citizens' rights
Protected public entitlements
Citizens' rights are the legal protections and entitlements guaranteed to members of a political community—typically by constitution or statute.
These include civil liberties like freedom of speech and religion, political rights like voting and running for office, and social rights like education and due process.
The protesters demanded their citizens' rights be respected.
The term emphasizes rights held by virtue of citizenship, distinct from broader human rights that apply to all people regardless of nationality.
- voter registrationSigning up for elections
- freedom of speechProtected right to speak
- public educationCommunal, tax-funded schooling
- freedom of religionRight to practice any faith
- freedom of assemblyRight to gather peacefully
social security · freedom of association · habeas corpus · disability accommodations · democratic participation · clean water · due process · fair wages · civic engagement · freedom of the press · peaceful protest · access to justice · legal aid · police accountability · political representation · workers' compensation · anti-discrimination laws · unemployment benefits
citizens' rightsstate power
Government's capacity to govern
government authority · authoritarian control · tyranny · despotism · absolute monarchy
citizens' rightscivic obligations
Responsibilities to one's community
civic responsibilities · public duties · legal obligations · civil duties · compulsory service
citizens' rightsrightlessness
Absence of legal entitlements
statelessness · disenfranchisement · denaturalization · outlawry · exclusion
citizen, citizens, citizenship, right, rights, rightful, rightfully, rightly, righteous