The Bill of Rights

Could America have become a great country without its Constitution and the Bill of Rights?

In his work, renowned New York attorney and international lawyer Boris Palant explains in detail and with arguments what enormous importance the Constitution and the “Bill of Rights” (a document containing the first ten amendments to the Constitution of the United States) had in the development of democracy in the United States. They not only gave the state’s activity the proper legal form by distributing powers and functions among its various branches and bodies, but also made the law the most important guide for what authorities do. In the author’s view, it is precisely thanks to the Constitution and the “Bill of Rights” that the founding fathers of the United States laid the foundations of the political and constitutional order in which the source of law is a person whose rights and freedoms are declared the highest criterion for the activity of the entire state. At the same time, the state is not only declared to be dependent on the individual as a political institution, but is also recognized as obligated to protect his private life from unjustified interference by the government, to guarantee him fundamental rights and freedoms, and to actively support his aspiration for a free and creative way of life.

Each of the ten amendments to the Constitution has its own chapter, in which the author explains their foundational principles and presents the most interesting cases of the U.S. Supreme Court related to that amendment, confirming their unconditional nature and inviolability. In total, the book discusses and mentions more than eighty Supreme Court cases; most of them are analyzed in quite some detail. Their analysis clearly demonstrates that no laws—since the adoption of the Constitution and its amendments to this day—can violate the subordination of the state to the interests of the individual; they cannot justify government infringement of that person’s rights— the basic rights of a citizen in a democratic society: freedom of speech, assembly, religion, and so on—rights that a person has precisely because they are human, and not due to their origin, nationality, gender, etc. But, at the same time, the cases cited by the author are also meant to show how, in a democratic society, citizens not only strive to satisfy their own rights and interests, but also assume responsibility—for their own lives and, to a certain extent, for the lives of others.

Ruling the people with the help of the people means that citizens of a democratic society not only enjoy its benefits, but also share its problems, since a person takes responsibility for the society in which they live.

In 2018, the popular online magazine “Gorky” included the book “Bill of Rights” among the 100 best new releases of the year.

I am deeply convinced that America became a great country thanks to its Constitution and Bill of Rights. But even before these documents were adopted and ratified—in 1776—the Declaration of Independence, written by Thomas Jefferson, was adopted. Its preamble is quoted in the first chapter of the book you are holding—in the chapter “Historical Context.” Without understanding the preamble of the Declaration of Independence, you can’t understand not only this book, but also the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights—you can’t understand America itself. Only by understanding the essence of America can you truly come to love it. Not for its skyscrapers, cars, airplanes, roads, stores, music, movies— in short, not for its wealth and culture—but for those rights and freedoms that the Constitution and Bill of Rights protect. Protect—mind you—from its own government. B. Palant

The book is intended for the broadest range of readers and can be recommended as a study aid.