Selected statutory provisions from the United Kingdom

BILL OF RIGHTS

[1689]

An Act Declaring the Rights and Liberties of the Subject and Settling the Succession of the Crown

Whereas the Lords Spiritual and Temporal and Commons assembled at Westminster, lawfully, fully and freely representing all the estates of the people of this realm, did upon the thirteenth day of February in the year of our Lord one thousand six hundred eighty-eight [old style date] present unto their Majesties, then called and known by the names and style of William and Mary, prince and princess of Orange, being present in their proper persons, a certain declaration in writing made by the said Lords and Commons in the words following, viz.:

  • Whereas the late King James the Second, by the assistance of divers evil counsellors, judges and ministers employed by him, did endeavour to subvert and extirpate the Protestant religion and the laws and liberties of this kingdom;
  • By assuming and exercising a power of dispensing with and suspending of laws and the execution of laws without consent of Parliament; By committing and prosecuting divers worthy prelates for humbly petitioning to be excused from concurring to the said assumed power;
  • By issuing and causing to be executed a commission under the great seal for erecting a court called the Court of Commissioners for Ecclesiastical Causes;
  • By levying money for and to the use of the Crown by pretence of prerogative for other time and in other manner than the same was granted by Parliament;
  • By raising and keeping a standing army within this kingdom in time of peace without consent of Parliament, and quartering soldiers contrary to law;
  • By causing several good subjects being Protestants to be disarmed at the same time when papists were both armed and employed contrary to law;
  • By violating the freedom of election of members to serve in Parliament;
  • By prosecutions in the Court of King's Bench for matters and causes cognizable only in Parliament, and by divers other arbitrary and illegal courses;
  • And whereas of late years partial corrupt and unqualified persons have been returned and served on juries in trials, and particularly divers jurors in trials for high treason which were not freeholders;
  • And excessive bail hath been required of persons committed in criminal cases to elude the benefit of the laws made for the liberty of the subjects;
  • And excessive fines have been imposed;
  • And illegal and cruel punishments inflicted;
  • And several grants and promises made of fines and forfeitures before any conviction or judgment against the persons upon whom the same were to be levied;
  • All which are utterly and directly contrary to the known laws and statutes and freedom of this realm;

And whereas the said late King James the Second having abdicated the government and the throne being thereby vacant, his Highness the prince of Orange (whom it hath pleased Almighty God to make the glorious instrument of delivering this kingdom from popery and arbitrary power) did (by the advice of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal and divers principal persons of the Commons) cause letters to be written to the Lords Spiritual and Temporal being Protestants, and other letters to the several counties, cities, universities, boroughs and cinque ports, for the choosing of such persons to represent them as were of right to be sent to Parliament, to meet and sit at Westminster upon the two and twentieth day of January in this year one thousand six hundred eighty and eight [old style date], in order to such an establishment as that their religion, laws and liberties might not again be in danger of being subverted, upon which letters elections having been accordingly made;

And thereupon the said Lords Spiritual and Temporal and Commons, pursuant to their respective letters and elections, being now assembled in a full and free representative of this nation, taking into their most serious consideration the best means for attaining the ends aforesaid, do in the first place (as their ancestors in like case have usually done) for the vindicating and asserting their ancient rights and liberties declare:

  • That the pretended power of suspending the laws or the execution of laws by regal authority without consent of Parliament is illegal;
  • That the pretended power of dispensing with laws or the execution of laws by regal authority, as it hath been assumed and exercised of late, is illegal;
  • That the commission for erecting the late Court of Commissioners for Ecclesiastical Causes, and all other commissions and courts of like nature, are illegal and pernicious;
  • That levying money for or to the use of the Crown by pretence of prerogative, without grant of Parliament, for longer time, or in other manner than the same is or shall be granted, is illegal;
  • That it is the right of the subjects to petition the king, and all commitments and prosecutions for such petitioning are illegal;
  • That the raising or keeping a standing army within the kingdom in time of peace, unless it be with consent of Parliament, is against law;
  • That the subjects which are Protestants may have arms for their defence suitable to their conditions and as allowed by law;
  • That election of members of Parliament ought to be free;
  • That the freedom of speech and debates or proceedings in Parliament ought not to be impeached or questioned in any court or place out of Parliament;
  • That excessive bail ought not to be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted;
  • That jurors ought to be duly impanelled and returned, and jurors which pass upon men in trials for high treason ought to be freeholders;
  • That all grants and promises of fines and forfeitures of particular persons before conviction are illegal and void;
  • And that for redress of all grievances, and for the amending, strengthening and preserving of the laws, Parliaments ought to be held frequently.

