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Magna Carta
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Complete Text of Magna Carta
(1) FIRST, THAT WE HAVE GRANTED TO GOD, and by this present charter have
confirmed for us and our heirs in perpetuity, that the English Church
shall be free, and shall have its rights undiminished, and its liberties
unimpaired. That we wish this so to be observed, appears from the fact
that of our own free will, before the outbreak of the present dispute
between us and our barons, we granted and confirmed by charter the freedom
of the Church's elections - a right reckoned to be of the greatest
necessity and importance to it - and caused this to be confirmed by Pope
Innocent III. This freedom we shall observe ourselves, and desire to be
observed in good faith by our heirs in perpetuity.
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(17) Ordinary lawsuits shall not follow the royal court around, but shall
be held in a fixed place.
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(31) Neither we nor any royal official will take wood for our castle, or
for any other purpose, without the consent of the owner.
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(38) In future no official shall place a man on trial upon his own
unsupported statement, without producing credible witnesses to the truth
of it.
(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.
(40) To no one will we sell, to no one deny or delay right or justice.
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(60)
The barons shall elect twenty-five of their member to keep, and cause to
be observed with all their might, the peace and liberties granted and
confirmed to them by this charter.
* In the event of disagreement among the twenty-five barons on any matter
referred to them for decision, the verdict of the majority present shall
have the same validity as a unanimous verdict of the whole twenty-five,
whether these were all present or some of those summoned were unwilling or
unable to appear.
* The twenty-five barons shall swear to obey all the above articles
faithfully, and shall cause them to be obeyed by others to the best of
their power.
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On June 15, 1215, an assembly of barons confronted a tyrannical King John,
demanding that traditional rights be recognized, written down,
confirmed with the royal seal, and sent to each of the counties to be read
to all freemen. The result was the Magna Carta, and it became an inspiration for
the American colonists.
S.Balachandran.
balachandran@muthamil.com
July 26, 2004
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