English Bill of Rights 1689

The 1689 declaration of parliamentary supremacy after the Glorious Revolution

Overview

Drafted after William and Mary accepted the crown, the Bill of Rights of 1689 declared the illegality of royal suspension of laws, taxation without Parliament, standing armies in peacetime without consent, and cruel and unusual punishments, while guaranteeing free speech in Parliament and frequent parliaments. It converted the Glorious Revolution settlement into binding law and became the template for the American Bill of Rights two centuries later. Constitutional monarchs have governed within it ever since. Its ban on cruel and unusual punishment echoes in the American Eighth Amendment almost word for word.