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Today is a momentous one in our history for it was on this day in 1215 that King John put his seal on the Magna Carta, the Great Charter, in a meadow at Runnymede.
It was not signed as many believe, nor did it bear the seals of the barons who forced the king to accept that he and his subjects would always in future be bound by the rule of law.
The Charter was the most important influence on the development of law in England and later many other countries around the world. Since 1215 there have been a number of versions of the Charter, and it is the 1297 version which contains three of its 37 clauses which are still on our statute book. Since then various governments have tinkered with it.
The first tinkering was a repeal of clause 26 in 1829. At that point, the perceived protected status of the Charter was broken for ever and over the next 150 years virtually the whole of it was repealed leaving only clauses 1, 9 and 29 still in force:
I FIRST, We have granted to God, and by this our present Charter have confirmed, for Us and our Heirs for ever, that the Church of England shall be free, and shall have all her whole Rights and Liberties inviolable. We have granted also, and given to all the Freemen of our Realm, for Us and our Heirs for ever, these Liberties under-written, to have and to hold to them and their Heirs, of Us and our Heirs for ever.
IX THE City of London shall have all the old Liberties and Customs which it hath been used to have. Moreover We will and grant, that all other Cities, Boroughs, Towns, and the Barons of the Five Ports, as with all other Ports, shall have all their Liberties and free Customs.
XXIX NO Freeman shall be taken or imprisoned, or be disseised of his Freehold, or Liberties, or free Customs, or be outlawed, or exiled, or any other wise destroyed; nor will We not pass upon him, nor condemn him, but by lawful judgment of his Peers, or by the Law of the land. We will sell to no man, we will not deny or defer to any man either Justice or Right.
Magna Carta was unquestionably the foundation for our law - despite subsequent tinkering - but, sadly, according to a poll carried out by YouGov in 2008, 45% of the British public do not know what it is.
Nonetheless, today is one on which a very important anniversary should be remembered.
.
Today is a momentous one in our history for it was on this day in 1215 that King John put his seal on the Magna Carta, the Great Charter, in a meadow at Runnymede.
It was not signed as many believe, nor did it bear the seals of the barons who forced the king to accept that he and his subjects would always in future be bound by the rule of law.
The Charter was the most important influence on the development of law in England and later many other countries around the world. Since 1215 there have been a number of versions of the Charter, and it is the 1297 version which contains three of its 37 clauses which are still on our statute book. Since then various governments have tinkered with it.
The first tinkering was a repeal of clause 26 in 1829. At that point, the perceived protected status of the Charter was broken for ever and over the next 150 years virtually the whole of it was repealed leaving only clauses 1, 9 and 29 still in force:
I FIRST, We have granted to God, and by this our present Charter have confirmed, for Us and our Heirs for ever, that the Church of England shall be free, and shall have all her whole Rights and Liberties inviolable. We have granted also, and given to all the Freemen of our Realm, for Us and our Heirs for ever, these Liberties under-written, to have and to hold to them and their Heirs, of Us and our Heirs for ever.
IX THE City of London shall have all the old Liberties and Customs which it hath been used to have. Moreover We will and grant, that all other Cities, Boroughs, Towns, and the Barons of the Five Ports, as with all other Ports, shall have all their Liberties and free Customs.
XXIX NO Freeman shall be taken or imprisoned, or be disseised of his Freehold, or Liberties, or free Customs, or be outlawed, or exiled, or any other wise destroyed; nor will We not pass upon him, nor condemn him, but by lawful judgment of his Peers, or by the Law of the land. We will sell to no man, we will not deny or defer to any man either Justice or Right.
Magna Carta was unquestionably the foundation for our law - despite subsequent tinkering - but, sadly, according to a poll carried out by YouGov in 2008, 45% of the British public do not know what it is.
Nonetheless, today is one on which a very important anniversary should be remembered.
.
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