Civil rights

Civil rights

Civil rights may refer to several different things:

* Civil and political rights: A class of rights ensuring things such as the protection of peoples' physical integrity; procedural fairness in law; protection from discrimination based on gender, religion, race, etc; individual freedom of belief, speech, association, and the press; and political participation.
* Legal rights: Rights that are bestowed by nations on those within their jurisdiction; they are sometimes also called civil rights in common law jurisdictions. Contrast with natural rights or human rights which many scholars claim that individuals have by nature of being born.
* In civil law jurisdictions, a civil right is a right or power which can be exercised under civil law, which includes things such as the ability to contract. In civil law jurisdictions, lawsuits between private parties for things such as breach of contract or a tort are usually expressed in terms of infringement of a civil right.


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  • Civil rights — civil rights …   Dictionary of sociology

  • civil rights — n. The rights of all citizens to personal liberties, freedom, and equality; rights specifically granted through laws enacted by communities, as opposed to civil liberties, which are rights that the government is not allowed to restrict. The… …   Law dictionary

  • civil rights — Rights which are recognized as belonging to all individuals in a society, which can be upheld by appeal to the law, and are not subject to arbitrary denial either by individuals or the state. They are usually defended in terms of the protection… …   Dictionary of sociology

  • civil rights — n [plural] the rights that every person should have, such as the right to vote or to be treated fairly by the law, whatever their sex, race, or religion civil rights demonstration/movement etc ▪ a civil rights leader →↑bill of rights …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • civil rights — civil right civil right, civil rights civil rights a legal right or rights belonging to a person by reason of citizenship, including especially the fundamental freedoms and privileges guaranteed by the 13th and 14th amendments and subsequent acts …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • civil rights — noun plural * the basic rights that all people in a society should have, for example the right to be treated fairly by the law, the right to express your ideas, and the right to practice your religion: the civil rights movement of the 1960s a… …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • civil rights — [n] freedoms of citizens civil liberties, constitutional rights, freedom of religion, freedom of speech, freedoms, God given rights, rights; concept 376 …   New thesaurus

  • civil rights — civil rights, adj. (often caps.) 1. rights to personal liberty established by the 13th and 14th Amendments to the U.S. Constitution and certain Congressional acts, esp. as applied to an individual or a minority group. 2. the rights to full legal …   Universalium

  • Civil Rights —   [ sɪvɪl raɪts, englisch], die Bürgerrechte, Rechtsvorschriften des Bundes und der Gliedstaaten der USA zur Vermeidung jeglicher Ungleichbehandlung von Bürgern wegen ihrer Rasse, Hautfarbe, Abstammung oder Religion (Diskriminierung). Während die …   Universal-Lexikon

  • civil rights — ► PLURAL NOUN ▪ the rights of citizens to political and social freedom and equality …   English terms dictionary

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