Page 2019 - Week 07 - Wednesday, 3 June 2015
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video
Although it was not an unalloyed success at the time of its promulgation in 1215, its importance cannot be overstated. It is reflected in the statute books of most advanced countries. These are the common law countries, of course, but in other places as well. The notions that were first set down in a comprehensive way are entrenched in legislation across the world. Magna Carta was, in fact, the exemplar of how liberties should be upheld.
In a sense, even though it was not an unalloyed success, it has become greater than the sum of the parts. While many of the provisions across the world have been repealed because they are no longer in date, it has become a symbol of liberty and a symbol of the separation of powers. That is an important thing to remember.
The fact that the king conceded that he was no longer above the law was a truly revolutionary thought. Kings did not take to it easily. It took a long time for that to come to pass. But there are many places in this world even today where kings or their equivalents—dictators—have not come to terms with the notion that they are not above the law. Many countries across the world suffer because of that.
Lord Denning described the Magna Carta as “the greatest constitutional document of all times—the foundation of the freedom of the individual against the arbitrary authority of the despot”. Whether that arbitrary authoritarian despot was John the Bad, some African dictator that we could name or some despot in Asia or South America, this foundation is an important bulwark against their power and a reminder to people, whether they are living freely or whether they are oppressed, that there is an opportunity for them to overcome the arbitrary power of individual despots.
This notion has been carried forward through a multitude of documents and enshrined in many places. We have seen the same sentiments being described in the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which was put together in response to the despotism that we saw in the early part of the 20th century. The great thinkers and moralists of the mid-20th century who were contributors to the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights drew their inspiration from the Magna Carta, amongst other documents.
The main provisions that are still contained in some form are those which relate to the seizing of person and property. Clause 29 of the Magna Carta says:
No free man shall be seized or imprisoned, or stripped of his rights or his possessions, or outlawed or exiled, or deprived of his standing in any way, nor will we proceed with force against him, or send others to do so, except by the lawful judgement of his peers or by the law of the land. To no-one will we sell, to no-one deny or delay right or justice.
This and the many other provisions of the Magna Carta, as I said before, have become the bulwark of the rule of law, the separation of powers and all of those things which we consider important here in the ACT. We spend some time on these issues. For instance, the administration and procedure committee is currently considering how we fare in relation to the Latimer House principles. Of course, this is another extension, another development, of the thinking in relation to parliamentary rules and procedures,
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video