# Constitutional right > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Constitutional_right > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Constitutional_right.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constitutional_right > Source revision: 1332982514 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) Legal right protected by a sovereignty's constitution This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. (Learn how and when to remove these messages) The examples and perspective in this article deal primarily with the United States and do not represent a worldwide view of the subject. You may improve this article, discuss the issue on the talk page, or create a new article, as appropriate. (February 2012) (Learn how and when to remove this message) This article needs more citations. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Constitutional right" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (August 2008) (Learn how and when to remove this message) (Learn how and when to remove this message) A **constitutional right** can be a prerogative or a duty, a power or a restraint of power, recognized and established by a [sovereign state](/source/Sovereign_state) or union of states. Constitutional [rights](/source/Rights) may be expressly stipulated in a national [constitution](/source/Constitution), or they may be inferred from the language of a national constitution, which is the supreme law of the land, meaning that laws that contradict it are considered unconstitutional and invalid. Usually any constitution defines the structure, functions, powers, and limits of the national government and the individual freedoms, rights, and obligations which will be protected and enforced when needed by the national authorities. Nowadays, most countries have a written constitution comprising similar or distinct constitutional rights.[1] Other coded set of laws have existed before the first Constitutions were developed having some similar purpose and functions, like the United Kingdom's 1215 [Magna Carta](/source/Magna_Carta) or the Virginia Bill of Rights of 1776.[2] ## Specific rights ### Freedom of assembly 191 constitutions recognize the [freedom of assembly](/source/Freedom_of_assembly).[3] It may be further qualified as the right to "peaceful" or "unarmed" assembly for "legal purposes".[3] ### Right to vote The right to vote is mentioned in 143 national constitutions.[4] It may be additionally [secret](/source/Secret_ballot), or [mandatory](/source/Compulsory_voting).[4] There may also be restrictions based on residency, age, race, or criminal conviction.[4] ## United States Further information: [Constitutional law of the United States § Rights of individuals](/source/Constitutional_law_of_the_United_States#Rights_of_individuals) ### Federal constitution Constitutional law of the United States Overview Articles Amendments History Judicial review Principles Separation of powers Individual rights Rule of law Federalism Republicanism Equal footing Tiers of scrutiny Government structure Legislative branch Executive branch Judicial branch State government Local government Individual rights Freedom of religion Freedom of speech Freedom of the press Freedom of assembly Right to petition Freedom of association Right to keep and bear arms Right to trial by jury Criminal procedural rights Right to privacy Freedom from slavery Due process Equal protection Citizenship Voting rights Right to candidacy Comprehensible rules Theory Living Constitution Originalism Substantive due process Political process theory Judicial restraint Purposivism Textualism Strict constructionism Common good constitutionalism Unitary executive theory v t e On September 17, 1787, the [United States Constitution](/source/United_States_Constitution) was signed during the [Constitutional Convention (United States)](/source/Constitutional_Convention_(United_States)) which took place at the Pennsylvania State House in Philadelphia, now the [Independence Hall](/source/Independence_Hall).[5] On December 15, 1791, the Bill of Rights comprising the first 10 Amendments became part of the U.S. Constitution.[6] Later on, other 17 Amendments were added. Thus, the U.S. Constitution is summing a total of 27 Amendments and 7 Articles. During all this time, only one amendment overturned a previous one, more precisely the twenty-first Amendment ratified on December 5, 1933, repealed the [prohibition of alcohol](/source/Prohibition_of_alcohol) established by the eighteenth Amendment on January 16, 1919. The provisions providing for rights under the Bill of Rights were originally binding upon only the federal government. In time, most of these provisions became binding upon the states through [selective incorporation](/source/Selective_incorporation) into the [Due Process Clause](/source/Due_Process_Clause) of the [Fourteenth Amendment](/source/Fourteenth_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitution). When a provision is made binding on a state, a state can no longer restrict the rights guaranteed in that provision. Examples of provisions made binding upon the states are the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution which was made "fully applicable" by being Incorporated with the 14th Amendment in 2010, see, McDonald vs. City of Chicago; the [Sixth Amendment](/source/Sixth_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitution)'s guarantee of a right to confrontation of witnesses, known as the [Confrontation Clause](/source/Confrontation_Clause), and the various provisions of the [First Amendment](/source/First_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitution), guaranteeing the freedoms of speech, the press, government and assembly. For example, the [Fifth Amendment](/source/Fifth_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitution) protects the right to [grand jury](/source/Grand_jury) proceedings in federal criminal cases. However, because this right was not selectively incorporated into the due process clause of the 14th amendment, it is not binding upon the states. Therefore, persons involved in state criminal proceedings as a defendant have no federal constitutional right to grand jury proceedings. Whether an individual has a right to a grand jury becomes a question of state law. The content of each Article and Amendment of the U.S. Constitution is easy to predict since they start with a suggestive title. For example, the [First Amendment](/source/First_Amendment) guarantees the freedom of religion, speech, and the press along with the rights of assembly and petition, the Second Amendment the right to bear arms and so on. However, in order to be easier to distinguish, the legal professionals have divided the constitutional rights into two categories: process rights and [substantive rights](/source/Substantive_rights).