ABSTRACT
The emergence of a written Bill of Rights in the USA, the insistence on the inclusion of a statement on fundamental rights in the constitution of the new South Africa, and the advocacy for a Bill of Rights to be introduced into the UK, in wholly different surroundings, with wholly different aims and purposes. A Bill of Rights is a statement of general principles and so open to wide judicial interpretation. Rights are conferred on individuals who live with others in a society. Racial segregation was upheld from 1868 to 1954 despite declarations in the Bill of Rights about ‘equal protection of the laws’, and country-wide violence over the right to abortion was fuelled in 1973 by the interpretation provided by the Supreme Court. The essential characteristic of any effective Bill of Rights is its ability to strike down as invalid legislation which conflicts with its provisions.
