Privileges and Immunities
Definition of Privileges and Immunities
Note: See a more comprehensive approach to the Privileges and Immunities legal concept in the American Law Encyclopedia
Legal benefits flowing from one's status as a citizen. A privilege is a benefit or an advantage, while an immunity frees a person from an obligation or a penalty. Certain privileges and immunities exist for a person by virtue of his or her citizenship. The U.S. Constitution contains two references to privileges and immunities. Article IV, Section 2, provides that the “Citizens of each State be entitled to the Privileges and Immunities of citizens of the several States.” The purpose of this clause was to ensure that out-of-state citizens receive the same treatment as a state's own citizens. The clause established parity across the states. The Fourteenth Amendment also provides that “No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of the United States.” This section of the Fourteenth Amendment, adopted in 1868, was a specific response to the Black Codes, which in many Southern states had the effect of restoring pre-Civil War conditions of slavery.
See Also
Citizenship (Judicial Function) Due Process of Law (Judicial Function).
Resources
Privileges and Immunities Related Resources
- Privileges and Immunities in the United States Legal Encyclopedia
- Judicial Function Keywords in the United States Legal Encyclopedia
- Judicial Function Keywords in the International Legal Dictionary
Notes
- “Privileges and Immunities”, The American Law Dictionary, 1991, California
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