Seminar №5 “Political system of the uk: The British Monarchy”

6.The British Constitution: Statute of Westminster (Magna Carta, Bill of Rights, Habeas Corpus Act, Statute of Westminster of 1931), Common Law, Conventions

Facts. The Statute of Westminster of 1275 was an important law in England. It gathered and organized many existing rules into 51 different sections, called chapters. Think of it like a big rulebook for the country! The Statute of Westminster I also mentioned a type of punishment called prison forte et dure. This means "hard and forceful imprisonment." It was used for people accused of serious crimes who refused to speak or be judged in court. The Statute of Westminster I had 51 chapters. These chapters covered many different topics to help make England a fairer and more organized place. Here are some examples of what they dealt with: Chapter 1 aimed to keep peace in the church and the country.

Chapter 4 talked about what counted as "wreck of the sea" (things found from shipwrecks).

Chapter 5, which is still important today, made sure that elections were free and fair.

Chapter 6 said that fines should be fair and fit the crime.

Chapter 9 asked all people to help catch criminals.

Chapter 10 explained what kind of people should be Coroners (officials who investigate deaths).

Chapter 15 discussed which prisoners could be released on bail and which could not.

Chapter 25 and 28 tried to stop people from unfairly helping others in legal arguments to gain something for themselves.

Chapter 31 set rules for how much money could be charged as a toll in cities.

Chapter 34 said that no one should spread false or harmful rumors that could cause trouble.

Magna Carta. The Magna Carta was a very important document signed in 1215 by King John of England. He signed it after talking with his powerful noblemen, called barons, and their allies from France and Scotland. This happened at a place called Runnymede in Surrey, England.The name "Magna Carta" comes from Latin and means "Great Charter." It created a group of 25 barons whose job was to make sure King John followed the rules. These rules included getting fair and quick justice, needing approval from a council for new taxes, limiting military payments, and protecting people from being put in prison without a good reason.King John was forced to sign the charter, so he asked Pope Innocent III, his spiritual leader, to cancel it. The Pope agreed, calling it "shameful and unfair." However, the Magna Carta is still seen as one of the most important documents ever written. It has greatly influenced how we think about justice and freedom, and it has shaped laws around the world.

Only three rules from the Magna Carta are still part of the law in England and Wales today. These rules are about: 1. The freedom of the English Church. 2. The "ancient freedoms" of the City of London (rule 13 in the 1215 charter). 3. The right to a fair legal process (rules 39 and 40 in the 1215 charter).Here are these rules, using the numbering from a later version of the charter (1297):

Rule 1: We have given to God, and by this Charter we confirm, for us and our future kings forever, that the Church of England shall be free. It shall have all its rights and freedoms completely safe. We have also given to all the free people of our kingdom, for us and our future kings forever, these freedoms written below, for them and their future generations to have and to hold from us and our future kings forever.

Rule 9: The City of London shall have all the old freedoms and customs it has always had. Also, we want and grant that all other Cities, Towns, and the noblemen of the Five Ports, and all other Ports, shall have all their freedoms and free customs.

Rule 29: No free person shall be arrested or imprisoned, or lose their property, freedoms, or free customs. They will not be outlawed or sent away from the country, or harmed in any other way. We will not act against them or judge them, except by a lawful judgment of their equals, or by the Law of the land. We will not sell justice to anyone, nor will we deny or delay justice or rights to anyone.

Bill of Rights. The Bill of Rights is a very important law from England. It was passed by the English Parliament in December 1689. This law is also known as the English Bill of Rights. Its full name is quite long: The Act Declaring the Rights and Liberties of the Subject and Settling the Succession of the Crown. The Bill of Rights gave many important rights. It said that the king or queen could not make or stop laws without Parliament's approval. It also said that people had the right to speak freely in Parliament. They could also have fair trials.Here are some key ideas from the Bill of Rights:

• The king or queen could not raise taxes without Parliament's permission.

• People had the right to complain to the king or queen. This is called the right to petition.

• Protestants could have weapons for their defense.

• Parliament should meet often.

• Elections for Parliament should be free.

• No cruel or unusual punishments should be used.

H.C. Act. Long title: «An act to empower his Majesty to secure and detain persons charged with, or suspected of, the crime of high treason, committed in any of his Majesty's colonies or plantations in America, or on the high seas, or the crime of piracy». The Habeas Corpus Suspension Act 1776 was an important law passed in Great Britain. It was also known as the Habeas Corpus Suspension Act 1777 or the Treason Act 1777. This law was created during the American Revolution, a time when American colonies were fighting for independence.The Act allowed the government to hold people without a trial. This applied to anyone suspected of serious crimes. These crimes included high treason (betraying your country) or piracy (crimes on the high seas). The law covered people in America or on the open ocean. People could be kept in prison without bail until January 1, 1778. They could only get bail if six members of the Privy Council agreed. The Privy Council was a group of advisors to the King. The term Habeas Corpus comes from Latin. It means "you shall have the body." It is a very old and important legal right. This right protects people from being held in prison unfairly.

Common Law. Common law is an invention of the English courts: the Kings Bench, the Court of Common Pleas and the Exchequer so as to ensure, as remains the case today, that there were laws that superceded the decisions of the lesser courts. Judges create the common law by delivering written judgments about the cases before them. If, for example, Magistrates’ Courts across England and Wales were able to make and follow their own precedent, this would create a huge variation in local and regional customs that could mean that local regimes are barely recognisable from one another. The common law ensures that the law remains ‘common’ throughout the land. However, as it is the House of Lords and the Court of Appeal (Criminal Division) that create the legal precedent in relation to criminal matters in England and Wales, it is the decisions made by these higher courts that bind the lower courts. There are some situations that are entirely new in relation to the common law, and the English courts do sometimes look abroad at the decisions of other commonwealth courts in order to seek direction or guidance from them. For example, an English court may be asked to consider a case decided in Canada or Australia in the absence of there being any precedent set in an English court. This can also assist in allowing the common law system to have a degree of flexibility but also, because courts look to each other for guidance, a certain level of stability too.

Common Law and Statute Law. Although the English legal system is founded on common law, that is not to say that statutes are any less binding. In fact, statute law codifies certain rules whereas the common law provides interpretations, and clarification when facts of instant cases are applied to the codified law. As a result, the common law and statute law complement each other well: common law keeps statute law up to date and in keeping with modern problems and solutions, as well as creating precedent where there is no statutory codification.

Using the Common Law.As a lawyer or legal student you will often be required to research a point of law to check the current legal position in respect of a particular statutory provision or factual scenario. What this means is that you will have to research whether there is are any relevant statutes that relate to the area you are considering, and then look at recent (and sometimes not so recent) case law decisions of the higher courts to see if there is any other guidance thereon. Once you have identified these, it is also very important that you ensure that any statutes you have found are still in force. Further, check that any case law decisions have not been subsequently overturned either by more recent case law, or by a judgment of a higher court (e.g. House of Lords overturning a Court of Appeal decision) or because a subsequent Act of Parliament has codified the common law and by virtue of the new statute the law has been amended or changed.