[June 16, 2015] I missed the anniversary yesterday of the signing of the Magna Carta1 in 1215 AD; 800 years ago. A good friend alerted me to an editorial in the New York Times entitled Stop Revering Magna Carta which tells that the Magna Carta’s “fame rests on several myths” and then goes on to say that it has little value today.2 What is important about the Magna Carta (the Great Charter) however – and I disagree with the NYT editorial – is that it is the first documentation of the recognizable principles of due process and individual rights.
The first Magna Carta (there were more than one) was the culmination of a struggle between noblemen and their king and thus a product of much bargaining. It was by no means perfect and much of it deals with long-standing grievances rather than principles of law. While most of the articles have lost their significance with the passing of the feudal age, this Great Charter expressed developing common law of the thirteenth century and appeared in later charters, statues, and law.
What the NYT editorial missed, and this is where misunderstanding often occurs by many with many, is that the Magna Carta provided the concept of the supremacy of law and the idea that enduring law exists and must be obeyed. The story of this document shows that compromise can be achieved and the results beneficial to everyone.
Over 500 years later, many of these principles of law were written into the American Declaration of Independence and the nation today is better off for it.
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[1] The text of Magna Carta of 1215 bears many traces of haste and is the product of much bargaining. Most of its clauses deal with specific grievances and some can be understood only in the context of the feudal society in which they arose. The precise meaning of a few clauses is still uncertain. The English translation of the Latin document can be found here: http://www.constitution.org/eng/magnacar.pdf
[2] http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/15/opinion/stop-revering-magna-carta.html