Mr. Goodman Musariri asserts the importance of the Rule of Law in delivering inclusive human growth and prosperity.

The MAGNA CARTA And MAN’S QUEST FOR FREEDOM

[JUSTICE UNDER RULE OF LAW ( JUROL)]

What is the rule of law critical to you?

By: Goodman Tamuona Musariri✅🍀🌿🌾🇿🇼

Introduction
• Through the picturesque landscape of the meadows lining its banks stands a monument with an inscription that commemorates a 13th – century event. Here at Runnymede English King John (reigned 1199 – 1216) met with opposing barons , powerful landowners disgruntled by royal excesses.

• The barons demanded that the king appease their grievances by conceding certain rights . Under tremendous pressure the king finally affixed his seal to a document that later became known as Magna Carta (The Great Charter).

• Why has this document been described as “the single most significant legal document in the history of the West”? The answer reveals much about man’s quest for freedom.

The Articles of the Barons

• King John was in trouble with the Roman Catholic Church. He defied Pope Innocent III by refusing to recognize Stephen Langton as Archbishop of Canterbury. As a result , the Church withdrew its support and , in effect excommunicated the King.

• King John , however , attempted a reconciliation. He agreed to hand over his kingdoms of England and Ireland.

• The Pope then returned these to John on the basis of the king’s profession of loyalty to the church and his payment of an annual tribute . King John was now the Pope’s vassal.

• Financial difficulties compounded the King’s problems. During his 17- year reign , King John levied extra taxes on the landowners 11 times .

• All the strife over church and financial matters led to a widespread belief that the King was untrustworthy. John’s character evidently did little to allay such concerns.

• Finally , unrest boiled over when barons from the north of the country refused to pay further taxes.

• They marched on London and renounced their allegiance to the King.

• Much haggling between the parties ensued , with the King in his palace at Windsor and the barons camped to the east in the nearby town of Stains .

• Behind-the-scenes negotiations brought them face-to-face between the two towns , at Runnymede.

• Here on Monday , June 1215 , John sealed a document listing 49 articles . It begins: “These are the articles that the barons seek and the King concedes”.

Freedom Under Law

• Mistrust of John’s intentions , however , surfaced quickly.

• Amid much anti-royal and anti-papal feeling , the king dispatched envoys to meet with the Pope in Rome.

• The Pontiff promptly issued papal bulls declaring the Runnymede agreement null and void .

• Back in England civil war quickly erupted .The next year , though King John died suddenly, and his nine-year-old son , Henry , acceded to the throne.

• Young Henry’s supporters arranged for the Runnymede Agreement to be reissued.

• According to the booklet Magna Carta, this revised edition had been “hastily converted from an instrument for the suppression of tyranny into a manifesto by which men of moderate views might be rallied to his [the King’s] cause.”

• The agreement was reissued several more times during Henry’s reign.

• When his successor , Edward I , confirmed Magna Carta once again on October 12 , 1297, a copy was finally placed on the statute roll, a listing of documents of special public significance.

• The Charter curbed the monarch’s power. It stipulated that he , like all his subjects , was now subject to the rule of law.

• According to Winston Churchill , a renowned 20th-Century Historian and Prime Minister of England, Nagna Carta provided “a system of checks and balances which would accord the monarchy its necessary strength, but would prevent its perversion by a tyrant or a fool. Noble sentiments , indeed!

• But what did this document mean to the average man? – At the time, very little.

• Magna Carta detailed only the rights of “free men” – actually , a somewhat exclusive group , who were then in the minority .

• While in 1215 the word ‘freeman’ had a limited meaning by the seventeen century it signified almost everyone

• “Quite early in its history,” Magna Carta “became a symbol and a battle cry against oppression, each successive generation reading into it a protection of its own threatened liberties”.

• Reflecting this significance , each session of England’s Parliament opened with a reaffirmation of Magna Carta.

• Lawyers in 17th- century England used articles from Magna Carta as the basis for such privileges as TRIAL BY JURY, HABEAS CORPUS, EQUALITY BEFORE THE LAW , FREEDOM FROM ARBITRARY ARREST , AND PARLIAMENTARY CONTROL OF TAXATION.

