Bill of Rights

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Bill of Rights

A generic term referring to a (usually concise) list of rights that citizens of a state possess. For example, a bill of rights may include the freedom to practice religion and the freedom to vote for the candidate of one's choice. There are two types of bill of rights. An entrenched bill of rights may not be amended without a complicated process, such as a popular referendum. An unentrenched bill of rights, on the other hand, may be amended or changed by normal legislative procedure. See also: Constitution.
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Likewise, when Madison proposed the first set of amendments, he indicated that these two formal aspects of state bills of rights were relevant.
The Bill of Rights as a term of art
The Canadian Bill of Rights and the Alberta Bill of Rights remain as the only two standalone Bills of Rights in Canada.
Bills of Rights in Canada
Obviously, bills of rights can be useful in situations in which statutory provisions are already violating the basic rights of people.
The wrongs of a WA human rights act: a rights-based critique
Patients' bills of rights are piously described as serving patients.
The Bill for Rights. (at law)
The rights that Bills of Rights seek to protect do not necessarily have a timeless appeal; rather they reflect notions that are fashionable at the time of the enactment.
The protection of rights in Australia. (Editorial Comment)
The last point most commonly turned up in the claim that bills of rights were appropriate in England but not in America.
Origins of the Bill of Rights

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