| A MODEL BILL OF RIGHTS
By former Belgium representative Michael Van Notten
Human rights:
* originate in every person's natural obligation to form his own
opinion.
* specify those activities which do not require permission.
* serve to prevent and resolve conflicts between people pursuing
contradictory values, and
* are timeless, unchangeable, absolute, inalienable and universal,
taking priority over any law, including government law,
THEREFORE:
I (human rights)
Every person shall be free to:
a. form his own opinion;
b. control his own body;
c. take any object not belonging to others;
d. make agreements of his choice; and
e. defend these freedoms.
II (human obligations)
Every person shall respect the rights of others, and shall therefore
refrain from:
a. using force against their rightfully obtained possessions, and
b. disposing otherwise of their property without their permission.
III (remedies)
Every person who violates someone's human rights shall:
a. cease violating them.
b. return the goods thereby alienated.
c. compensate the damage inflicted and profits foregone, and
d. pay fines for wilful infringement.
IV (fines)
Fines shall accrue to the victim and be determined, in last instance, by an
independent and impartial court of justice on the basis of the seriousness
of the crime and the circumstances it was committed.
V (sanction)
Every person who fails to remedy the rights he violated loses, to the
benefit of his victim, his right to dispose of his property as long as his
refusal persists.
VI (force)
Every person shall be free to use force to defend his human rights and to
restore them at the expense of the violator provided, in the latter case,
that such force is exercised by a police.
VII (the police)
The police, including the military, shall not use its force save:
1. at the request of a person whose rights have been violated;
2. against the person who violated them;
3. for the sole purpose of remedying such violation;
4. with the least violent means available;
5. having previously summoned the violator to comply voluntarily;
6. as certified by an independent and impartial court of justice.
VIII (the judiciary)
Every person shall be free to exercise the profession of judge, identifying
the origin, nature, function and contents of human rights as he sees fit.
Judges shall neither judge a person on his opinions, achievements or bodily
characteristics nor authorise the imposition of obligations not derived
from human rights.
IX (government)
Government shall consist of courts of justice and police forces, including
the military. Their function shall be to adjudicate and enforce human
rights. In the absence of an impartial judiciary or a human
rights-respecting police, every person shall be free, subject to his
liability for his own violations, to use force himself to restore his
violated rights.
From these nine fundamentals the following freedoms derive:
Every person shall be free:
1. to live according to his own beliefs.
2. to express, in his own language and manner, his thoughts and opinions.
3. to reside in any country, and to move in and out of it along with his
possessions.
4. to enjoy the sanctity of his home and business, including his mail and
telecommunications.
5. to found a family and to raise and educate his children according to
his own insights.
6. to assemble freely and to join and resign from any association.
7. to break any employment contract as long as he honours its severance
pay obligations.
8. to offer his services to people of his choice.
9. to undertake any economic activity, including the adjudication or
enforcement of human rights, and to keep its profits.
10. to sell, buy, lease, rent, lend, borrow, retain or give away property
by mutual agreement.
11. to exploit his land and waters, and anything attached to it.
12. to repossess the land and buildings taken from him in violation of
human rights.
13. to enjoy a viable environment of his property and to prevent others
from spoiling it.
14. to petition any government institution and avail himself of its
services.
15. to keep and bear arms.
16. to use force himself when his rights are in clear and present danger.
17. to dissolve any government institution which systematically violates
human rights.
Rules of Procedure
1. Every person accused of having violated a human right shall be presumed
innocent until proven guilty by an impartial court of justice. He shall
obey the instructions of the court which hears his case while being
entitled:
a. to agree with the plaintiff on initiating, interrupting and
terminating any litigation before a judge of their choice.
b. to refuse to submit to a judge who is forced upon him in the absence
of such agreement as long as his impartiality is not assured.
c. to be informed, in writing and in a language which he understands of
the nature and cause of the charges against him.
d. to try to refute such charges, but no plea of ignorance of human
rights and its concomitant obligations shall be accepted.
e. to be assisted and represented by counsel of his choice and to keep
his communications with him confidential.
f. to a public session of the court and a procedure in writing, with oral
comments.
g. to dispose of adequate time for the presentation of his defence.
h. to resist interrogation, to decline to supply evidence and to refuse
confession.
i. to inspect the evidence brought against him and to cross-examine his
accusers and their witnesses.
j. to bring in his own witnesses and have them testify under the same
conditions as the witnesses against him.
k. to a prompt trial, without undue delays.
l. to reject procedural and evidentiary rules which infringe upon the
principle of presumed innocence.