• Thus in the eyes of British Statesman William Pitt , Magna Carta was part of the ‘Bible of the English Constitution‘

The Quest for Freedom Continues

• Historically , the constitutional significance of Magna Carta has depended much less on what the charter said, than on what it was thought to have said”, acknowledged Lord Bingham, who wasord Chief Justice of England and Wales from 1966 to 2000.

• Nevertheless , the ideals of freedom associated with the Charter later spread throughout the English-speaking world.

• The Pilgrims , who left England in 1620 bound for America , took with them a copy of Magna Carta.

• In 1775 , when British colonies in America rebelled against taxation without representation , the assembly of what is now the state of Massachusetts declared that such taxes contravened Magna Carta.

• Indeed , the official Massachusetts seal in use at that time depicted a man holding a sword in one hand and Magna Carta in the other.

• When representatives of the fledgling nation met to draft a constitution for the United States of America, they upheld the principle of freedom under law.

• The U.S Bill of Rights, descends from this acceptance. Thus I 1957 and in recognition of Magna Carta, the American Bar Association erected at Runnymede a monument bearing the inscription , “To Commemorate Magna Carta – Symbol of FREEDOM UNDER LAW.

• In 1948 , American Stateswoman Eleanor Roosevelt helped to draft the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, hoping that it would become “the international Magna Carta of ALL men everywhere.

• Indeed , the history of Magna Carta shows how profoundly the human yearns for freedom.

•Despite noble aspirations, today basic human rights remain under threat in many countries.

• Human governments have repeatedly shown themselves unable to guarantee freedom for all

• Probably that is the reason why millions on earth have resorted to the QUEST OF EVEN HIGHER form of freedom under the law of a different government, God’s Kingdom which explains why national or International CONSTITUTIONS are and have to be dedicated to God Almighty.

• And the Christian Bible says something remarkable about God Almighty and as a Prophet myself (Prophet Bokolings), allow me to quote from 2 Corinthians 3:17:-

• “Where the spirit of Jehovah is, there is freedom” (2 Corinthians 3:17).

• All Citizens Sovereigns must therefore seek for justice under the rule of law from God Almighty himself to find a fascinating and liberating FREEDOM from whom all constitutions of the universe are dedicated by both DIATHEKE COVENANTS (Between Man and Man) and SUNTHEKE COVENANTS ( between God Almighty and Man.

• Before we delve into the modern dynamics of JURISPRUDENCE which is achieved through the following:

(1) CONSTITUTIONALISM DEVELOPMENT

(2) CONSTITUTIONALITY AWARENESS

(3) CONSTITUTIONAL ORDER

(4) AWARENESS OF THE CONSTITUTION ITSELF AND ITS CONTENTS:

• It was important that I highlight the origin of the RULE OF LAW versus JUSTICE DELIVERY and as a consequence of the CAUSATION AND EFFECT relationship between them.

THE GREAT CHARTER

• |” Magna Carta (Latin for “The Great character”) began as “The Articles of the Barons”. King John affixed his seal to this 49-article document. During the next few days , the agreement expanded to 63 articles , and the King again sealed the document. The reissue 1217 accompanied a second, smaller charter that dealt with forest law. Henceforth, the articles assumed the description Magna Carta”.|

• |” The 63 articles fall into nine groups among which those that deal with the barons’ grievances, the reform of law and justice , and the freedom of the church. Article 39, the historical basis for English civil liberties, reads: “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.|

• At this point I have given a background of FREEDOM UNDER LAW ,RULE OF LAW, EQUALITY BEFORE THE LAW, CONSTITUTIONAL LAW AND JUSTICE UNDER RULE OF LAW ( JUROL) AS A CONSEQUENCE OF JURISPRUDENCE WHICH IS ACHIEVED THROUGH:

(1) CONSTITUTIONALISM DEVELOPMENT

(2) CONSTITUTIONALITY AWARENESS &

(3) CONSTITUTIONAL ORDER

• From Latin “you should have the body”, a writ of habeas corpus is a legal document that orders inquiry into the lawfulness of a person’s detention in custody.
• Magna Carta is Latin Phrase for “The Great Character”

I thank you!

Goodman Tamuona Musariri✅🍀🌿🌾🇿🇼

+263 718425373

goodmanmusariri3@gmail.com