| Provision | Safeguards | |
| Magna Carta | "No freeman shall be taken and imprisoned or exiled or in any way destroyed... except by the lawful judgment of his peers and by the law of the land." | life, liberty, and
property were not to be taken from anyone without judgment of the person's peers and only by process of the law of the land |
| Petition of Right | could not levy taxes w/o consent of Parliament, not to declare martial law nor to quarter soldiers in private homes; not to imprison people without a specific charge | monarch could not spend money to further his causes, could not destroy peoples homes, and protected people against unlawful imprisonment |
| Bill of Rights | The ruler was chosen by Parliament and was subject to its laws; the ruler could not proclaim or suspend any law, impose any tax or maintain an army in peacetime without the consent of Parliament, parliament was to meet frequently | Since the ruler was chosen by Parliament and was subject to its laws, the ruler's powers were restricted; the ruler could not interfere with parliamentary elections or free debate. Citizens were protected against arbitrary rule by monarchs, and had the right to petition against any injustice |
| Act of Toleration | It granted freedom of conscience and the right of public worship to non-Anglican Protestants | The ruler could not interfere with the religious beliefs of his or her subjects |
| Habeas Corpus Act | Anyone arrested could obtain an order demanding to be brought before a judge within a certain period of time. The judge deter- mined whether the prisoner should be released or charged and tried | It prevents a monarch or anyone else from arbitrarily arresting and imprisoning a person without a trial |
| Act of Settlement | It provided for succession to the throne after William III | Parliament, not the monarchy determined succession |
Act of Union did not limit the monarchy but rather enjoined Scotland to England to make Great Britain