[7] Whereas, the process rights refer to the powers and obligations of the government with respect to individuals, the substantive rights, more diverse than the process ones, incorporate the individual freedoms endowed by the individuals creator and protected by the national government. Governments do not grant rights they only grant privilege.[8] ### State constitutions Each of the United States has its own governing Constitution. The States Constitutions are usually longer and written in much more detail than the U.S. Constitution. For example, the [Alabama](/source/Alabama) Constitution has more than 600 pages and the [New Jersey](/source/New_Jersey) Constitution of 1947 is three times longer than the U.S. Constitution.[9] The reason for this difference between the federal Constitution and the states Constitutions is what Justice Brennan called 'the new judicial federalism'.[10] meaning that rights granted by the States Constitutions can be broader than those comprised by the federal Constitution but not narrowed. State constitutions cannot reduce legal protections afforded by the federal charter, but they can provide additional protections. *California v. Ramos*, 463 U.S. 992, 1014, 103 S.Ct. 3446, 77 Lawyer's Edition 2nd 1171 (1983). Even where the text of a state constitution matches verbatim that of the federal constitution, the state document may be held to provide more to the citizen. State constitutional rights can also include those entirely unaddressed in the federal constitution, such as the right to adequate education or the right to affordable housing. ## Other nations This section needs expansion. You can help by adding missing information. (February 2012) See also: [Human rights in Germany](/source/Human_rights_in_Germany) and [Constitution of Japan](/source/Constitution_of_Japan) Countries whose written constitutions include a [bill of rights](/source/Bill_of_rights) include [Germany](/source/Germany), [India](/source/India) and [Japan](/source/Japan). The United Kingdom, as it has an [uncodified constitution](/source/Uncodified_constitution), does not have a constitutional bill of rights, although the [Human Rights Act 1998](/source/Human_Rights_Act_1998) fulfills a similar role. The [European Convention of Human Rights](/source/European_Convention_of_Human_Rights) applies in those nations which are members of the [Council of Europe](/source/Council_of_Europe). Persons who have experienced Convention-infringing human rights violations on the territory of ECHR-signatory nations can appeal to the [European Court of Human Rights](/source/European_Court_of_Human_Rights). In [authoritarian](/source/Authoritarian) regimes there are generally few or no guaranteed inalienable rights; alternatively, such rights may exist but be unobserved in practice (as was generally the case in the former [Francoist Spain](/source/Francoist_Spain)). ## See also - [Civil rights](/source/Civil_rights) - [Constitutional law](/source/Constitutional_law) - [Constitutionalism](/source/Constitutionalism) - [Fundamental rights](/source/Fundamental_rights) - [Human rights](/source/Human_rights) - [Inalienable rights](/source/Inalienable_rights) - [Natural rights](/source/Natural_rights) - [Rule of law](/source/Rule_of_law) ## References 1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** (["Constitutional Rights Origins and Travels"](http://constitutionalrights.constitutioncenter.org/app/home/world/). Retrieved 29 July 2015. ) 1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** (Ginsburg, Tom; Melton, James. ["Innovation in Constitutional Rights"](https://web.archive.org/web/20140717043443/http://www.law.nyu.edu/sites/default/files/upload_documents/November%2019%20Ginsburg%20Melton%20Innovation%20in%20Constitutional%20Rights%20.pdf) (PDF). *NYU*. Draft for presentation at NYU Workshop on Law, Economics and Politics. p. 2. Archived from [the original](http://www.law.nyu.edu/sites/default/files/upload_documents/November%2019%20Ginsburg%20Melton%20Innovation%20in%20Constitutional%20Rights%20.pdf/) on 17 July 2014. Retrieved 29 July 2015.) 1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-:0_3-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-:0_3-1) ["Read about "Freedom of assembly" on Constitute"](https://www.constituteproject.org/search?lang=en&key=assem&status=in_force&status=is_draft). *www.constituteproject.org*. Retrieved 2020-06-22. 1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-:1_4-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-:1_4-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-:1_4-2) ["Read about "Claim of universal suffrage" on Constitute"](https://www.constituteproject.org/search?lang=en&key=voteun&status=in_force&status=is_draft). *www.constituteproject.org*. Retrieved 2020-06-22. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** (Jordan, Terry L. (2013). *The U.S. Constitution and Fascinating Facts About It, 8th Ed*. Naperville IL: Oak Hill Publishing Company. p. 31.) 1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** (Jordan, Terry L. (2013). *The U.S. Constitution and Fascinating Facts About It, 8th Ed*. Naperville IL: Oak Hill Publishing Company. p. 45.) 1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** (Feinman, Jay M. (2014). *Law 101, 4th Ed*. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 49.) 1. **[^](#cite_ref-8)** (Feinman, Jay M. (2014). *Law 101, 4th Ed*. New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 50–51.) 1. **[^](#cite_ref-9)** (Feinman, Jay M. (2014). *Law 101, 4th Ed*. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 12.) 1. **[^](#cite_ref-10)** (Post, Robert (1990). ["Justice Brennan and Federalism"](http://digitalcommons.law.yale.edu/fss_papers/4649/). *Faculty Scholarship Series*. Faculty Scholarship Series. Paper 4649. Retrieved 29 July 2015.) --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Constitutional right](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constitutional_right) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constitutional_right?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.