CONSERVATIVE

constitution as a “chain of royal confirmations of
English law stretching back to the age of Edward the
Confessor and beyond”. He perceived liberty to be on
a continuing advance and thought the outcome of the
Glorious Revolution to be a re-confirmation of, in the
words of Turner, the “ancient compact between king
and people, restoring fundamental law and limited
monarchy”.
By the mid-19th century, the Magna Carta was
displayed and admired as a great treasure in the British
Museum. However, lawmakers and observers also
began developing a more critical appraisal of the Magna
Carta. Additionally, both parliamentarians and lawyers
championed for a reorganisation of law. Three acts—in
1856, 1861, and 1863—repealed a number of old laws,
abrogating much of the Magna Carta. Further legislative
reforms in the 1960s meant that only four of the original
clauses survived in the statute books.
The English essayist Walter Bagehot briefly
examined the Magna Carta in his 1867 magnum opus
titled The English Constitution. He accurately described such
medieval charters as “treaties between different orders
and factions, confirming ancient rights, or what claimed
to be such”. He believed the principal controversy was
primarily between king and nation: “the king trying to
see how far the nation would let him go, and the nation
murmuring and recalcitrating, and seeing how many acts
of administration they could prevent, and how many of
its claims they could resist”.
The Magna Carta still had the power to fire the
political imagination of individuals in the Englishspeaking
world and beyond. The only two extant copies
outside of the UK are currently housed in two Englishspeaking
democracies: Australia and the US.
The Federal Parliament of Australia purchased
its copy of the Magna Carta in 1952. It is revered as a
“secular relic” and is exhibited in Canberra’s Parliament
House. Although the state and federal parliaments are
19th century creations, both institutions, according to
scholar Stephanie Trigg, “appeal to their medieval origins
in order to bolster their symbolic authority” thereby
accumulating “symbolic capital”.
Interestingly, the Magna Carta seems to have
enjoyed greater appeal in the US than in the United
Kingdom. The American Bar Association erected a neoclassical
rotunda to mark the signing of the Charter,
while various artefacts at the US Supreme Court depict
images representing the history of the Charter. In 2007,
a copy of the Magna Carta was acquired for a record
US$ 21.3 million, so that it may remain on display at the
National Archives and Records Administration.
Much of the popularity of the Magna Carta in the
US is due to Sir Edward Coke’s efforts. In 1606, Coke
was tasked with drafting the First Charter of Virginia.
The Charter makes reference to “Liberties, Franchises,
and Immunities” and was largely inspired by the Magna
Carta. The same language was used in the foundational
charters of the states of Massachusetts, Maryland, Maine,
Connecticut, Carolina, and Rhode Island. The Magna
Carta is thus believed to have provided a conceptual
basis for American constitutional development. The
US Constitution, widely hailed as the first modern
constitution, establishes a constitutional order based on
“justice … domestic tranquillity … common defence
… general welfare” and the security of the “Blessings
of Liberty” for posterity. It provides for a separation of
institutions—three branches of government which are
designed to secure a system of checks and balances. All
these principles can undoubtedly be traced to the spirit
fostered by the Magna Carta.
The spirit of Magna Carta
Nicholas Vincent has argued that the significance
of the Magna Carta “has always been in its spirit rather
than in its practical application”. The term “Magna
Carta” is now utilised to denote any document which
seeks to guarantee rights and limit power. For example,
the Treaty of Waitangi has often been referred to as
the “Maori Magna Carta”, while environmental groups
often urge governments to draft a “Green Magna Carta”.
All this points to the enduring relevance of the spirit
championed by the Magna Carta and its meaning—
which is essentially that power functions best when it
is limited. Thus, seeking to impose limits on authority is
now a common feature of democratic constitutions.
One of the most pressing issues during the reign
of King John was the levying of high taxes to fund wars
which were ultimately unsuccessful. The Magna Carta
(and its subsequent revisions) addressed this, stipulating
that taxes may only be levied provided consent by
representatives of the tenants of the King is given. This
principle was later echoed in the American Revolutionary
slogan “No Taxation without Representation”.
Consent and representation are necessary to limit
the exercise of arbitrary power. However, without a
strong element of accountability, these cornerstones of
a healthy political life are weakened and rendered almost
perfunctory. Accountability is fundamental—especially
in a political culture which is increasingly swayed by the
power and clout of interest groups and lobby groups.
Justice is another theme which features prominently in
the Magna Carta. Clause 40 of the Charter reads: “To
no one will we sell, to no one deny or delay right or
justice”. This clause is echoed in the legal maxim “justice
delayed is justice denied”.
The continuing relevance of the Magna Carta—and
its ability to speak with such immediacy to the present—
is something which will undoubtedly keep strengthening
its position within the ‘epic of liberty’. Such a narrative
speaks of the enduring tensions surrounding the nature
of power, accountability, and justice. And in this, the
Magna Carta must continue to serve as a historical
reminder of the relevance of these concerns—and of
the importance of giving them maximum priority if we
are truly to have a healthy political community.
André P. DeBattista is a visiting lecturer at the Department
of Public Policy, University of Malta. He is a fellow of the
Royal Society of Arts and a member of the Political Studies
Association (UK).
The European Conservative 15