Question

What are the rights guaranteed by the Bill of Rights that cannot be taken away by law

Answer 1

If you mean the United States Bill of Rights (the first ten Amendments to the U.S. Constitution), those Amendments set out fundamental protections that ordinary legislation cannot abolish. In other words, Congress or a state legislature cannot pass a law that openly overrides these constitutional rights — changing them requires a constitutional amendment or a different constitutional interpretation by the courts.

Main rights in the Bill of Rights (very brief):

- 1st Amendment: freedom of religion, speech, press, assembly, and petition.
- 2nd Amendment: right to keep and bear arms.
- 3rd Amendment: protection against quartering soldiers in private homes.
- 4th Amendment: protection from unreasonable searches and seizures; requirement of warrants based on probable cause.
- 5th Amendment: due process; protection against self-incrimination; protection against double jeopardy; grand jury in federal felony cases; just compensation when private property is taken for public use.
- 6th Amendment: right to a speedy and public trial, impartial jury, notice of charges, confront witnesses, and have counsel.
- 7th Amendment: right to jury trial in many civil cases (federal).
- 8th Amendment: protection against excessive bail and fines and cruel and unusual punishment.
- 9th Amendment: acknowledgment that the people have other rights beyond those listed.
- 10th Amendment: reserves powers not delegated to the federal government to the states or the people.

Important caveats
- No right listed in the Bill of Rights is absolutely unlimited. Courts have consistently held that rights may be subject to reasonable restrictions — for example, speech that incites imminent lawless action, true threats, libel, or obscenity is not protected; government may regulate the time/place/manner of assemblies; firearms may be regulated (background checks, prohibitions for certain persons, etc.); searches and seizures are allowed with valid warrants or under well-defined exceptions.
- Most of these protections were originally limits only on the federal government but, through the 14th Amendment and the doctrine of incorporation, most have been applied to the states as well.
- The only ways to “take away” these rights permanently by law are: (a) amend the Constitution through the formal amendment process, or (b) obtain a new constitutional interpretation from the courts that narrows the protections.

If you meant the Bill of Rights of a different country, or want examples of how particular rights have been limited by courts, tell me which one and I’ll give specifics.