In law, a benefit or immunity growing out of some special rule of law or statute by virtue of which an individual or a class enjoys certain immunities or rights distinct from or beyond the provisions of law generally applicable to the community.

It differs from a dispensation inasmuch as the latter merely relaxes the existing law for a particular case or cases, while the privilege is a permanent and general right. Of ancient and mediaeval legislation the law of privilege formed an important branch, the so-called privileged classes being governed by a substantially different body of law from the other classes of society. In early law there were two privileges enjoyed by the clergy which deserve special notice from the frequency of the historical allusions to them the 'privilege of the canon' (privilegium canonis) and the 'privilege of the forum' (privilegium fori). By the former the person of the clergyman, of whatever degree, was protected from violence by the penalty of excommunication against the offender; by the latter known in England as 'benefit of clergy', the clergyman upon claiming his privilege was exempted from trial by the ordinary civil tribunals, and could only be tried in the ecclesiastical court. Early English statutes placed limitations upon this latter privilege, and it was, finally completely abolished. In modern law there is scarcely any trace of the various forms of class legislation which characterized the Middle Ages, and in most, if not all, of the States, class legislation is restricted by their respective constitutions. Privileges in the legal sense so far as they exist at all in modern law rest upon grounds of public policy, and in certain cases in the United States are sanctioned and protected by provisions of the State and Federal Constitutions.

Some forms of privilege have been considered in connection with other topics, in the law of which they constitute qan essential part. Thus for a discussion of privileges of witnesses, that is, the circumstances under which witnesses are privileged from giving testimony, see EVIDENCE; WITNESS. For a discussion of the privilege which exempts one from liability for libel and SLANDER, See LIBEL. See also MONOPOLY, and for the special privileges accorded to ambassadors and diplomatic agents by international law, see those topics respectively.

Privileges of Legislators

It is essential to the maintenance of free government that members of legislative bodies should be privileged from arrest, both civil and criminal, during the term or session of the legislature, and for a reasonable time before the beginning and end of the session , and that they should not be called to any legal account for any language uttered by them during the course of their legislative business. Such is the common law relating to members of Parliament. The United States Constitution provides (Art. I, Sec. 6) that the Senators and Representatives "shall in all cases, except treason, felony, and breach of peace, be privileged from arrest during their attendance at the session of their respective Houses, and in going to and returning from the same, and for any speech or debate in either House they shall not be questioned in any other place." This provision has been substantially incorporated into the constitutions of the several States as applicable to the members of State legislatures.

Privileges and Immunities of Citizens

The Constitution of the United States nowhere undertakes to enumerate the privileges and immunities of citizens of the United States, although the Fourteenth Amendment assumes that there are such, and expressly prohibits the States from making or enforcing any law which shall abridge them. The Civil Rights Act declares that they include, among other things, the right to make and enforce contracts, to bring suit in the courts, to give evidence, to inherit, purchase, lease, hold, and convey real and personal property, and to enjoy the full and equal benefit of all laws and proceedings for the security of person and property. The Supreme Court of the United States, in the noted Slaughterhouse cases, decided in 1872 (16 Wallace's U.S. Reports, p.36), undertook to enumerate some of the more important of the privileges and immunities of United States citizens.

According to the opinion of the court, they include a citizen's right of free access to the seat of government of the United States in order to assert any claim he may have upon that Government, to transact any business he may have with it, to seek its protection, to share its offices, to engage in its administrative functions; free access to the seaports, the sub-treasuries, land offices, and courts of justice; protection of life, liberty and property when on the high seas, or within the jurisdiction of a foreign government; the right to assemble peaceably and petition for redress of grievances; the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus; the right to use the navigable waters of the United States; all rights secured to our citizens by treaties with foreign nations; the right to become a citizen of any State of the Union by a bona fide residence therein, with the same rights as other citizens of that State, etc. Of course, no enumeration can be complete, but the one given above is the most exhaustive and authoritative yet made. They include, as the court well says, the rights and privileges which of right belong to the citizens of all free governments. In the decision above cited the Supreme Court declared that there is a citizenship of the United States distinct from that of the State, and that only the privileges and immunities appertaining to the United States citizenship are under the guardianship of the national authority, and that those appertaining to State citizenship must rest for their security and protection upon the action of States. With regard to the latter, the Constitution provides that the citizens of each State shall be entitled to all privileges and immunities of citizens in the several States. No complete enumeration of these has ever been attempted.

Mr. Justice Washington, sitting in the United States Circuit Court, gave the opinion that they might all be comprehended under the following general heads: protection by the Government, the enjoyment of life and liberty, the right to acquire and possess property of every kind, the right to pursue and obtain happiness and safety, the right to pass from one State to another for the purpose of trade, agriculture, professional pursuits, or otherwise, the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus, the right to maintain actions in the courts, to acquire and hold property, and the right of exemption from higher taxes than are paid by citizens of other States (Carfield v. Coryell, 4 Wash. c.c. 371). See also Cooley, Constitutional Law, pp. 206-208.