Carta History Legacy Enduring Principles of Magna Carta Impact and Legacy of Magna Carta and the Evolution of Parliament Magna Carta Since 1215, two clauses have been enshrined in history as the defining principles of Magna Carta. Magna Carta Reissued Shortly after King John’s death in 1216, William However, a number of the barons felt that the Marshall, Earl of Pembroke and regent for the principles of Magna Carta would not truly be “No free man shall be seized or imprisoned, young King Henry III, issued a revised version secure until reissued by the adult King of his of Magna Carta under his own seal, followed own free will and under his own seal. In 1225, or stripped of his rights or possessions, by a more substantial revision in 1217. This King Henry III reconfirmed Magna Carta. reassertion of Magna Carta’s key principles was In return, he was granted payment of a new an attempt to appease the barons and build tax by the kingdom. Notably, he was the first or outlawed or exiled, or deprived of his support for the new King. monarch required to regularly seek consent for standing in any other way, nor will taxation – a direct result of Magna Carta. we proceed with force against him, The Provisions of Oxford or send others to do so, except by the In spite of his stated acceptance of Magna Carta, King Henry was unpopular with many barons. In 1258, he faced the lawful judgement of his equals or by threat of an uprising led by his brother-in-law, The American Bar Association’s Memorial to (Clause 39) Simon de Montfort. He submitted to the the law of the land.” formation of a new King’s council that would Magna Carta at Runnymede direct much of England’s administration, and ordered knights from different counties to report back to the council on the state of the kingdom. The principles of Magna Carta spread widely Today, the United States Constitution and Bill of “To no one will we sell, to no one beyond England’s borders and its legacy can Rights echo key provisions from 1215, protecting He also agreed that ‘parliament’– a word used be seen in the legal systems, constitutional the rights of citizens and ensuring due process. (Clause 40) deny or delay right or justice.” since the 1230s to describe the infrequent documents and representative governments of gatherings of the King’s council of trusted many democracies around the world. Article 7 of the Universal Declaration of Human advisors – would meet three times a year. Rights, issued by the United Nations after World In the original Latin, clause 39 referred to the Today, only three clauses from the 1215 These and other stipulations were contained in In 1776, Thomas Jefferson penned the American War II, asserts that “all are equal before the necessity for legem terrae. In later centuries, this Magna Carta still have legal effect in England. the Provisions of Oxford. Declaration of Independence in order to free the law”– a key principle of Magna Carta that, while came to be interpreted as due process of law The first two relate to the freedom of the English thirteen colonies bound to England under the not entirely true in thirteenth century feudal and the basis for habeus corpus – protection church and the customary rights of London and reign of King George III. The Declaration was England, has helped inspire gradual evolution against unlawful imprisonment. Taken together, other towns. The third is clause 39, which has ultimately an indictment of the King’s violations towards global democracy and the rule of law. these two clauses affirmed that all free men had shaped the evolution of common law and justice of English common law, the roots of which were © National Portrait Gallery, London Gallery, © National Portrait equal protection under the law of the land and for the past 800 years. to be found in Magna Carta. that no one – not even the King – was above Simon de Montfort, 8th Earl of Leicester the law. Eighteenth century line engraving by an unknown artist

The First Parliament The Legacy of Magna Carta in Canada King Henry III proved unwilling to accept Notably, he invited knights, burgesses and As a constitutional monarchy and one of 15 1982 Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, lasting limits to his royal authority and soon aldermen in each county to elect two people Commonwealth Realms, the legacy of Magna entrenched in the Canadian Constitution, which rejected the Provisions of Oxford, leading to from among their ranks to attend the meeting Carta has permeated the history, laws and provides fundamental guarantees to all citizens the eruption of the Second Barons War. After in 1265. Owing to his insistence that the governance of Canada since before our country’s under the law. capturing the King and his heir at the Battle representatives be elected, not appointed, de confederation through to the modern era. of Lewes in 1264, Simon de Montfort took Montfort is credited with the establishment of Canada’s parliamentary system of government, the unprecedented step of calling parliament the first parliament – in the more modern sense Its most enduring principles have informed key both federally and provincially, is a testament to without the King’s authorization. of the term. documents, including the Royal Proclamation of the impact and legacy of Magna Carta and its 1763 which shaped the then-British Colonies foundational role in the evolution of justice, law The Emergence of and their relations with First Nations, and the and democracy worldwide. the ‘Commons’ King Henry’s heir, Edward I, continued the precedent set by de Montfort by summoning the ‘Commons’ to parliament after the conclusion of the Second Barons War. Owing largely to the King’s need to raise taxes to fund military campaigns, regular meetings of parliament became a feature of political life during Edward’s reign. His ‘Model Parliament’ of 1295 built upon the representative nature of de Montfort’s parliament by expanding it

© The British Library Board, Cotton Vitellius A.XIII, f.6v A.XIII, Vitellius Cotton Board, British Library The © to include more commoners. Edward I and his court Magna Carta and Did you know? English Common Law In the seventeenth century, As later medieval Kings reissued or affirmed King Charles I attempted to govern the principles of Magna Carta, it slowly became without the advice or consent of accepted as the basis of English common law. parliament, effectively rejecting the By the seventeenth century, the writings of the limits on royal authority enshrined in jurist Sir Edward Coke revived interest in the Magna Carta. Following the document. In 1628, Coke drafted the Petition English Civil Wars, he was executed of Right, a statement of civil liberties that owed much to Magna Carta. Both would eventually for high treason. form part of the uncodified British constitution. Held by Trinity College Library, Cambridge University College Library, Trinity Held by Portrait of Sir Edward Coke by an unknown artist