MAGNA CARTA 1215: A GLORIOUS FAILURE

Abstract

Along with the tradition of celebrating the importance of the Charter of 1215, there is a long tradition of skepticism concerning its purpose (which was not to achieve responsible government but to preserve the property of wealthy landowners), its force (it was annulled by the Pope and repudiated by the king within a few weeks), and even its success as a peace treaty (war broke out within a few months). The author will outline the reasons for skepticism, because we can only see what there is to celebrate in 2015, if we understand that the Charter of 1215 was the failed result of a reactionary armed tax rebellion by wealthy and powerful landowners, who were not trying to make a new constitution. What is there to celebrate? The author will address that question by asking why the Charter of 1215 was neither void (as the Pope asserted) for repugnancy to the King’s authority, nor voidable for duress. The author challenges the idea that the Charter of 1215 is the foundation of the rule of law in England, arguing that the rule of law goes back farther, and that the Charter of 1215 was very limited in its impact. But it did promote the rule of law in two ways: by giving new specificity to legal duties and restrictions that the king had already been subject to, and by highlighting the country’s need for effective processes for giving effect to those duties and restrictions.

Keywords

Magna Carta / Charter of Liberties / Charter of the Forest / common law / rule of law / responsible government

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2016 Higher Education Press