The Fundamental Rights of Man

This article transcribes discourse between Dean Thomas F. Konop of Notre Dame Law School and Mr. James J Boyle of the senior law class. Mr. Boyles begins by inquiring about the rights individuals have and the sources of said rights. Dean Konop delves into a discussion of the history of the law in America. He states that we derive our law from the common law of England, and we find our rights expressed in the common law and the Constitution of England; therefore, we must go to England to look for the basis of our rights. There are four main documents recognizing our rights: the Magna Carta, the English Bill of Rights, the Petition of Right, and the Habeas Corpus Acts. Dean Konop then proceeds to outline the most important articles within each of the four documents recognizing our rights. After that, a discussion regarding fundamental rights guaranteed by the Constitution are discussed. Dean Konop is of the opinion that the Constitution was written in way that there is no point in our country’s time where we would outgrow the Constitution. If anything, he states that it was not written for a decade or a century, but that it properly and reasonably adapts itself to our progress. Dean Konop then moves on to the discussion of why our rights as individuals are not absolute but rather relative