What Are Civil Liberties?
The difference between human rights and civil liberties may be largely semantic. It could be said that human rights are those fundamental rights considered to be universal to all people. Civil liberties, however, may be those rights and freedoms recognised by a particular country.
If you believe your civil liberties have been infringed in a dispute with neighbours, you can use our free Rights Situation Checker.
Civil liberties are the rights and freedoms that protect an individual from the state and which are underpinned by a country’s legal system. Civil liberties are the basic freedoms granted to a country’s citizens – they are often defined by law (including, but not limited to, human rights law) and evidenced in government documentation. People need not earn civil rights - citizenship automatically confers them in most cases. Civil liberties prevent governments from abusing their powers and restrict the level of interference in peoples' lives.
Countries around the world may define civil liberties differently - and may, depending on prevailing circumstances, be more or less likely to uphold those civil liberties. This may be as true of notorious authoritarian states, as of countries which are celebrated for the permissive stance they take towards their citizens.
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In 1215, King John of England signed the Magna Carta. At the time, John’s principle motivation for signing the Magna Carta was to placate the medieval barons who were rebelling against the supreme power of the throne. Today it is considered by many people to be the blue print for constitutions and bills of rights all over the world. The Magna Carta guaranteed certain basic levels of treatment for the people and limited the government’s ability to act without reason or to abuse its power.
A well known example of a Bill of Rights actively followed and upheld by its people is the one enshrined in the Constitution of the United States. This automatically grants citizens and residents certain civil liberties - including the right to speak or write freely, to assemble when they want, to practice the religion of their choice and to “bear arms”. These rights are frequently relied upon in the American courts.
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Human Rights and Civil Liberties in the UK
Whilst the UK may not have a written constitution, setting out the civil liberties and rights of its citizens, it has a long common law history of recognising certain freedoms. Indeed, many written constitutions around the world are based on the rights long upheld by the British courts. An example of a very old English right is “Habeas corpus” – which appears to have been in effect in the UK since at least the 14th Century and may pre-date the Magna Carta. Under this rule anyone who has been arrested, or deprived of their liberty, may request that they are presented before a judge so that the legality of their detention can be judicially determined. It has been argued that the spirit of this ancient law has been severely undermined by the introduction of modern anti-terrorist legislation.
The UK Human Rights Act came into force in 2000, giving effect to the European Convention on Human Rights. The rights contained in the Act affect ordinary people in all areas of life – protecting them from breaches of their rights by “public authorities”. The Act also made it possible for people to bring a case in a UK court based on a breach of European Convention rights. Prior to the Human Rights Act a British citizen who had their Convention rights breached would have to have gone to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg.
The Human Rights Act requires UK judges to take decisions of the European Court of Human Rights into account when hearing cases. Whenever possible, judges should interpret other UK legislation in a way which is compatible with the European Convention. If it is not possible to interpret existing legislation in a way which is compatible with the European Convention on Human Rights judges may issue a “declaration of incompatibility”. This declaration does not affect the validity of a UK Act – which is intended to reflect the principle of Parliamentary sovereignty. An individual may still take his case to the European Court of Human Rights as a last resort.
Civil Liberties Around the World
In countries all over the world people argue for greater freedoms to be accorded. In America and other Western societies, for example, there have been campaigns to extend the right to marry to all people regardless of their sexuality. In more restrictive countries, some people risk their lives in support of basic civil liberties such as free speech, the right to peaceful protest and freedom of assembly. What constitutes a civil liberty may depend very much on the country that a person calls home.
Ikeja
Lagos, Nigeria,
7/11/2022 10.43pm Nigerian time
Good Morning, Sir/Madam,
My name is Olawale Abdul-ganiyu Adeshina, 37 years, I write again to you today and I believe that you care for one life and right, this is not poverty but it liberty, or freedom, from bondage and not just one person but from about 200 million people. A copy been send to world court human right which contained photo in pdf. Please I need to leave Nigeria I just attached to know I was the one auto-mobile & green energy project.
I first want to tell the reason this as become more strong and every day it increases, though I have already this problem that I was block by maybe families feeling that I get access to work while they or their children never and they try to stop me for the benefit of their children or them from there It happen that it get more and more until they start involve corporate to doing it. And it mature to what you see. Since 2009
Later days in 2015, I think about how I can make a no gas generating machine and I keep trying to see how to gather material and other source that will enable me get the result since I was still on this problem of attack and I try to contact some few people from abroad then to assist me with some knowledge. In 2018 I hear about when they call for meeting to discuss about the climate change. And I think this my source will be a bit helpful when I show it to the engineers or professional.
So I write a to patern it and then I seek for fund, my problem start it was still at the patern place when they hack my mail from Nigeria to see what I am into and when they see it they come to my house and steal the hard dicks but I still have a back up and they now promise not to allow me get money from any source so that they project will continue any where I was to get fund they track it from the hard dicks with all the document for it and so on I spend some money I have then and I lost my dad and mom the same year 2020.
Ever since then they have been monitoring my movement and who want to help is the reason my account was made so that money will not come in all the people I contacted for assistance then that have send money to me they block it from the cloud and never allow it come.
Lastly because I have friend then I tell that I need help. And a friend my girl friend who assisted me to add me to a site that from their I can get help too and meet people to discuss this and after some month they hack in and downloaded the file to control it here in Nigeria and I start loss contact. When I meet someone discussing this to come they will block the person from the airport and tell never to do business with me and take all the money that they never want me leave them or get money. I try another one to get money in the country to build about 500 tons of soya oil plant and wheat flour plant of about 500 as well they block it and tell they want to do and I should never have money.
Sir/madam this is very serious they
pls can someone help with me on how to handle my situation !
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