From TheBestLinks.com
Civil liberties are protections from the power of governments. Examples include freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, and trial by jury. These are usually created and protected by a constitution.
Contrast: human rights, civil rights.
United States
The United States Constitution, especially its Bill of Rights, protects many civil liberties.
Canada
The Constitution of Canada includes the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms which guarantees many of the same rights as the US constitution, with the notable exception of protection against establishment of religion. (Such protection is not practical, since the Anglican Church of Canada is nominally the state religion.) But the Charter does protect freedom of religion.
United Kingdom
The UK has no formal written constitution, however it is a signatory to the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) which covers both human rights and civil liberties, and has passed the Human Rights Act, which forces compliance between the treaty and UK law. After the September 11, 2001 attacks the UK claimed a state of emergency (as permitted by Article 15 of the ECHR) and the derogation from Article Five in order to allow the indefinite detention without trial of foreign nationals suspected of involvement with terrorism. The government would rather deport these individuals, but this is prohibited by Article Three of the ECHR, which can not be opted out from according to Article 15. See also British national identity card.
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