Due process
Legal principle requiring state to respect all legal rights owed to a person.
Due process of law is the application by the state of all legal rules and principles pertaining to a case so all legal rights that are owed to a person are respected. It balances the power of the law of the land and protects the individual person from it. When a government harms a person without following the exact course of the law, this constitutes a due process violation, which offends the rule of law. Due process has also been frequently interpreted as limiting laws and legal proceedings (see substantive due process) so that judges, instead of legislators, may define and guarantee fundamental fairness, justice, and liberty. That interpretation has proven controversial.
- Field
- Law and constitutional rights
- Jurisdictions
- England (historical), United States (constitutional)
- Key associated concept
- Rule of law, natural justice, procedural justice
Lore & Background
Paty, through Justice Littleton Powys, explained that 'due process of law' includes all laws in force in the realm, including civil and canon law, and that commitments must be by a legal authority.
Reader's Guide
Due process is significant as a foundational legal concept that originated in Magna Carta and evolved to protect individuals from arbitrary government action. In England, due process did not limit the power of government due to the rise of parliamentary supremacy and hostility toward judicial review. English courts lacked the power to declare an Act of Parliament invalid as a violation of due process. In contrast, American judges became increasingly assertive about enforcing due process, and the legislative and executive branches learned to tailor statutes and actions to constitutional due process requirements. The term is not used in contemporary English law, but similar concepts are natural justice and the rule of law as articulated by A. V. Dicey. Neither concept lines up perfectly with the American theory of due process, which contains many implied rights not found in ancient or modern English concepts. The Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution each contain a Due Process Clause, which deals with the administration of justice.
Did You Know?
- English law does not use the term 'due process' today; instead it uses natural justice and the rule of law as articulated by A. V. Dicey.
- American due process contains many implied rights not found in ancient or modern concepts of due process in England.
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