2015 - Magna Carta 800th Anniversary

2015 - Magna Carta 800th Anniversary. . , Magna Carta, which means 'The Great Charter', is one of the most important documents in history as it established the principle that everyone is subject to the law, even the king, and guarantees the rights of individuals, the right to justice and the right to a fair trial. The Charter was sealed at Runnymede, along the Thames from Windsor., The Great Charter , King John I (1166-1216) widely represented to be one of the worst rulers of his time, constantly increased taxes on his subjects to raise funds for disastrous wars. His barons rebelled against him by creating a charter in 1215 which sought to outline their rights and make the King subject to law. Magna Carta's most famous clauses forbid the king to sell, deny or delay justice, and protect any free man from arbitrary imprisonment "save by the lawful judgement of his peers or by the law of the land”. Only four copies survive: one in Lincoln, one in Salisbury, and two in the British Library. Famously, within weeks of its signing, King John disowned the Magna Carta and it was condemned by the Pope, resulting in King John going to war with his rebellious barons. The document gained a central place in English political life and remains a touchstone of English liberties., What does the Magna Carta mean to us today? , Magna Carta's symbolic significance lay in publicly establishing the principle that the king was subject to law. It laid down that the king could not levy taxes "save by the common counsel of our kingdom" and set out how that counsel was to be obtained. It charted the right to a fair trial, and limits on taxation without representation. The Magna Carta's many revisions and subsequent repeals means that in reality it is more of a symbol of freedom of the common people., The three remaining clauses , By 1969 all but three of the clauses in the Magna Carta had been removed from the law of England and Wales: a clause guaranteeing the liberties of the English Church, a clause confirming the privileges of the City of London and other towns; and the clause that states that no free man shall be imprisoned without the lawful judgement of his equals., Magna Carta's international influence , It was not until the English Civil War that the Magna Carter began to represent a symbol of liberty for those aspiring to a new life, becoming a major influence on the Constitution of the United States of America and the Bill of Rights, and much later the former British dominions of Australia, New Zealand, Canada, the former Union of South Africa and Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe).