Milestones In History + Developments Of Br Constitution Flashcards
What was the Magna Carta 1215?
-royal charter of rights in response to baronial rebellion political crisis king John facing
-63 clauses — most important being right of a ‘free man’ to justice + fair trial
-first formal attempt try limit powers of monarch + put it under rule of law
-principle of justice for all remains central to UKs justice system
What was its importance?
-essentially peace treaty + not intended as major turning point in universal HR
-only 4 clauses remain unrepealed today so wasn’t huge success
-later doc proved more significant in development of Br constitution
What was the humans rights act 1689?
-following 1688 Glorious Devolution + flight of James II parl invited William from Holland to assume crown
-had to accept Bill of Rights — among key terms free elections, freedom speech within parl
-in fluxed principle no taxation without parl agreement
-these clauses represent est parl sovereignty + the parl state
What is the BoR significance?
-parl continued meet every year since 1689
-est dominance of parl over monarchy
-principle free speech Mos + peers in parl prevails to this fast — parl privilege
-this allowed members of parl to debate freely + raise important issues
What re the limitations of the BoR?
-didn’t cover rights of ordinary men let alone women
-nothing in doc relates to freedom expression + belief for all of society
-Nr far from democracy 1689 + parl entirely composed of wealthy male landowners n
-such democratic developments not occur until reform acts 1832
What is the act of settlement 1701?
-largely follow up to bill of rights 1689;
-main aim ensure Protestant succession + achieved this by directly conferring,Ione succession in descendants of electress Sophia of Hanover
What is the significance of the act of settlement 1701?
-viewed as key milestone in development of Br constitution as case of parl taking control
-but did nothing to propel Br to modern democratic state
