Fundamental right
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A fundamental right is a right that has its origin in a country's constitution or that is necessarily implied from the terms of that constitution. These fundamental rights usually encompass those rights considered natural human rights.
Some rights generally recognized as fundamental are:
- Right to life
- Right to marry
- Right to procreate
- Right to raise children free from unnecessary governmental interference
- Right to freedom of association
- Right to freedom of expression
- Right to equal treatment or equal protection before the law (fair legal procedures)
- Right to freedom of thought
- Right to religious belief
- Right to choose when and where to acquire formal education
- Right to pursue happiness
- Right to vote
- Right to Freedom of contract
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[edit] American Constitutional Law
In American Constitutional Law, fundamental rights have special significance under the 14th Amendment to the Constitution. Via the due process and equal protection clauses of that amendment, the Supreme Court has held that some rights are so fundamental, that any law restricting such a right must both serve a compelling state purpose, and be narrowly tailored to that compelling purpose.
While the recognition of such rights have changed over time, they are generally coterminous with the rights laid out in the Bill of Rights, though not all rights in the Bill of Rights are fundamental. For example, states are not required to obey the Fifth Amendment requirement of indictment by grand jury. Many states choose to have preliminary hearings instead of grand juries The Supreme Court has also recognized some other fundamental rights not specifically enumerated in the Constitution, including:
- the right to privacy
- the right to marry and procreate
- the right to interstate travel
Any restrictions on these rights on the basis of race or religion are evaluated with strict scrutiny. If they are denied to everyone, it is an issue of substantive due process. If they are denied to some individuals but not others, it is also an issue of equal protection.
During the Lochner era, the right to freedom of contract was considered to be fundamental and thus restrictions on that right were subject to strict scrutiny. Following the 1937 Supreme Court decision in West Coast Hotel Co. v. Parrish, though, the right to contract became considerably less important in the context of substantive due process and restrictions on it were evaluated under the rational basis standard.
