civil liberty

civil liberty
Usually, civil liberties.
1. the freedom of a citizen to exercise customary rights, as of speech or assembly, without unwarranted or arbitrary interference by the government.
2. such a right as guaranteed by the laws of a country, as in the U.S. by the Bill of Rights.
[1635-45]

* * *

Freedom from arbitrary interference in one's pursuits by individuals or by government.

The term is usually used in the plural. Civil liberties are protected explicitly in the constitutions of most democratic countries. (In authoritarian countries, civil liberties are often formally guaranteed in a constitution but ignored in practice.) In the U.S., civil liberties are guaranteed by the Bill of Rights and the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments to the Constitution of the United States. The Constitution's 13th Amendment prohibits slavery and involuntary servitude; the 14th bars the application of any law that would abridge the "privileges and immunities" of U.S. citizens or deprive any person of "life, liberty, or property...without due process of law" or deny any person equal protection under the law; and the 15th guarantees the right of all U.S. citizens to vote. The related term civil right is often used to refer to one or more of these liberties or indirectly to the obligation of government to protect certain classes of people from violations of one or more of their civil liberties (e.g., the obligation to protect racial minorities from discrimination on the basis of race). In the U.S., civil rights are protected by the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and subsequent legislation. See also American Civil Liberties Union.

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать реферат

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Civil Liberty (UK) — Civil Liberty is a civil rights organisation claiming to be autonomous of any political party in the United Kingdom. It has been incorrectly alleged to be a front organisation for the British Nationalist Party, set up to raise money for the party …   Wikipedia

  • civil liberty — n: freedom from arbitrary interference in one s pursuits (as in expressing thoughts, practicing a religion, or pursuing a living) by individuals or esp. by the government and esp. as constitutionally guaranteed usu. used in pl. see also civil… …   Law dictionary

  • Civil liberty — Liberty Lib er*ty (l[i^]b [ e]r*t[y^]), n.; pl. {Liberties} ( t[i^]z). [OE. liberte, F. libert[ e], fr. L. libertas, fr. liber free. See {Liberal}.] 1. The state of a free person; exemption from subjection to the will of another claiming… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • civil liberty —    Civil liberty (or liberties) refers to those areas in which governmental power should rarely intrude on the free choice of individuals. It restrains the interference of government, marking out a sphere of governmental inactivity. Examples… …   Glossary of UK Government and Politics

  • civil liberty — ► NOUN 1) freedom of action and speech subject to laws established for the good of the community. 2) (civil liberties) one s rights to this. DERIVATIVES civil libertarian noun …   English terms dictionary

  • civil liberty — n [U] also civil liberties the right of all citizens to be free to do whatever they want while respecting the rights of other people …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • civil liberty — noun 1. one s freedom to exercise one s rights as guaranteed under the laws of the country • Syn: ↑political liberty • Hypernyms: ↑freedom 2. fundamental individual right protected by law and expressed as immunity from unwarranted governmental… …   Useful english dictionary

  • civil liberty — civ′il lib′erty n. 1) gov Often, civil liberties. a fundamental right, as freedom of speech, guaranteed to an individual by the laws of a country (as the Bill of Rights in the U.S.) 2) gov the liberty of an individual to exercise such a right… …   From formal English to slang

  • civil liberty — noun freedom of action and speech subject to laws established for the good of the community. ↘(civil liberties) one s rights to this. Derivatives civil libertarian noun …   English new terms dictionary

  • civil liberty — noun Date: 1644 freedom from arbitrary governmental interference (as with the right of free speech) specifically by denial of governmental power and in the United States especially as guaranteed by the Bill of Rights usually used in plural •… …   New Collegiate Dictionary

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”