Destroying the Commons: On Shredding the Magna Carta...Important!

[KoKo]

Published on Monday, July 23, 2012 by TomDispatch.com
Destroying the Commons: On Shredding the Magna Carta
by Noam Chomsky

Down the road only a few generations, the millennium of Magna Carta, one of the great events in the establishment of civil and human rights, will arrive. Whether it will be celebrated, mourned, or ignored is not at all clear.One of only four surviving exemplifications of the 1215 text, Cotton MS. Augustus II. 106 (Property of the British Library)

That should be a matter of serious immediate concern. What we do right now, or fail to do, will determine what kind of world will greet that event. It is not an attractive prospect if present tendencies persist -- not least, because the Great Charter is being shredded before our eyes.

The first scholarly edition of Magna Carta was published by the eminent jurist William Blackstone. It was not an easy task. There was no good text available. As he wrote, “the body of the charter has been unfortunately gnawn by rats” -- a comment that carries grim symbolism today, as we take up the task the rats left unfinished.

Blackstone’s edition actually includes two charters. It was entitled The Great Charter and the Charter of the Forest. The first, the Charter of Liberties, is widely recognized to be the foundation of the fundamental rights of the English-speaking peoples -- or as Winston Churchill put it more expansively, “the charter of every self-respecting man at any time in any land.” Churchill was referring specifically to the reaffirmation of the Charter by Parliament in the Petition of Right, imploring King Charles to recognize that the law is sovereign, not the King. Charles agreed briefly, but soon violated his pledge, setting the stage for the murderous Civil War.

After a bitter conflict between King and Parliament, the power of royalty in the person of Charles II was restored. In defeat, Magna Carta was not forgotten. One of the leaders of Parliament, Henry Vane, was beheaded. On the scaffold, he tried to read a speech denouncing the sentence as a violation of Magna Carta, but was drowned out by trumpets to ensure that such scandalous words would not be heard by the cheering crowds. His major crime had been to draft a petition calling the people “the original of all just power” in civil society -- not the King, not even God. That was the position that had been strongly advocated by Roger Williams, the founder of the first free society in what is now the state of Rhode Island. His heretical views influenced Milton and Locke, though Williams went much farther, founding the modern doctrine of separation of church and state, still much contested even in the liberal democracies.

As often is the case, apparent defeat nevertheless carried the struggle for freedom and rights forward. Shortly after Vane’s execution, King Charles granted a Royal Charter to the Rhode Island plantations, declaring that “the form of government is Democratical,” and furthermore that the government could affirm freedom of conscience for Papists, atheists, Jews, Turks -- even Quakers, one of the most feared and brutalized of the many sects that were appearing in those turbulent days. All of this was astonishing in the climate of the times.

A few years later, the Charter of Liberties was enriched by the Habeas Corpus Act of 1679, formally entitled “an Act for the better securing the liberty of the subject, and for prevention of imprisonment beyond the seas.” The U.S. Constitution, borrowing from English common law, affirms that “the writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspended” except in case of rebellion or invasion. In a unanimous decision, the U.S. Supreme Court held that the rights guaranteed by this Act were “[c]onsidered by the Founders [of the American Republic] as the highest safeguard of liberty.” All of these words should resonate today.

MUCH MORE with LINKS...GOOD READ whatever your views (If you are intellectual) at......

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2012/07/23

[idwiyo]

1. Thank you for posting this article. Also Thank You to Noam Chomsky for the great speech.

[JNelson6563]

2. Fun fact

There was a charter issued by Henry I entitled Constitution of Clarendon.

It is highly likely Stephen Langton wrote the Magna Carta and it is likely he used that previous charter as a guide.

Julie

[muriel_volestrangler]

3. There were some BBC documentaries about the history of English law

presented by a barrister who rejoices in the name of Harry Potter:

The Strange Case Of The Law

In his first television series, barrister Harry Potter tells the remarkable story of English justice for BBC Four. As an ordained priest in the Church of England, Harry spent eight years as a prison chaplain. He then trained as a barrister, was called to the Bar in 1993, and works exclusively in criminal defence.
...
“The English Common Law is anything but common. It is unique and peculiar to this country, growing out of the specifics of her history, and enshrining all that is best in our culture.”

English Common Law, with its emphasis on the role of the jury, set a standard of fairness that has influenced legal systems across the world. Many of the features that characterise today's courts were in place by as early as the 14th century and in this three-part series, Harry looks at how England came to have such a distinctive and enduring justice system.

In this first episode, Harry explores the rise of ‘trial by ordeal’ where painful and dangerous physical tests were used to determine guilt or innocence. He shows how systems of religious ‘proof’ came to be replaced by jury trial, explains why Henry II's attempt to unify law in England led to murder in Canterbury Cathedral, and takes a revealing look at the most famous legal document in history, the Magna Carta.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/proginfo/2012/25/the-strange-case-of-the-law.html

Probably too specific to England to get shown in the USA, I'd think, but you never know - you could keep an eye out if you're interested.

It was Henry II who had the Constitutions of Clarendon enacted.

[JNelson6563]

4. Excellent post & mea culpa!

Yes, you are correct, I certainly mis-remembered that!

There is a book by a great historian named WL Warren who wrote the gold standard of comprehensive work on Henry II life, reign & rule. Extensive section on law and it's development.

Thanks a lot for the tip on the BBC series, sounds excellent! Right up my alley. Of course the host's name being Harry Potter, well it has to be good!

Cheers!

Julie