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The
representatives of the French people,
organized as a National Assembly, believing
that the ignorance, neglect, or contempt of
the rights of man are the sole cause of
public calamities and of the corruption of
governments, have determined to set forth in
a solemn declaration the natural,
unalienable, and sacred rights of man, in
order that this declaration, being constantly
before all the members of the Social body,
shall remind them continually of their rights
and duties; in order that the acts of the
legislative power, as well as those of the
executive power, may be compared at any
moment with the objects and purposes of all
political institutions and may accordingly be
more respected, and in order that the
grievances of the citizens, based hereafter
upon simple and incontestable principles,
shall tend to the maintenance of the
constitution and redound to the welfare of
all. Therefore
the National Assembly recognizes and
proclaims, in the presence and under the
auspices of the Supreme Being, the following
rights of man and of the citizen: Men
are born and remain free and equal in rights.
Social distinctions may be founded only upon
common utility. Article
II The
aim of all political association is the
preservation of the natural and
imprescriptible rights of man. These rights
are liberty, property, security, and
resistance to oppression. Article
III The
source of all sovereignty resides essentially
in the nation. No body nor individual may
exercise any authority which does not proceed
directly from the nation. Article
IV Liberty
consists in the freedom to do everything
which injures no one else; hence the exercise
of the natural rights of each man has no
limits except those which assure to the other
members of the society the enjoyment of the
same rights. These limits can only be
determined by law. Article
V Law
can only prohibit such actions as are hurtful
to society. Nothing may be prevented which is
not forbidden by law, and no one may be
forced to do anything not provided for by
law. Article
VI Law
is the expression of the general will. Every
citizen has a right to participate
personally, or through his representative, in
its foundation. It must be the same for all,
whether it protects or punishes. All
citizens, being equal in the eyes of the law,
are equally eligible to all dignities and to
all public positions and occupations,
according to their abilities, and without
distinction except that of their virtues and
talents. Article
VII No
person shall be accused, arrested, or
imprisoned except in the cases and according
to the forms prescribed by law. Any one
soliciting, transmitting, executing, or
causing to be executed, any arbitrary order,
shall be punished. But any citizen summoned
or arrested in virtue of the law shall submit
without delay, as resistance constitutes an
offense. Article
VIII The
law shall provide for such punishments only
as are strictly and obviously necessary, and
no one shall suffer punishment except it be
legally inflicted in virtue of a law passed
and promulgated before the commission of the
offense. Article
IX As
all persons are held innocent until they
shall have been declared guilty. If arrest
shall be deemed indispensable, all harshness
not essential to the securing of the
prisoner's person shall be severely repressed
by law. Article
X No
one shall be disquieted on account of his
opinions, including his religious views,
provided their manifestation does not disturb
the public order established by
law. Article
XI The
free communication of ideas and opinions is
one of the most precious of the rights of
man. Every citizen may, accordingly, speak,
write, and print with freedom, but shall be
responsible for such abuses of this freedom
as shall be defined by law. Article
XII The
security of the rights of man and of the
citizen requires public military forces.
These forces are, therefore, established for
the good of all and not for the personal
advantage of those to whom they shall be
intrusted. Article
XIII A
common tax is essential for the maintenance
of the public forces and for the cost of
administration. This should be equitably
distributed among all the citizens in
proportion to their means. Article
XIV All
the citizens have a right to ascertain and
determine, either personally or by their
representatives, as to the necessity of the
public tax; to consent to this freely; to
supervise it's use and to fix the proportion,
the determine the mode of assessment and
collection and duration. Article
XV Society
has the right to require of every public
agent an account of his
administration. Article
XVI A
society in which the guarantee of rights is
not assured, or the separation of powers is
not defined, has no constitution at
all. Article
XVII Since
property is an inviolable and sacred right,
no one shall be deprived thereof except where
public necessity, legally determined, shall
clearly demand it, and then only on condition
that the owner shall have been previously and
equitably indemnified. Verklaring
van de Rechten van de Mens van de
V.N.
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