Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen
La Déclaration des Droits de l'Homme et du citoyen, (in English, The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen), was one of the fundaments of the French Revolution, defining a set of individual rights (and collective rights of the people vis a vis the state). It was adopted August 26, 1789 by the Assemblée Nationale Constituante ("National Constituent Assembly"), as the first step toward writing a constitution.
| Table of contents |
|
2 Substance of the Declaration 3 Effect today 4 See also 5 English translation |
Adoption of the Declaration
At the time the Declaration was drafted, it was intended as part of a transition from an absolute to a constitutional monarchy. In the event, France soon became a Republic, but this document remained fundamental.
The principles set forth in the declaration come from the philosophical and political principles of the Age of Enlightenment, such as the individualism, and the separation of powers espoused by le Baron de Montesquieu. It may have also been based on the Virginia Declaration of Rights developed by George Mason and on the U.S. Declaration of Independence.
Substance of the Declaration
This statement of principles contained the kernel of a much more radical re-ordering of society than had yet taken place. A mere 6 weeks after the storming of the Bastille and barely three weeks after the , the Declaration put forward a doctrine of popular sovereignty and equal opportunity:
- "Article III – The principle of any sovereignty resides essentially in the Nation. No body, no individual can exert authority which does not emanate expressly from it."
- (From Article VI) – "All the citizens, being equal in [the eyes of the law], are equally admissible to all public dignities, places, and employments, according to their capacity and without distinction other than that of their virtues and of their talents."
The Declaration also put forward several provisions similar to the United States Constitution and Bill of Rights, which date from the same year. Like the U.S. Constitution, it discusses the need to provide for the common defense and states some broad principles about taxation. It also specifies a public right to an accounting from public agents as to how they have discharged the public trust. Like the U.S. Bill of Rights, it provides against ex post facto application of criminal law and puts forward such principles as presumption of innocence, freedom of speech and of the press, and a slightly weaker guarantee of freedom of religion — "provided that [... the] manifestation [... of their religious opinions] does not trouble the public order established by the law". It asserts the rights of property, while reserving a public right of eminent domain:
- "Article XVII - Property being an inviolable and sacred right, no one can be deprived of private usage, if it is not when the public necessity, legally noted, evidently requires it, and under the condition of a just and prior indemnity [i.e., compensation]."
Effect today
According to the preamble of the Constitution of the French Fifth Republic (adopted on October 4, 1958, and the current constitutions as of 2004), the principles set forth in the Declaration have constitutional value. Many laws and regulations have been cancelled because they did not comply with those principles as interpreted by the '\'Conseil Constitutionnel ("Constitutional Council") or the Conseil d'État'' ("Council of State").