Re: [Property Rights Forum] 800 years of Magna Carta: Rule of law and propert...

[LawDeve...@aol.com]

Clause 52 is interesting but was not honored. The king "owned" all the land under the feudal system and simply doled out limited rights to nobles who then passed out even more limited rights (pasturage, fish, wildlife, live wood vs. deadfall or usufruct, even inherited rights). While it is true that they took those limited property rights (and property lines) very seriously since determining possession and lines was the entire purpose of juries in the beginning when they were first used around the time of the Magna Carta (see On the Medieval Origins of the Modern State, by Joe Strayer). To go to popular history, most people have seen the movie Braveheart. Remember that the drama began when one mild-manner Scottish noble was told by Edward 3rd (Longshanks) to swap his estate with an English noble. Yes Edward did offer an inducement by reminding the Englishman that Scottish nobles were using prima nocte or "first night" in their lands, meaning first sexual use of newly married women (it was a plan to “breed them out” or replace Scottish with English blood). There was some freehold in Europe, it was not institutionalized until Henry 8th seized church lands and then actually sold them off in freehold in order to raise money for his wars (see Measuring America, Andro Linklater, pg. 11).

 

In a message dated 6/14/2015 5:05:59 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time, barun...@gmail.com writes:

June 15, 2015, marks 800 years of Magna Carta, Latin for the 'Great Charter'. Even today, it continues to remind us of the significance of rule of law. It continues to inspire many who are struggling to establish rule of law to this day.

On this date in 1215, about 20 km west of central London, along River Thames, at a place called Runnymede, powerful English nobles compelled their monarch, King John, to sign the 63 point charter. Till that time, Kings ruled using the principle of "vis et voluntas", or "force and will", taking executive and sometimes arbitrary decisions, often justified on the basis that a king was above the law. Magna Carta for the first time sought to establish that the rulers are not above the law.

Among the clauses in the charter, some of the most critical ones dealt with rule of law, and protection of private property.

Clause 28: No constable or other royal official shall take corn or other movable goods from any man without immediate payment, unless the seller voluntarily offers postponement of this.

Clause 30: No sheriff, royal official, or other person shall take horses or carts for transport from any free man without his consent.

Clause 41: All merchants may enter or leave England unharmed and without fear, and may stay or travel within it, by land or water, for purposes of trade, free from all illegal exactions (“evil tolls” by at least one translation), in accordance with ancient and lawful customs.

Clause 52: If anyone has been dispossessed of lands, castles, liberties or of his rights, without lawful judgment of his peers, it shall immediately be restored to him.

Although most of the clauses of Magna Carta have now been repealed, the many divergent uses that have been made of it since the Middle Ages have shaped its meaning in the modern era, and it has become a potent, international rallying cry against the arbitrary use of power. Only three of the clauses remain as part of English Law. Perhaps the most important one being the clause 39.

No free man shall be seized or imprisoned, or stripped of his rights or possessions, or outlawed or exiled, or deprived of his standing in any other way, nor will we proceed with force against him, or send others to do so, except by the lawful judgement of his equals or by the law of the land. To no one will we sell, to no one deny or delay right or justice

For more information, the British Library website provides background information.
http://www.bl.uk/magna-carta/articles/magna-carta-an-introduction

And the following link provides a modern tranlsation of the clauses of the charter.
http://www.bl.uk/magna-carta/articles/magna-carta-english-translation

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[Barun]

Cato Institute is celebrating 800 years of Magna Carta
http://catoinstitute.tumblr.com/post/121601523136/celebrating-the-800th-anniversary-of-the-magna