Modern jurisprudence prioritises rights‑first constitutional models, assuming that declarations of freedom are self‑executing. This paper challenges that assumption. Rights are dependent variables—structural outcomes produced only when specific, enforceable duties are imposed on identifiable actors. Drawing on eight centuries of English common law, from Magna Carta to the Articles of War, and the cultural duty‑ethic of the Anglosphere, the paper demonstrates that obligation‑centred constitutionalism possesses far greater operational resilience than rights‑first systems. Declaratory rights frameworks suffer from accountability diffusion, unfunded mandates, and cultural entitlement. By contrast, duty‑bound systems generate liberty as a residual effect of enforced obligations. The conclusion is clear: liberty emerges when authority is bound by obligation, and systems that prioritise duties protect people, not promises. .
Craig Kyrle Strachan Davidson (Fri,) studied this question.