2. Every person arrested shall:
a. be informed immediately of the reasons for his arrest as well as his
right to remain silent and the consequences of making statements.
b. be given proper food, shelter and accommodation.
c. be spared torture, assault and other inhuman treatment.
d. be brought without undue delay before an impartial court of justice.
Failure to do so shall entitle the arrested person to immediate
release.
e. be instructed, in writing and in a language which he understands, of
the reason and nature of the charges against him.
f. be released from detention when the court finds the charges lacking in
credibility or when sufficient guaranty has been given for appearing
at the trial and obeying the judgement, and his release would not
frustrate the investigation.
g. be permitted to receive mail and visitors when this does not interfere
with the prosecution.
h. be compensated for undue arrest and detention.
3. Every person convicted of having violated a human right shall be
entitled:
a. to be informed, in writing and in a language which he understands, of
the reasons for his conviction.
b. to appeal once against his verdict and to have its interpretation of
rights reviewed by a separate court.
c. to avoid execution of his verdict by complying voluntarily.
4. No person finally convicted or acquitted shall be tried or submitted
again for the same offence.
5. Every person wrongly convicted shall be compensated.
6. Every person in clear and present danger shall be entitled to use force
himself in order to:
a. defend his rights against immediate attack;
b. stop an attack in progress;
c. arrest his attacker caught red-handed;
d. seize his attacker's assets for remedying the rights he infringed
whenever these assets risk disappearing before a verdict is due.
e. conserve proof or witness. Provided that an impartial court of justice
certifies, either before or immediately afterwards that:
o such danger occurred;
o such objectives will be, or were, served;
o the least violent means available will be, or were, served.
7. Every person whose human rights have been violated shall be entitled:
a. to initiate proceedings against the violator;
b. to halt such proceedings and to suspend or stop the execution of any
verdict in his favour.
c. to ignore any verdict which does not state the reasons of the
defendant's acquittal;
d. to appeal from the verdict in appeal when it overturns the verdict in
first instance;
e. to have a court's interpretation of rights reviewed by a separate
court.
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| "Bill of No Rights"
We, the sensible of the United States, in an attempt to help
everyone get along, restore some semblance of justice, avoid any
more riots, keep our nation safe, promote positive behavior and
secure the blessings of debt-free liberty to ourselves and our
great-great-great grandchildren, hereby try one more time to
ordain and establish some common sense guidelines.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that a whole lot of
people were confused by the Bill of Rights and are so dim that
they require a "Bill of No Rights".
ARTICLE I
You do not have the right to a new car, big-screen color TV or
any other form of wealth. More power to you if you can legally
acquire them, but no one is guaranteeing anything.
ARTICLE II
You do not have the right to never be offended. This country is
based on freedom, and that means freedom for everyone -- not just
you! You may leave the room, turn the channel, express a
different opinion, etc., but the world is full of idiots, and
probably always will be.
ARTICLE III
You do not have the right to be free from harm. If you stick a
screwdriver in your eye, learn to be more careful, do not expect
the tool manufacturer to make you and all of your relatives
independently wealthy.
ARTICLE IV
You do not have the right to free food and housing. Americans are
the most charitable people to be found, and will gladly help
anyone in need, but we are quickly growing weary of subsidizing
generation after generation of professional couch potatoes who
achieve nothing more than the creation of another generation of
professional couch potatoes.
ARTICLE V
You do not have the right to free health care. That would be
nice, but from the looks of public housing, we're just not
interested in public health care.
ARTICLE VI
You do not have the right to physically harm other people. If you
kidnap, rape, intentionally maim or kill someone, don't be
surprised if the rest of us get together and kill you.
ARTICLE VII
You do not have the right to the possessions of others. If you
rob, cheat, or coerce away the goods or services of other
citizens, don't be surprised if the rest of us get together and
lock you away in a place where you still won't have the right to
a big-screen color TV or a life of leisure.
ARTICLE VIII
You do not have the right to demand that our children risk their
lives in foreign wars to soothe your aching conscience. We hate
oppressive governments and won't lift a finger to stop you from
going to fight if you'd like. However, we do not enjoy parenting
the entire world and do not want to spend so much of our time
battling each and every little tyrant with a military uniform and
a funny hat.
ARTICLE IX
You do not have the right to a job. All of us sure want you to
have one, and will gladly help you along in hard times, but we
expect you to take advantage of the opportunities in education
and vocational training laid before you to make yourself useful.
ARTICLE X
You do not have the right to happiness. Being an American means
that you have the right to pursue happiness -- which, by the way,
is a lot easier if you are unencumbered by an overabundance of
idiotic laws created by those around you who were confused by the
Bill of Rights.
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