Magna Carta since 1215

Richard The Lion-Heart took the crown of England in 1189. He spent very little time in his own kingdom in order to fight the Third Crusade and he left the country to his brother John.

John had two nicknames, ‘Lackland’ and ‘Softsword’ because he was not able in ruling, he was very cruel and imposed a lot of taxes to finance his failed wars, indeed, he lost all the lands in France. So the barons decide to introduced a document, called “Magna Carta”, and forced the king to sign it.

Before Magna CartaOne of the most ancient forms of trial in England was the trial by ordeal. It was considered a judicium Dei: a procedure based on the premise that God would help the innocent by performing a miracle on their behalf. A typical ordeal was to put a hot iron on a man's tongue: if the burn mark was still there three days later, he was considered guilty. The Church banned participation of clergy in trial by ordeal in 1215. Without the legitimacy of religion, trial by ordeal collapsed.

The king sent out judges who gave royal justice as they travelled round the country. The law administered by these travelling judges became known as Common Law, based on custom, comparisons of previous cases and previous decisions. Trial by jury became a fairly explicit right in one of the most influential clauses of Magna Carta.

Magna CartaThe Magna Carta was the first constitutional document, the first real concession accepted by a British sovereign in respect of his subjects, because it aimed at reducing the power of the king. Thanks to it was recognized for the first time the inviolability of individual rights than the arbitrariness of power was recognized for the first time.

-39 No free man shall be seized or imprisoned, or stripped of his rights or possessions, or outlawed or exiled, or deprived of his standing in any other way, nor will we proceed with force against him, or send others to do so, except by the lawful judgment of his equals or by the law of the land.

Italian Constitution The personal freedom of the Habeas Corpus is linked to some Italian Costitution’s articles:

-13 Personal liberty is inviolable. No form of detention, inspection or personal search nor any other restriction on personal freedom is admitted, except by a reasoned warrant issued by a judicial authority, and only in the cases and the manner provided for by law.

-24 All persons are entitled to take judicial action to protect their individual rights and legitimate interests. The right of defence is inviolable at every stage and level of the proceedings. The indigent are assured, through appropriate institutions, the means for action and defence before all levels of jurisdiction. The law determines the conditions and the means of reparation for judicial errors.

-25 No one may be withheld from the jurisdiction of the judge previously ascertained by law. No one may be punished except on the basis of a law in force prior to the time when the offence was committed. No one may be subjected to restrictive measures except in those cases provided for by the law.

- 111 Jurisdiction is implemented through due process regulated by law. All court trials are conducted with adversary proceedings and the parties are entitled to equal conditions before an impartial judge in third party position.

Actual Parliament

Actually the parliamentary system adopted by the United Kingdom is called Westminster system. The limitations on power imposed by the Magna Carta, with the Bill of rights, established the basis of the Westminster democratic political system, and gave birth to the first form of constitutional parliamentary monarchy.

The Westminster System takes its name from the Palace of Westminster, where the Model Parliament of 1295 was held.

The Westminster System was developed over centuries. It is used in many countries but it varies depending on local conditions and history. Some countries (besides Britain) which also use the Westminster System are: Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Japan, India, Singapore, Jamaica.

InspirationsIn these 800 years many documents have been inspired by Magna Carta. A lot of men have spoken about this great document. One of them was Gandhi that in a ‘’Farwell letter’’ said he was referring to the Indian Relief Act as 'Magna Carta' on the grounds that the Act gave the Indian community in South Africa the right 'to have our reasonable wishes respected’.

Another man was Nelson Mandela and he mentioned the document and said that he was an admirer of British parliamentary democracy.

The Magna Carta can be considered the greatest influence of history, in fact, in 1628, king Charles I signed the Petition of Rights that have some articles of the Magna Carta like “No tax could be imposed without the consent of Parliament”

Also the famous “United States Declaration of Independence” was inspired by the Great Carta. The clearest influences can be seen in the Fifth Amendment :“no person shall be deprived of life liberty or property without due process of law” and this is linked to Magna Carta’s clause 39. Another example is the clause 40: “to no one will we sell to no one deny or delay right or justice” that is the basis of the Sixth amendment.

Produced By

Tania Cossentino

Antonio D’aniello

Adriana Ferrara

Armando Lepore

Simona Liccardo

Francesco Russo

Raffaele Russo

Francesca Tuccillo