The Gateway Chronicle 2020

57
Democracy itself was created in Ancient
Greece (albeit in a direct form): for example,
in Athens, every citizen was permitted
a vote each time a law was proposed.
Also , they established a system of courts,
known as the Dikasteria, which were composed
of randomly selected, and paid, ju-
The signing of the Magna Carta in 1215
rors. Similarly, in
Rome, the Republic had varying degrees
of democracy which, at various points, included
a constitution, and elected legislatures,
but nonetheless confirms the idea
that the concept of the rule of law was,
even 2000 years ago, already conjoined
with the idea of democracy, and hence
highlights its importance in today’s democracies.
One of the next major developments, and
one closer to home, was Magna Carta,
drawn up in 1215. Whilst technically unsuccessful
in curbing the unscrupulous behaviour
of King John, clauses of the charter
such as protecting the barons from illegal
imprisonment, and access to swift justice
for all, demonstrate a clear acknowledgement
of what would later become a
major component of the rule of law. Furthermore,
the context of Magna Carta is
that of an arbitrary ruler being brought
under the control of codified limits – essentially
attempting to form a constitutional
monarchy, which is the system of
government Britain has today. The significance
of this document can still be shown
today, as Magna Carta was actually cited
in the US Supreme Court - in the aftermath
of 9/11, President Bush imprisoned
foreign terrorist suspects arbitrarily. The
ruling judged that all detainees have the
right to fair trials and
hence the decision was unconstitutional.
Subsequently,
many of the suspects
were released, as
there was little valid evidence
that they were terrorists.
The modern application
of such a charter,
that was at the time almost
800 years old, shows how
significant it is today, and
that it still acts as an underlying
principle both legally
and democratically.
After centuries of divine
monarchical rule, it was
during the Enlightenment
period that the influence of the rule of law
began to really take hold. The three most
notable revolutions – in England, America
and France – were three key stages which
showed the formal implementation of the
rule of law, and process of establishing
true democracies. These revolutions were
founded on the ideas of key Enlightenment
philosophers such as John Locke,
Montesquieu, and Rousseau.
The first of these was the Glorious Revolution
in England, which, in 1688, brought
with it the Bill of Rights. In contrast to the
rule by decree exercised by King James II,
it brought into statute ‘certain basic liberties’
which would be afforded to all citizens
of the state such as the guarantee of
no punishment of convicts before a trial
had taken place. As well as this, it brought
in a more codified form of rule, which
clearly set out the line of monarchical succession.
Therefore, the passage of this bill
put limits on the power of the monarch,
which reduced the propensity for their