MAGNA CARTA
Now it is one thing to say that a particular legislative or executive act is unjust; it is quite another thing to put into writing principles to inhibit it—and, if we are to take a brief glance at the various attempts which have been made to formulate such principles, we might well begin with Magna Carta.
Some of its provisions are found in earlier charters, including the Assize of Jerusalem of 1099, but we cannot ignore the famous declaration ‘No free man shall be deprived of life or liberty, save by judgment of his peers or the law of the land’. There are other provisions designed to ensure access to the courts and speedy justice, and the prohibition of arbitrary taxation and arbitrary seizure of property by royal officials. The main object was to ensure the rights of the nobles; but the charter demanded freedom of movement for merchants within the realm and required all men, in their relations with subordinates, to observe the same rules as the King had undertaken to abide by in dealing with his subjects. What is often forgotten is that the English barons of the thirteenth century were well aware of the necessity of providing Fundamental Rights with teeth. Magna Carta provided for the election of a council of twenty- five barons; if any breach of the charter was brought to the notice of any four of them and they, being satisfied of the truth of the complaint, besought the King to right the wrong and he failed to do so within forty days, the council could make war upon the King and seize all the royal property.
More legal literature on Laws.Studio
More on the topic MAGNA CARTA:
-
Agricultural law -
Constitutional law -
Fundamentals of Advocacy -
History of state and law -
Muslim (Islamic) law -
Professional ethics of a lawyer -
Roman law -
Theory of state and law -
UK Bar -
US Bar -
-
Conflictology -
Ecology -
Economy -
Finance -
History -
Law -
Medicine -
Philosophy -
Religious studies -