And they do claim, demand and insist upon all and singular the premises as their undoubted rights and liberties, and that no declarations, judgments, doings or proceedings to the prejudice of the people in any of the said premises ought in any wise to be drawn hereafter into consequence or example; to which demand of their rights they are particularly encouraged by the declaration of his Highness the prince of Orange as being the only means for obtaining a full redress and remedy therein.

Having therefore an entire confidence that his said Highness the prince of Orange will perfect the deliverance so far advanced by him, and will still preserve them from the violation of their rights which they have here asserted, and from all other attempts upon their religion, rights and liberties, the said Lords Spiritual and Temporal and Commons assembled at Westminster do resolve that William and Mary, prince and princess of Orange, be and be declared king and queen of England, France and Ireland and the dominions thereunto belonging, to hold the crown and royal dignity of the said kingdoms and dominions to them, the said prince and princess, during their lives and the life of the survivor to them, and that the sole and full exercise of the regal power be only in and executed by the said prince of Orange in the names of the said prince and princess during their joint lives, and after their deceases the said crown and royal dignity of the same kingdoms and dominions to be to the heirs of the body of the said princess, and for default of such issue to the Princess Anne of Denmark and the heirs of her body, and for default of such issue to the heirs of the body of the said prince of Orange. And the Lords Spiritual and Temporal and Commons do pray the said prince and princess to accept the same accordingly.

And that the oaths hereafter mentioned be taken by all persons of whom the oaths have allegiance and supremacy might be required by law, instead of them; and that the said oaths of allegiance and supremacy be abrogated.

"I, A.B., do sincerely promise and swear that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to their Majesties King William and Queen Mary. So help me God."

"I, A.B., do swear that I do from my heart abhor, detest and abjure as impious and heretical this damnable doctrine and position, that princes excommunicated or deprived by the Pope or any authority of the see of Rome may be deposed or murdered by their subjects or any other whatsoever. And I do declare that no foreign prince, person, prelate, state or potentate hath or ought to have any jurisdiction, power, superiority, pre-eminence or authority, ecclesiastical or spiritual, within this realm. So help me God."

Upon which their said Majesties did accept the crown and royal dignity of the kingdoms of England, France and Ireland, and the dominions thereunto belonging, according to the resolution and desire of the said Lords and Commons contained in the said declaration.

(…)

Parliament Act 1911

An Act to make provision with respect to the powers of the House of Lordsin relation to those of the House of Commons, and to limit the duration ofParliament. [18th August 1911]

1 Powers of House of Lords as to Money Bills.

(1) If a Money Bill, having been passed by the House of Commons, and sent up to the Houseof Lords at least one month before the end of the session, is not passed by the House ofLords without amendment within one month after it is so sent up to that House, the Billshall, unless the House of Commons direct to the contrary, be presented to His Majestyand become an Act of Parliament on the Royal Assent being signified, notwithstandingthat the House of Lords have not consented to the Bill.

(2) A Money Bill means a Public Bill which in the opinion of the Speaker of the House ofCommons contains only provisions dealing with all or any of the following subjects,namely, the imposition, repeal, remission, alteration, or regulation of taxation; theimposition for the payment of debt or other financial purposes of charges on theConsolidated Fund, the National Loans Fundor on money provided by Parliament,or the variation or repeal of any such charges; supply; the appropriation, receipt,custody, issue or audit of accounts of public money; the raising or guarantee of anyloan or the repayment thereof; or subordinate matters incidental to those subjects orany of them. In this subsection the expressions “taxation,”“public money,”and “loan”respectively do not include any taxation, money, or loan raised by local authorities orbodies for local purposes.

(3) There shall be endorsed on every Money Bill when it is sent up to the House of Lords andwhen it is presented to His Majesty for assent the certificate of the Speaker of the Houseof Commons signed by him that it is a Money Bill. Before giving his certificate theSpeaker shall consult, if practicable, two members to beappointed from the Chairmen’sPanel at the beginning of each Session by the Committee of Selection.

