PAGE 1 OF 4

Dclaration des Droits Your name

de lHomme et du Citoyen
Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen
FRANCE | 1789

The Dclaration des Droits de lHomme et du Citoyen is a product of the French Revolution
that remains valid to this day.
The 17 articles of this declaration were passed by Frances National Assembly in the very
early days of the French Revolution, on 26 August 1789.* The revolution had begun the pre-
vious month with the storming of the Bastille, a prison in Paris, on 14 July 1789. The French
Revolution and this declaration were both inspired by the American Revolution, which had
concluded with the Treaty of Paris in 1783.
This dclaration was written and introduced in the National Assembly by Gilbert du Mo-
tier, a Frenchman perhaps better known as the Marquis de Lafayette one of the heroes of
the American Revolution. Lafayette worked with Thomas Jefferson, the writer of the Decla-
ration of Independence (United States, 1776), on drafts of this declaration.
The Dclaration des Droits de lHomme et du Citoyen forms part of Frances current con-
stitution (the constitution of the Fifth Republic, adopted 4 October 1958) and remains the
foundational document of rights in France.

L T
1 es Reprsentants du Peuple
Franais, constitus en Assem-
ble Nationale, considrant que
lignorance, loubli ou le mpris des droits
5 de lHomme sont les seules causes des mal-
heurs publics et de la corruption des Gou-
vernements, ont rsolu dexposer, dans une
Dclaration solennelle, les droits naturels,
inalinables et sacrs de lHomme, afin que
10 cette Dclaration, constamment prsente
tous les Membres du corps social, leur rap-
pelle sans cesse leurs droits et leurs devoirs;
afin que les actes du pouvoir lgislatif, et
ceux du pouvoir excutif, pouvant tre
15 chaque instant compars avec le but1 de
toute institution politique, en soient plus
respects; afin que les rclamations des ci-
toyens, fondes dsormais sur des principes
simples et incontestables, tournent tou-
20 jours au maintien de la Constitution et au
bonheur de tous.
En consquence, lAssemble Nationale re-
1 he Representatives of the
French People, forming a Nation-
al Assembly, considering that the
ignorance, the forgetting or the contempt
5 of the rights of Man are the sole causes
of public misfortunes and of the corrup-
tion of Governments, have resolved to set
forth, in a solemn Declaration, the natural,
inalienable and sacred rights of Man, so
10 that this Declaration, constantly present
before all the Members of the body social,
may recall to them without ceasing their
rights and their duties; so that the acts of
the legislative power, and those of the ex-
15 ecutive power, able at each moment to be
compared with the objective1 of any politi- FOOTNOTES
cal institution, may be more respectful of * Some sources report 27
it;2 so that the grievances of the citizens, August as the date of the
declarations adoption.
founded henceforth on simple and incon-
1 aim, goal
20 testable principles, may turn always to3 the
2 i.e., respectful of the
maintenance of the Constitution and to the objective of the political
happiness of all. institution
3 i.e., may always be directed
or oriented toward
In consequence, the National Assembly
25 connat et dclare, en prsence et sous les
auspices de ltre suprme, les droits suiv-
ants de lHomme et du Citoyen.
Art. 1er. Les hommes naissent et demeur-
30 ent4 libres et gaux en droits. Les distinc-
tions sociales ne peuvent tre fondes que
sur lutilit commune.
Art. 2. Le but5 de toute association poli-
35 tique est la conservation des droits naturels
et imprescriptibles de lHomme. Ces droits
sont la libert, la proprit, la sret,6 et la
rsistance loppression.
40 Art. 3. Le principe de toute Souverainet
rside essentiellement dans la Nation.
Nul corps,7 nul individu ne peut exercer
dautorit qui nen mane expressment.
45 Art. 4. La libert consiste pouvoir faire
tout ce qui ne nuit pas autrui : ainsi,
lexercice des droits naturels de chaque
homme na de bornes9 que celles qui as-
surent aux autres Membres de la Socit la
50 jouissance de ces mmes droits. Ces bornes
ne peuvent tre dtermines que par la Loi.
Art. 5. La Loi na le droit de dfendre que
les actions nuisibles la Socit. Tout ce
55 qui nest pas dfendu par la Loi ne peut tre
empch, et nul ne peut tre contraint
faire ce quelle nordonne pas.
Art. 6. La Loi est lexpression de la volont
60 gnrale. Tous les Citoyens ont droit de
concourir personnellement, ou par leurs
Reprsentants, sa formation. Elle doit
tre la mme pour tous, soit quelle protge,
soit quelle punisse. Tous les Citoyens tant
65 gaux ses yeux sont galement admis-
sibles toutes dignits, places et emplois
publics, selon leur capacit,12 et sans autre
distinction que celle de leurs vertus et de
leurs talents.
70
Art. 7. Nul homme ne peut tre accus,
arrt ni dtenu que dans les cas dtermi-
ns par la Loi, et selon les formes quelle a
prescrites. Ceux qui sollicitent, expdient,
25 recognizes and declares, in the presence and Dclaration des
under the auspices of the Supreme Being, the Droits de lHomme
following rights of Man and of the Citizen. et du Citoyen
PAGE 2 OF 4
Article the First. Men are born and dwell4
30 free and equal in rights. Social distinctions
can be founded only on the common good.
Article 2. The objective5 of all political as-
35 sociation is the preservation of the natural
and imprescriptible rights of Man. These
rights are liberty, property, safety,6 and re-
sistance to oppression.
40 Article 3. The principle of all Sovereignty
resides essentially in the Nation. No body,7
no individual can exert any authority that
does not emanate expressly from it.8
