Counsel at any legal proceeding

The United States Constitution is frequently lauded as the greatest document outlining the freedoms of its people. Corresponding documents from other countries are not commonly studied by Americans.

Here is a comparison of the fundamental rights enumerated by the constitutions of eight major countries. Numbers refer to section numbers in each country’s constitution. Links at the top of the chart are to the text of each country’s constitution.

In most countries’ constitutions, civil rights are defined in the beginning of the document, followed by the structure and function of the government. In the United States, Civil rights are defined by amendments because some states objected to their presence in the Constitution.

(England does not have a written constitution, but its laws are in conformance to the European Declaration of Human Rights. France’s constitution does not appear to contain a section on fundamental rights.)

All of the basic civil rights are present in every country. Some things considered “rights” in one country are specifically banned in others. Dangerous weapons, for instance, are banned in most countries but a “right” in the United States.

Many nations specifically mention the phrase “Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” as fundamental rights in their constitution. In the United States, this phrase appears only in the Declaration of Independence, which has no legal standing.

None of the countries has a constitutional amendment making flag-burning a crime.