Magna Carta: Difference between revisions
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Clause 3 states that: | Clause 3 states that: | ||
:"No free man shall be seized or imprisoned, or stripped of his rights or possessions, or outlawed or exiled . nor will we proceed with force against him . except by the lawful judgement of his equals or by the law of the land. To no one will we sell, to no one deny or delay right or justice | :"No free man shall be seized or imprisoned, or stripped of his rights or possessions, or outlawed or exiled . nor will we proceed with force against him . except by the lawful judgement of his equals or by the law of the land. To no one will we sell, to no one deny or delay right or justice." | ||
- and, by establishing the concept of an independent body representing the interests of the countrywith power over the conduct of government, to represent the interests of the country, is a precursor of the establishment of parliament as an instrument of representative government. | |||
<references/> | <references/> | ||
Revision as of 01:12, 3 August 2009
The Magna Carta (or “Great Charter”) is classified by the United Nations as a document of global significance and has been placed on the UNESCO "Memory of the World" register. It records an agreement reached between John, King of England, and a group of English Barons at a place called Runnymede on the banks of the Thames near Wallingford on 15th June 1215. A copy made at the time is available at the British Library in London, and may be viewed on line, together with an English translation. [1].
At the time it was mainly concerned to redress current grievances against the King as a means of resolving a political crisis, and was of negligible constitutional importance. [2]. However two of its clauses had a significant influence upon the subsequent development of the British constitution.
Clause 3 states that:
- "No free man shall be seized or imprisoned, or stripped of his rights or possessions, or outlawed or exiled . nor will we proceed with force against him . except by the lawful judgement of his equals or by the law of the land. To no one will we sell, to no one deny or delay right or justice."
- and, by establishing the concept of an independent body representing the interests of the countrywith power over the conduct of government, to represent the interests of the country, is a precursor of the establishment of parliament as an instrument of representative government.
- ↑ ‘’Treasures in Full: Magna Carta’’. British Library, London
- ↑ A L Poole: Domesday to Magna Carta, page 476, Oxford University Press, 1955