45 Article 4. Liberty consists in being able
to do everything that does not harm oth-
ers; thus, the exercise of the natural rights
of each man has no bounds9 but those that
assure to the other Members of Society
50 the enjoyment of these same rights. These
bounds can be determined only by the Law.
Article 5. The Law has the right to prohibit
only actions harmful to Society. Everything
55 that is not prohibited by the Law cannot be
impeded, and no one can be constrained to
do what it10 does not order.
Article 6. The Law is the expression of the
60 general will. All Citizens have the right to
contribute personally, or by their Repre-
sentatives, to its formation. It must be the
same for all, whether it protects or punish-
FOOTNOTES
es. All Citizens being equal in its eyes11 are
4 remain, live, spend their lives
65 equally eligible to all public dignities, po-
5 aim, goal
sitions and occupations, according to their
6 security
capacity,12 and without any other distinc-
7 i.e., organization or political
tion than that of their virtues and of their institution
talents. 8 i.e., from the nation or the
70 people
Article 7. No man can be accused, arrested 9 limits, borders
or detained but in the cases determined by 10 i.e., the law
the Law, and according to the forms that it 11 i.e., the eyes of the law
has prescribed. Those who solicit, dispatch, 12 ability
75 excutent ou font excuter des ordres arbi-
traires, doivent tre punis; mais tout citoy-
en appel15 ou saisi16 en vertu de la Loi doit
obir linstant: il se rend coupable par la
rsistance.
80
Art. 8. La Loi ne doit tablir que des peines
strictement et videmment18 ncessaires, et
nul ne peut tre puni quen vertu dune Loi
tablie et promulgue antrieurement au
85 dlit, et lgalement applique.
Art. 9. Tout homme tant prsum inno-
cent jusqu ce quil ait t dclar coupable,
sil est jug indispensable de larrter, toute
90 rigueur20 qui ne serait pas ncessaire pour
sassurer de sa personne doit tre svre-
ment rprime par la loi.
Art. 10. Nul ne doit tre inquit pour ses
95 opinions, mme religieuses, pourvu que
leur manifestation ne trouble pas lordre
public tabli par la Loi.
Art. 11. La libre communication des pen-
100 ses22 et des opinions est un des droits les
plus prcieux de lHomme : tout Citoyen
peut donc parler, crire, imprimer libre-
ment, sauf rpondre de labus de cette lib-
ert dans les cas dtermins par la Loi.
105
Art. 12. La garantie des droits de lHomme
et du Citoyen ncessite une force pub-
lique : cette force est donc institue pour
lavantage de tous, et non pour lutilit par-
110 ticulire24 de ceux auxquels elle est confie.
Art. 13. Pour lentretien de la force pub-
lique, et pour les dpenses dadministration,
une contribution commune est indispens-
115 able: elle doit tre galement rpartie entre
tous les citoyens, en raison de leurs facults.
Art. 14. Tous les Citoyens ont le droit de
constater, par eux-mmes ou par leurs
120 reprsentants, la ncessit de la contribution
publique, de la consentir librement, den
suivre lemploi, et den dterminer la quoti-
t, lassiette, le recouvrement et la dure.
75 execute or cause to be executed13 arbitrary Dclaration des
orders14 must be punished; but any citizen Droits de lHomme
called15 or seized16 in virtue of the Law17 et du Citoyen
PAGE 3 OF 4
must obey at once: he renders himself
guilty by resistance.
80
Article 8. The Law must establish only pun-
ishments [that are] strictly and evidently18
necessary, and no one can be punished but
in virtue of a Law19 established and promul-
85 gated before the offense, and legally applied.
Article 9. Any man being presumed in-
nocent until he has been declared guilty,
if it is judged indispensable to arrest him,
90 any rigor20 that would not be necessary for
securing his person must be severely re-
pressed by law.
Article 10. No one must be disturbed for
95 his opinions, even religious,21 provided that
their manifestation does not trouble the
public order established by the Law.
Article 11. The free communication of
100 thoughts22 and of opinions is one of the
most precious rights of Man: any Citizen
can therefore speak, write, and print freely,
except to respond to the abuse of this lib-
FOOTNOTES
erty in the cases determined by the Law.
13 i.e., carry out or order to be
105
carried out
Article 12. The guarantee of the rights of
14 i.e., orders outside the law
Man and of the Citizen necessitates a public
15 summoned or issued a
force:23 this force is therefore instituted for summons
the advantage of all, and not for the particu- 16 arrested
110 lar utility24 of those to whom it is confided. 17 i.e., under the terms of the
law
18 clearly
Article 13. For the maintenance of the
19 i.e., under the terms of a law
public force, and for the expenses of admin-
20 harshness, severity
istration, a common contribution25 is indis-
21 i.e., opinions on religion or
115 pensable: it must be equally shared among
religious beliefs
all citizens, according to their means.26
22 ideas
23 i.e., police or military
Article 14. All Citizens have the right to
24 personal gain
determine, by themselves or by their repre-
25 i.e., a tax
120 sentatives, the necessity of the public con-
26 i.e., their ability to pay
tribution,27 to consent freely to it, to follow
27 i.e., taxes
its use,28 and to determine its proportion,
28 i.e, to know how their taxes
assessment, collection, and duration. are used
125 Art. 15. La Socit a le droit de demander 125 Article 15. Society has the right to ask an Dclaration des
compte tout Agent public de son admin- accounting of every public Agent of his ad- Droits de lHomme
istration. ministration.29 et du Citoyen
PAGE 4 OF 4

