The Magna Carta

Common Law and the Magna Carta

The Plantagenet Dynasty

• Last Norman king, Stephen, died in 1154. His nephew succeded him and he became the first Plantagenet king.

• Henry II is remembered as a great reformer. He reduced the power of the barons and established a direct dependency between the knights and the king.

• He established permanent institutions (Westminster).

Poll

Henry II is the founder of the English Common Law. What do you think the term "common" refers to?

• There were not judges and everyone could practise law.

• It was the same thoughout the country.

• It was based on common beliefs.

The Common Law

• It was a system based on custom, comparisons, previous cases and previous decisions (judges do not use the law as a primary sourche, such as in civil law, but they make law themselves).

• Trial by jury: to resolve land dispute, he created local juries.

Poll

Do you think Italian legal system is based on common or civil law?

• Common Law

• Civil Law

Henry II's successors

• Richard the Lionheart (1189-1199) -> Third Crusade

• John (also known as John Lackland) -> he imposed high taxes in order to unsuccessfully defend his French territories; the barons rebelled and occupied London; John was forced to sign a peace treaty called the Magna Carta.

The Magna Carta (1215)

It establishes that everyone is subject to the law, including the king, and guarantees the rights of individuals, the right to justice and the right to fair trial.

The Magna Carta was a turning point in human rights:

• The law of "habeas corpus" forbade torture and stated that no free man could be arrested, imprisoned or dispossessed of his property without fair trial.

• The right of the church to be free from governmental interference

• The rights of all free citizens to own and inherit property and to be protected from excessive taxes.

Think about human rights...

What are they? Can you give a definition?

https://youtu.be/zIuDfzCyPKY