Rebellion and creation of the document

Over the course of his reign a combination of higher taxes, unsuccessful wars, and conflict with the Pope had made King John unpopular with his barons. Some barons began to conspire against him in 1209 and 1212; promises made to the northern barons and John's submission to the papacy in 1213 delayed a French invasion. In 1215 some of the most important barons engaged in open rebellion against their King. Such rebellions were not particularly unusual in this period. Every king since William the Conqueror had faced rebellions. However, in every previous case there had been an obvious alternative monarch around whom the rebellion could rally. In 1215, however, John had no obvious replacement. Arthur of Brittany would have been a possibility, if he had not disappeared (widely believed to have been murdered on the orders of John). The next closest possible alternative was Prince Louis of France, but as the husband of Henry II's granddaughter, his claim was tenuous, and the English had been at war with the French for thirty years. Instead of a claimant to the throne, the barons decided to base their rebellion around John's oppressive government. In January 1215, the barons made an oath that they would "stand fast for the liberty of the church and the realm", and they demanded that King John confirm the Charter of Liberties, from what they viewed as a golden age.

John prevaricated. During negotiations between January and June 1215, a document was produced, which historians have termed 'The Unknown Charter of Liberties', seven of the articles of which would later appear in the 'Articles of the Barons' and the Runnymede Charter. In May, King John offered to submit issues to a committee of arbitration with the Pope as supreme arbiter, but the barons continued in their defiance. With the support of Prince Louis the French Heir and of King Alexander II of the Scots, they entered London in force on 10 June 1215, with the city, showing its sympathy with their cause by opening its gates to them. They, and many of the moderates not in overt rebellion, forced King John to agree to a document later known as the 'Articles of the Barons', to which his Great Seal was attached in the meadow at Runnymede on 15 June 1215. In return, the barons renewed their oaths of fealty to King John on 19 June 1215. The contemporary, but unreliable chronicler, Roger of Wendover, recorded the events in his Flores Historiarum. A formal document to record the agreement was created by the royal chancery on 15 July: this was the original Magna Carta, though it was not known by that name at the time. An unknown number of copies of it were sent out to officials, such as royal sheriffs and bishops.

Part II

Habeas Corpus Act

” Let the body Be Brought…”

In Britain, the United States and many other English- speaking countries, the law of Habeas Corpus guarantees that nobody can be held in prison without trial. Habeas Corpus became a law because of a wild party held in 1621 at the London home of a notoriously rowdy lady, Alice Robinson. When a constable appeared and asked her and her guests to quiet down, Mrs. Robinson allegedly swore at him so violently that he arrested her, and a local justice of the peace commited her to jail. When she was finally brought to trial, Mrs.Robinson’s story of her treatment in prison caused an outcry. She had been put on a punishment diet of bread and water, forced to sleep on the bare earth , stripped , and given 50 lashes.Such treatment was barbaric even the harsh standards of the time ; what made it worse was that Mrs. Robinson was pregnant.

Public anger was so great that she was acquitted, the constable who had arrested her without a warrant was himself sent to prison, and the justice of the peace was severely reprimanded. And the case, along with other similar cases, led to the passing of the Habeas Corpus Act in Britain in 1679.The law is still on the British statute books , and a version of it is used in the United States, where the law was regarded as such an important guarantee of the liberty that Article 1 of the Constitution declares that “ Habeas Corpus shall not be suspended except in cases of rebellion or invasion”.

⃰ Habeas Corpus is part of a Latin phrase – Habeas corpus ad subjiciendum - that means “Let the body be brought before the judge”. In effect, a writ of Habeas Corpus is an order in the name of the people( or,in Britain, of the sovereign) to produce an imprisoned person in court at once.

1.Find in the text the English equivalents for the following expressions.

