopia, Basic Books. 1974.

Rawls, John, A Theory of Justice (Revised edition, Cambridge, Massachusetts: Belknap Press, 1999), ISBN 0-674-00077-3.

Smith, Jean Edward & Levine, Herbert M., Civil Liberties & Civil Rights Debated, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 1988.

External links

Civil Rights Resource Guide, from the Library of Congress

We Shall Overcome: Historic Places of the Civil Rights Movement, a National Park Service Discover Our Shared Heritage Travel Itinerary

The Leadership Conference on Civil Rights

Seattle Civil Rights and Labor History Project

WDAS Radio's Enduring Impact on the Civil Rights Movement

Images of the Civil Rights Movement in Florida

Civil Rights Movement Veterans

Guardians of Freedom - 50th Anniversary of Operation Arkansas, by ARMY.MIL

Civil Rights.org

Civil Rights Movement

Study of the civil rights movement in America.

video interview with Prof. Ahmad Rahman

video interview with Prof. Gloria House

This section is sponsored by:
civil rights
Don't just search for civil rights, find results.
www.ask.com

Civil Rights
Find Civil Rights info here!
www.dealrain.com

Civil Rights
Get More Info On Civil Rights At Uncover The Net.
www.uncoverthenet.com

Better Results For Civil Rights
Find civil rights results and other info here!
www.dealshine.com

Police Brutality & Excessive Force
A police officer acts with excessive force when he/she uses an amount of force with regards to a civilian that is more then necessary. Police officers are permitted to use force and in some
www.police-watchers.com

Laptops
Find a great deal on a Laptop Computer by browsing our Laptop Computer listings.
www.LaptopComputersInfo.com

laptops
Don't just search for laptops, find results.
www.ask.com

Extreme Laptop Sale
Ultra Performance Notebook Systems Save up to $2000 on special units!
www.notebookchoice.com

Civil rights

Implied rights

United States

Germany

Agencies

People

Politics

Related topics

Notes

References

External links