MAGNA CARTA: 800 YEAR AGO
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-33126723
King John of England sealed the original document in 1215 in Runnymede in Surrey, close to the River Thames.The charter first protected the rights and freedoms of society and established the king was subject to the law.
Magna Carta ‘changed the world’, David Cameron tells anniversary event
Mr Cameron told the audience Magna Carta would “alter forever the balance of power between the governed and the government”.And he said the document had inspired different generations and countries across the world.
He said: “Why do people set such store by Magna Carta?”Because they look to history. They see how the great charter shaped the world, for the best part of a millennium, helping to promote arguments for justice and for freedom.”
But why is a charter from 1215 which was declared null and void by the Pope within weeks of being written, which doesn’t mention “trial by jury” or “habeas corpus” (the right not to be held indefinitely without trial) and which forbids any woman from accusing a man of murder or manslaughter, seen as the foundation of our liberties and our law?
At its heart is the idea that the law is not simply the whim of the king, or the government. It is the great egalitarian legacy of Magna Carta, that all are equal under the law, and all can be held to account.
It is that idea that gave birth to so many of our rights and freedoms, to parliamentary democracy, fair trial, and a series of controls on the abuse of arbitrary power.
Comments are closed.
