The Magna Carta? the background of it and what you should know

There are many counts of history to the Magna Carta due to its lengthy span in the history of the English Legal System. This entry will concentrate on some relevant points of the history within the Magna Cartas timeline. The Magna Carta evolved from the Church and the Barons within England in the period of King John of England’s Ruling. He was immensely confident on living above the law and while during so had violated feudal as well as simple common law, while this was the case he was extremely criticized for his foreign policies and actions which he had committed within England. Due to the fact that this was the case, the church and barons provided a draft to King John and with measures of negotiation being carried out he had signed off on the rights which were laid out in June 1215.[4] Later during the period of his ruling he chose to abandon the charter, which essentially triggered a war which lasted until his death in 1216. After a numerous amount of years of it being reissued and implementing it into the role of the English society, the last version was released in 1297 by Edward I. After this, the charter disappeared for almost 200 years in which the Elizabethan era had begun and was brought back up with new interests in mind.[5]

Although the Magna Carta was initially drafted up to play the role of peace within English System this was not the case due to the fact that when King John abandoned the Carta he wrote a formal agreement to the Pope so it could be annulled. The Pope agreed to this and the Pope called it ‘’illegal, unjust, harmful to royal rights and shameful to the English people’’ after this the charter was declared ‘’null and void of all validity for ever’’[6]. With this being said the Magna Carta has played a significant role in today’s English Legal System. This is due to the fact that this was one of the first major steps taken within England towards establishing parliamentary democracy. This was because in Henry III’s version of the Magna Carta the main documents message was to issue a fair trial for all major subjects. It was also important because during the English Civil War the Magna Carta was used to restrain the power of monarchs at the time when they were supremely powerful.[7]

The Magna Carta played a powerful role or should I say a strong influence on both the United States Constitution and the Constitution of the various states within the USA. Its influence was sought in from the eighteenth-century Americans, this was because of what they believed the Magna Carta was intended to signify. They believed that overall the Magna Carta was a attempt to give people the assertion of their rights against an oppressive ruler. In the Americans case the legacy which captured American distrust of concentrated political power. Due to this being the case when the declaration of rights in the United States was drafted it intended to guarantee individual citizens a full list of necessary and suitable protections and immunities from the state government. As well as this happening the United States also chose to incorporate the Bill of Rights which further incorporated several guarantees which were understood to essentially descent from the rights which were protected by the Magna Carta at the time such as a right to a speedy trial, freedom from unlawful searches and seizures and a right to a jury trial in both a criminal and a civil case. The United States have implemented many constitutional principles which initially have the required roots from the eighteenth-century understanding of the Magna Carta, some important principles to be noted are the theory of a representative government, or the idea of a supreme law as well as another important principle which is the Judicial Review concept.[8]

In conclusion we can say that the Magna Carta has played an important significance in the implementation of a fair Legal System within England as well as further out around the world, where its roots and significance are shown in the roots of different constitutions and rights. It has allowed individuals to have a greater say and not put government or give unequal power to those who it is not necessary. Such as governments and monarchs.

[1] http://www.wisegeek.org/what-is-the-magna-carta.htm

[2] ibid

[3] ibid

[4] ibid

[5] ibid

[6] http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/magna-carta-what-is-it-and-why-is-it-still-important-today-10017258.html

[7] http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/magna-carta-what-is-it-and-why-is-it-still-important-today-10017258.html

[8] http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/magna-carta-muse-and-mentor/magna-carta-and-the-us-constitution.html

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