Art. 16. Toute Socit dans laquelle la Article 16. Every Society in which the
130 garantie des Droits nest pas assure, ni la 130 guarantee of Rights is not assured, nor the
sparation des Pouvoirs dtermine, na separation of Powers determined, has no
point de Constitution.30 Constitution.30

Art. 17. La proprit tant un droit invio-
135 lable et sacr, nul ne peut en tre priv, si
ce nest lorsque la ncessit publique, l-
galement constate, lexige videmment,31
et sous la condition dune juste et pralable
indemnit.
Article 17. Property being an inviolable
135 and sacred right, no one can be deprived of
it, except when public necessity, legally de-
termined, evidently31 requires it, and under
the condition of a just and prior indemnity.32

FOOTNOTES
29 i.e., public officials and
government employees are
accountable to the public
for the discharge of their
duties
30 The negation used in French
here, na point, is stronger
than simply not or no.
The closest equivalent in
English would be along the
lines of has absolutely no
Constitution or has no
Constitution at all.
31 clearly
32 i.e., if the government takes
an individuals property, it
can be only for clear, legally
defined reasons and needs,
Layout, introduction, English translation, and footnotes 2017 Dustin Tyler Joyce. All rights reserved. | dtjoyce.com and the government must
Copies of this document may be made only by the original purchaser for use in a classroom or other educational setting.
This copyright notice should appear on all copies made. first and fairly compensate
Source of French text: Official French government transcript via Lgifrance
the individual
English translation by Dustin Tyler Joyce