摘要：〈美〉正当程序是个多义的宪法概念，既指法治、法律程序的公正，也指一项基本权利。该词首先见于1354年英国议会重申《大宪章》〔Magna Carta〕的一项制定法中，它指如果不遵循既定的法律规则，英王不能占用公民的财产、对其进行监禁或将其处死。正当法律程序意味着

法律的正当程序 due process of law

〈美〉正当程序是个多义的宪法概念，既指法治、法律程序的公正，也指一项基本权利。该词首先见于1354年英国议会重申《大宪章》〔Magna Carta〕的一项制定法中，它指如果不遵循既定的法律规则，英王不能占用公民的财产、对其进行监禁或将其处死。正当法律程序意味着程序的存在——一个人不先经过审判，不能被处死。这种观念经过几百年的发展，从英国传入美国，其内涵已融于《权利法案》〔Bill of Rights〕之中——聘任律师权、由陪审团审判权、不得自证其罪等。其他的一些权利也只有通过正当法律程序这个概念才成为美国宪法权利的一部分，比如程序的正式性〔regularity〕和公正性。

Due process of law is a constitutional guarantee that prevents governments from impacting citizens in an abusive way. In its modern form, due process includes both procedural standards that courts must uphold in order to protect peoples’ personal liberty and a range of liberty interests that statutes and regulations must not infringe. It traces its origins to Chapter 39 of King John’s Magna Carta, which provides that no freeman will be seized, dispossessed of his property, or harmed except “by the law of the land,” an expression that referred to customary practices of the court. The phrase “due process of law” first appeared as a substitute for Magna Carta’s “the law of the land” in a 1354 statute of King Edward III that restated Magna Carta’s guarantee of the liberty of the subject. 以下为相关例句，以加深对该术语的理解：

例句1

Due process of law is a fundamental, constitutional guarantee that all legal proceedings will be fair and that one will be given notice of the proceedings and an opportunity to be heard before the government acts to take away one’s life, liberty, or property. Also, a constitutional guarantee that a law shall not be unreasonable, arbitrary, or capricious.

法律的正当程序是一项基本的宪法保障，确保所有法律诉讼都是公平的，在政府采取剥夺个人生命、自由或财产的行动之前，将向个人发出诉讼通知，并给予其陈述意见的机会。此外，宪法保证法律不得不合理、武断或反复无常。

例句2

That’s why a couple of instances followed, and in none of these do we have any clear evidence that the due process of law is taking place.

那就是为什么会有人效仿的原因，而且在这些事件中没有任何明显的迹象表明采取了法律的正当程序。

来源：金鑫教育