Virginia and French Declarations of Rights

Both Declarations were written roughly about the same time, with the French Declaration of Rights following its Virginian counterpart by 13 years. The two documents share many similarities. The first, and most obvious, is that both documents are lists of rights, detailing what is endowed to the citizens of each government. Both documents are also written by representatives of the people they represent, presenting a democratically written declaration. Furthermore, the documents both explain how each government is mean to protect the rights of its citizens through different aspects of law, including due process. It also protects the citizens from their governments by acts of separation of powers. The two documents are very similar; however they do have their discrepancies. The French version goes without a citizens right not to self incriminate themselves. They also do not mention a trial by a jury of their peers. Additionally, the French declaration does not require search warrants to be issued for searches.

The French declaration also has additions that the Virginian declaration does not. For instance the French proclaim that the press and speech can be restricted by law. They also point out that law is the expression of the general will, leaving general will to have a loose definition. The French court system is also clearly written out, with detail especially to each person being innocent until proven guilty. The French made these changes because it was trying to achieve the best of both worlds, the worlds being America and England, without giving up too much control and power.