- мировой судья

- ордер на арест

[edit]C

A brief history of habeas corpus Habeas corpus is under attack, say critics of the government's anti-terror bill. But what is it and why is it so cherished? Habeas corpus (ad subjiciendum) is Latin for "you may have the body" (subject to examination). It is a writ which requires a person detained by the authorities be brought before a court of law so that the legality of the detention may be examined. The name is taken from the opening words of the writ in medieval times. Although rarely used nowadays, it can theoretically be demanded by anyone who believes they are unlawfully detained and it is issued by a judge. It does not determine guilt or innocence, merely whether the person is legally imprisoned. It may also be writ against a private individual detaining another. If the charge is considered to be valid, the person must submit to trial but if not, the person goes free. The Habeas Corpus Act passed by Parliament in 1679 guaranteed this right in law, although its origins go back much further, probably to Anglo-Saxon times. Habeas corpus has a mythical status in the country's psyche Michael Zander QC Sir William Blackstone, who wrote his famous Commentaries on the Laws of England in the 18th Century, recorded the first use of habeas corpus in 1305. But other writs with the same effect were used in the 12th Century, so it appears to have preceded Magna Carta in 1215. Its original use was more straightforward - a writ to bring a prisoner into court to testify in a pending trial. But what began as a weapon for the king and the courts became - as the political climate changed - protection for the individual against arbitrary detention by the state. It is thought to have been common law by the time of Magna Carta, which says in Article 39: "No freeman shall be taken or imprisoned or disseised or exiled or in any way destroyed, nor will we go upon him nor will we send upon him except upon the lawful judgement of his peers or the law of the land." Over the next few hundred years, concern grew that kings would whimsically intervene on matters of detention, so it was enshrined in law in 1679.

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Habeas Corpus Act

First hinted at in Magna Carta, but not secured in mainstream law until this act of 1679 (which remains in force today), habeas corpus has been an enduring part of British liberty, despite governments occasionally trying to disable it

How did 'habeas corpus' come about?

The first statement of the principle that no one could be imprisoned unlawfully was in Magna Carta, reluctantly approved by King John in 1215. John soon rescinded Magna Carta's provisions, but by 1297 under Edward I they had been enshrined in law.

The first recorded use of the provision was in 1305, but habeas corpus as we mean it today didn't come into being until much later. In 1628, the noted jurist Sir Edward Coke made a speech to the House of Commons criticising the king, Charles I, for wielding too much power. Coke stirringly invoked Magna Carta again, but it was not until the Habeas Corpus Act was passed by Parliament in 1679 that the right was firmly guaranteed in law.

What does 'habeas corpus' actually mean?

Literally, 'habeas corpus' means 'you may have the body' (if legal procedures are satisfied). They are the opening Latin words of the writ in medieval times. It was originally a device to bring a prisoner into court, but it became used to fight against arbitrary detention by the authorities.

It is issued by a judge. It does not determine guilt or innocence, merely whether the person is legally imprisoned. If the charge is considered to be valid, the person must submit to trial. If not, the person goes free.

A landmark instance of its use was in the case of the slave Somerset, who had escaped while in England but was then recaptured. Anti-slavery groups organised a writ of habeas corpus. The judge ruled that all the time a slave was in England he was subject to English law, not colonial law, and as such could not be forcibly removed. Somerset was freed.

One of the most notable instances in modern times was when the political refugee Sun Yatsen used it in 1896 to escape his detention without charge by the Chinese legation in London. Though rarely used nowadays, it can theoretically be demanded by anyone who believes they are unlawfully detained.

Has habeas corpus ever been suspended?

Often. William Pitt, worried that the French revolution might inspire rebellion in England, suspended habeas corpus in 1793 after France declared war on Britain, along with other restrictions on free speech and public meetings. Lord Liverpool's government did the same in 1817, also as part of a general clampdown, which resulted in a furious backlash from the press and public rioting.

Internment - detention without charge - was employed in World War I and II, and during many periods of conflict in Ireland through the 20th century.

Detention without charge is back on the political agenda in the current rounds of anti-terror legislation.

There is the following exchange in Bernard Shaw's play The Thing Happens, set in Britain in 2170 (part of the set of plays Back to Methuselah of 1920):
Burge-Lubin: But the habeas corpus act!
Confucius: The English always suspended it when it threatened to be of the slightest use.

What about habeas corpus in Scotland and Ireland?

Magna Carta never applied in Scotland, and the writ of habeas corpus has no meaning in Scotland. It was not until 1887 that the Criminal Procedure Scotland Act introduced the equivalent requirements for a prompt trial. Ireland had its own Habeas Corpus Act in 1782.

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Date: 2015-12-11; view: 2247