2 Restriction of the powers of the House of Lords as to Bills other than Money Bills.

(1) If any Public Bill (other than a Money Bill or a Bill containing any provision to extendthe maximum duration of Parliament beyond five years) is passed by the House ofCommons in two successive sessions(whether of the same Parliament or not), and,having been sent up to the House of Lords at least one month before the end of thesession, is rejected by the House of Lords in each of those sessions, that Bill shall, onits rejectionfor the second timeby the House of Lords, unless the House of Commonsdirect to the contrary, be presented to His Majesty and become an Act of Parliament onthe Royal Assent being signified thereto, notwithstanding that the House of Lords havenot consented to the Bill: Provided that this provision shall not take effect unless oneyear has elapsedbetween the date of the second reading in the first of those sessionsof the Bill in the House of Commons and the date on which it passes the House ofCommons in the second of these sessions.

(2) When a Bill is presented to His Majesty for assent in pursuance of the provisions ofthis section, there shall be endorsed on the Bill the certificate of the Speaker of theHouse of Commons signed by him that the provisions of this section have been dulycomplied with.

(3) A Bill shall be deemed to be rejected by the House of Lords if it is not passed by theHouse of Lords either without amendment or with such amendments only as may beagreed to by both Houses.

(4) A Bill shall be deemed to be the same Bill as a former Bill sent up to the House ofLords in the preceding session if, when it is sent up to the House of Lords, it is identicalwith the former Bill or contains only such alterations as are certified by the Speakerof the House of Commons to be necessary owing to the time which has elapsed sincethe date of the former Bill, or to represent any amendments which have been made bythe House of Lords in the former Bill in the preceding session, and any amendmentswhich are certified by the Speaker to have been made by the House of Lords in thesecond sessionand agreed to by the House of Commons shall be inserted in the Billas presented for Royal Assent in pursuance of this section:

Provided that the House of Commons may, if they think fit, on the passage of such aBill through the House in the second session,]suggest any further amendments withoutinserting the amendments in the Bill, and any such suggested amendments shall beconsidered by the House of Lords, and, if agreed to by that House, shall be treated asamendments made by the House of Lords and agreed to by the House of Commons; butthe exercise of this power by the House of Commons shall not affect the operation ofthis section in the event of the Bill being rejected by the House of Lords.

3 Certificate of Speaker.

Any certificate of the Speaker of the House of Commons given under this Act shall beconclusive for all purposes, and shall not be questioned in any court of law.

4 Enacting words.

(1) In every Bill presented to His Majesty under the preceding provisions of this Act, thewords of enactment shall be as follows, that is to say:

“Be it enacted by the King’s most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice andconsent of the Commons in this present Parliament assembled, in accordancewith the provisions of the Parliament Acts 1911 and 1949and by authorityof the same, as follows.”

(2) Any alteration of a Bill necessary to give effect to this section shall not be deemed tobe an amendment of the Bill.

5 Provisional Order Bills excluded.

In this Act the expression “Public Bill”does not include any Bill for confirming aProvisional Order.

6 Saving for existing rights and privileges of the House of Commons.

Nothing in this Act shall diminish or qualify the existing rights and privileges of theHouse of Commons.

7 Duration of Parliament.

Five years shall be substituted for seven years as the time fixed for the maximumduration of Parliament under the Septennial Act 1715.

8 Short title.

This Act may be cited as the Parliament Act 1911.

Parliament Act 1949

An Act to amend the Parliament Act 1911. [16th December 1949]

1 Substitution of references to two sessions and one year for reference to threesessions and two years respectively.

The Parliament Act, 1911, shall have effect, and shall be deemed to have had effectfrom the beginning of the session in which the Bill for this Act originated (save asregards that Bill itself), as if—(a) there had been substituted in subsections (1) and (4) of section two thereof, for the words“in three successive sessions”, “for the third time”, “in the third of those sessions”, “inthe third session”, and “in the second or third session” respectively, the words “ in twosuccessive sessions”, “for the second time”, “in the second of those sessions”, “in thesecond session”, and “in the second session” respectively; and

(b) there had been substituted in subsection (1)of the said section two, for the words “twoyears have elapsed” the words “one year has elapsed”:

Provided that, if a Bill has been rejected for the second time by the House of Lords beforethe signification of the Royal Assent to the Bill for this Act, whether such rejection was inthe same session as that in which the Royal Assent to the Bill for thisAct was signified orin an earlier session, the requirement of the said section two that a Bill is to be presentedto His Majesty on its rejection for the second time by the House of Lords shall have effectin relation to the Bill rejected as a requirement that it is to be presented to His Majesty assoon as the Royal Assent to the Bill for this Act has been signified, and, notwithstandingthat such rejection was in an earlier session, the Royal Assent to the Bill rejected may besignified in the session in which the Royal Assent to the Bill for this Act was signified.