Rights and Freedoms in the Constitution of 1812

Abstract

This paper analyses the ideological and philoso­phical foundations of the fundamental rights es­tablished in the Cádiz Constitution of 1812. Spe­cial attention is given to the theoretical influence of Jeremy Bentham’s utilitarianism on some of the Parliamentary representatives that participated in the Cádiz Constituent Assembly. The main utili­tarian features contained in the 1812 wording are also discussed with detailed accounts of the rights and freedoms granted in the Constitution. Appro­priate reference is made to the unsystematic inclu­sion of fundamental rights, which appear scattered throughout the text. This work presents both an ac­count and an evaluation of the main contributions and limitations that the 1812 Constitution has pro­vided to the origins of Constitutionalism and free­doms in Spanish political history.