Civil Rights
Political Studies: Edexcel A Level, topic 17.2.10
Protecting Civil Rights
In the US, the rights are protected by the Constitution and amendments, laws and the Supreme Court. In the UK, rights are protected by parliament legislation, the Human Rights Act and upheld by the judiciary.
US protecting rights 1
- In the US rights are protected by the US Bill of Rights.
- This contains the first 10 amendments to the US Constitution, including:
- The First Amendment freedom of religion and speech
- The Second Amendment right to bear arms
- The Fifth Amendment right to life, liberty and property.
US protecting rights 2
- Rights are protected by more recent amendments such as the 19th which gave women the right to vote and the 26th which lowered the voting age from 21 to 18.
- Laws passed by Congress have protected rights, including the Voting Rights Act (1965) and the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act (2009).
- The Supreme Court protects rights by ruling based on constitutional rights and has established new rights through its rulings.
UK protecting rights
- The judiciary protects the rights and liberties of UK citizens through the use of judicial review, precedent from past rulings, upholding the Human Rights Act and judicial inquiries.
- The Human Rights Act (1998), which incorporated the European Convention on Human rights into UK law, can be used by the Supreme Court to protect rights.
- The Act includes freedoms such as the right to life and a fair trial.
- Parliament passes legislation which establishes the rights of citizens.
US Effectively Protecting Civil Rights
The extent to which civil rights are effectively protected in the US and UK can be debated.
US rights: women
- A woman’s right to abortion was previously grounded in the 14th Amendment through Supreme Court interpretation.
- Roe v Wade (1973) recognised a constitutional right to abortion.
- Dobbs v Jackson Women’s Health Organization (2022) overturned Roe v Wade, returning abortion regulation to individual states.
- Gonzales v Carhart (2007) upheld restrictions on a specific abortion procedure in later-term abortions, showing limits to abortion protections.
US rights: affirmative action
- Affirmative action aims to protect minority rights by improving access to employment and higher education.
- Critics argue it may disadvantage other groups and raise concerns about equality of treatment.
- Gratz v Bollinger (2003) ruled Michigan University’s admissions policy unconstitutional for being too mechanistic in awarding points based on race.
- Fisher v University of Texas (2016) upheld the use of race as one factor in admissions where narrowly tailored to achieve diversity.
More US rights
- The rights of racial minorities, disabled people and women have expanded significantly over time.
- The Voting Rights Act 1965 strengthened protections for minority voting rights, but key provisions were weakened by Shelby County v Holder (2013).
More US rights
- Supreme Court rulings have protected rights such as First Amendment freedom of religion.
- In Town of Greece v Galloway (2014), the Court ruled that legislative prayer at local government meetings was constitutional.
UK Effectively Protecting Civil Rights
The extent to which civil rights are effectively protected in the US and UK can be debated.
Judiciary 1
- In the UK, the judiciary effectively protects rights through its rulings.
- The Supreme Court can rule against government laws and decisions if they are incompatible with rights under the European Convention on Human Rights, as incorporated by the Human Rights Act 1998.
- In 2015 the Supreme Court upheld a freedom of information request, against government opposition, to publish Prince Charles’ letters to government ministers.
Judiciary 2
- The Supreme Court has judicial review power where it can rule that ministers are acting ultra vires.
- For example, it found the introduction of a ‘residence test’ for legal aid to be unlawful in R (Rights of Women) v Lord Chancellor (2016).
Parliament
- Parliament has effectively protected rights through passing laws including the Equal Pay Act (1970) and the Freedom of Information Act (2000).
- The Equality Act (2010) consolidated and strengthened anti-discrimination law to protect the rights of racial minorities and rights based on disability, sexuality and gender.
Entrenched
- In the UK, rights are less strongly protected because they are not entrenched and can be changed by Parliament through ordinary legislation. This differs from the US, where rights are entrenched in the Constitution and require constitutional amendments to be changed.
- In 2015 the Conservative government announced plans to replace the Human Rights Act with a British Bill of Rights, but these proposals were later dropped.
Test yourself on Civil Rights
What is NOT an example of a document or act protecting civil rights in the US and UK?
What year was the Voting Rights Act passed?
Which of the following best explains UK judicial protection of civil rights?