Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen

This document was published by the National Assembly of France, August 1789. English translation from http://dspace.dial.pipex.com/town/terrace/adw03/c-eight/france/decman.htm

The representatives of the French people, sitting in the National Assembly considering that ignorance of, neglect of, and contempt for the rights of man are the sole causes of public misfortune and the corruption of governments, have resolved to set out in a solemn declaration the natural, inalienable and sacred rights of man, in order that this declaration, constantly before all members of the civic body, will constantly remind them of their rights and duties, in order that acts of legislative and executive power can be frequently compared with the purpose of every political institution, thus making them more respected; in order that the demands of the citizens, hence forth founded on simple and irrefutable principles, will always tend towards the maintenance of the constitution and the happiness of everyone.

Consequently the National Assembly recognises and declares, in the presence of, and under the auspices of, the Supreme Being, the following rights of man and of the citizen:

I. Men are born and remain free and equal in rights. Social distinctions can only be founded on communal utility.

II. The purpose of all political associations is the preservation of the natural and imprescriptible rights of man. These rights are liberty, property, security and resistance to oppression.

III. The principle of all sovereignty emanates essentially from the nation. No group of men, no individual, can exercise any authority which does not specifically emanate from it.

IV. Liberty consists in being able to do whatever does not harm others. Hence the exercise of the natural rights of every man is limited only by the need for other members of society to exercise the same rights. These limits can only be determined by the law.

V. The law only has the right to prohibit actions harmful to society. What is not prohibited by law cannot be forbidden, and nobody can be forced to do what the law does not require.

VI. The law is the expression of the general will. All citizens have the right to take part personally, or through their representatives, in the making of the law. It should be the same for everyone, whether it protects or punishes. All citizens, being equal in the eyes of the law, are equally admissible to all honours, offices and public employment, according to their capacity and without any distinction other than those of their integrity and talents.

VII. A man can only be accused, arrested or detained in cases determined by law, and according to the procedure it requires. Those who solicit, encourage, execute, or cause to be executed, arbitrary orders, must be punished, but every citizen called upon or arrested in the name of the law must obey instantly; resistance renders him culpable

VIII. The law must only require punishments that are strictly and evidently necessary, and a person can only be punished according to a established law passed before the offence and legally applied.

IX. Every man being presumed innocent until he has been declared guilty, if it is necessary to arrest him, all severity beyond what is necessary to secure his arrest shall be severely punished by law

X. No man ought to be uneasy about his opinions, even his religious beliefs, provided that their manifestation does not interfere with the public order established by the law.

XI. The free communication of thought and opinion is one of the most precious rights of man: every citizen can therefore talk, write and publish freely, except that he is responsible for abuses of this liberty in cases determined by the law.

XII. The guaranteeing of the rights of man and the citizen requires public force: this force is therefore established for everybody’s advantage and not for the particular benefit of the persons who are entrusted with it.

XIII. A common contribution is necessary for the maintenance of the public force and for administrative expenses; it must be equally apportioned. between all citizens, according to their means.

XIV. All citizens have the right, personally or by means of their representatives, to have demonstrated to them the necessity of public taxes. so that they can consent freely to them, can check how they are used, and can determine the shares to be paid, their assessment, collection and duration.

XV. The community has the right to hold accountable every public official in its administration.

XVI. Every society which has no assured guarantee of rights, nor a separation of powers, does not possess a constitution.

XVII. Property being a sacred and inviolable right, nobody can be deprived of it, except when the public interest, legally defined, evidently requires it, and then on condition there is just compensation in advance.


When one door closes, another opens. But we often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door that we fail to see the one that has opened for us. - Alexander Graham Bell