History of the “Great Charter”
Frustrated by King John’s abuse of power, in 1215 English barons demanded that he ……. a charter to recognize their …….. This famous charter …… ……… as Magna Carta (Latin for “Great Charter”), which granted “to all freemen of our kingdom” certain rights and liberties.
Magna Carta came to be seen as the …….. for many future legal documents, establishing the common law as the supreme authority in England to which even the king was subject. Subsequent interpretations of Magna Carta shaped its legacy as one of the most ………. legal documents in world history.
While Magna Carta was not the first …….. to limit a king’s power, it was the first written limitation of the power of the king, marked with the king’s great seal. In addition, it planted the seed for many concepts found within our legal system today and is ……… as a foundational, landmark document of the rule of law.
TASK 8. Answer the following questions:
What are the main provisions of Magna Carta?
Why John he was ineligible to inherit land?
Why did John increase taxes for barons and what was their reaction on it?
Why did John agree to sign barons’ terms?
What kinds of rights were protected by Magna Carta?
What are the effects of the document?
TASK 9. Study the text below, making sure you fully comprehend it. Where appropriate, consult English-Russian dictionaries and/or other reference & source books on law.
The Bill of Rights
(An Act Declaring the Rights and Liberties of the Subject and Settling the Succession of the Crown).
The English Bill of Rights grew out of the Glorious Revolution of 1688. During the revolution King James II abdicated and fled from England. He was succeeded by his daughter, Mary, and her husband, William of Orange, a Dutch prince. Parliament proposed a Declaration of Rights and presented it to William and Mary on February 13, 1689. Only after they accepted the declaration did Parliament proclaim them king and queen of England. Parliament then added several clauses to the declaration and formally enacted the amended bill as the Bill of Rights on December 16, 1689.
Its main purpose was to declare illegal various practices of James II, such as the royal prerogative of dispensing with the law in certain cases. The result of a long struggle between the Stuart kings and the English people and Parliament, it made the monarchy clearly conditional on the will of Parliament and provided freedom from arbitrary government. It also dealt with the succession to the throne. The succession was stated to lie in the heirs of the protestant Mary, and then her younger sister Anne. None could succeed who were of the catholic faith, or had married catholics.
The Bill of Rights combined past grievances against the deposed king with a more general statement of basic liberties.
The statute prohibited the monarch from royal interference with the law. Though the sovereign remains the fount of justice, he or she cannot unilaterally establish new courts or act as a judge or suspend laws.
The Bill prohibited the monarch from levying taxes or customs duties without Parliament's consent.
The statute prohibited the raising and maintaining of a standing army during peacetime. The agreement of parliament became necessary before the army could be moved against the populace when not at war.
More importantly, it proclaimed fundamental liberties, including freedom of elections and freedom of speech in parliament. This means that the proceedings of parliament can not be questioned in a court of law or any other body outside of parliament itself; this forms the basis of modern parliamentary privilege.
People were granted freedom to petition the monarch and freedom from excessive bail and from cruel and unusual punishments, freedom from fine and forfeiture without a trial.
The Bill of Rights became one of the cornerstones of the unwritten English constitution. The Bill of Rights has also had a significant impact on U.S. law, with many of its provisions becoming part of the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights.
TASK 10. Match the following expressions with their Russian equivalents:
to succeed the throne |
наследовать престол |
to occupy / to sit on the throne |
отрекаться от престола |
to dispense with law |
свергать с престола |
to depose from a throne |
обходиться без закона |
to abdicate from the throne |
сидеть на троне, царствовать |
TASK 11. True or false?
After the revolution King James II abdicated and escaped from England.
Parliament proclaimed William and Mary king and queen of England and after that they accepted the Declaration of Rights.
The Declaration approved some practices of James II, such as the royal prerogative of dispensing with the law in certain cases.
But Parliament still was not free from arbitrary government.
Only Catholics could succeed the throne.
The sovereign could establish new courts or act as a judge or suspend laws.
The monarch couldn’t levy taxes or customs duties and maintain a standing army.
According the Declaration members of Parliament received legal immunity.
The Bill protected people from cruel and unusual punishments, from fine and forfeiture without a trial.
TASK 12. Complete the table:
The Bill of Rights
Sphere of regulation |
Provisions |
Law |
prohibition of royal interference with the law…… |
Justice |
|
Taxes |
|
Army |
|
Liberties |
|
Succession to the throne. |
|
TASK 13. Fill in the gaps in the text using the words from the box:
