Magna Carta and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
On 15 June 1215 (nearly 800 years ago) in a field close to the River Thames at Runnymede, near a bit of land now owned by Brunel University, King John the Ist of England attached his Great Seal to a document drawn up by a group of the country’s leading noblemen, collectively unhappy that their rights were being ignored. It was the first draft of one of the most important and influential legal charters known to civilisation – what history would call the Magna Carta (the Great Charter).
What the Magna Carta started led to a strong tradition of civil liberties, so much so that this country has never considered it necessary to have a formal written constitution.
It is universally acknowledged as the first promulgation that the subjects of a country had legal rights and that the state itself could be bound by law.
Look at how far sighted it was, it established the rights of widows who owned property to choose not to remarry, and established principles of due process and equality before the law. It also contained provisions forbidding bribery and official misconduct. It gave us all the rights of all free citizens to own and inherit property and to be protected from excessive taxes. In the view of many, it is one of the most important legal documents in the development of modern democracy and a crucial turning point in the struggle to establish freedom.
It was the first document to set out the right of “habeas corpus” (the rule that you cannot be detained without lawful cause) and establish a tradition of civil rights in Britain that still exists today.
It led in turn to the Bill of Rights in 1689 which codified the civil and political rights of all men (and women). It granted freedom from taxation, freedom to petition, freedom to elect without interference, freedom of speech, freedom from cruel and unusual punishments and the right to a fair trial.
That said, it formed the basis of the American Constitution in 1787 and then two years later, the Declaration of the Rights of Man which was issued at the start of the French Revolution.
The world, as we know, became more complex and sophisticated in the twentieth century with genocide and the destruction of the Second World War demonstrating that there was a need to adopt a Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Eleanor Roosevelt, described it as the international magna carta for mankind. Where Britain led, the rest of the world would follow.
The UDHR is not binding on any country, there is no court to enforce it, it is a set of principles that everybody can accept as necessary to ensure that humans everywhere are treated with dignity and respect.
I differentiate the UDHR from the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) which, as we know, is binding and enforced by a court. Let us not get side-tracked by the arguments over the merits of the ECHR, the Universal Declaration is NOT the ECHR. The UDHR is truly universal and driven by what people want for each other. It, like the Magna Carta is significantly British in conception and represents good over evil.
The UDHR remains a powerful instrument which continues to exert an enormous effect on people’s lives all over the world. It was considered to have universal value and adopted by an international organisation. It was also the first time on the international plain that human rights and fundamental freedoms were set forth in such detail.
It is telling, that the UDHR was considered the Magna Carta at its creation in 1948 and was referred to on its 50th anniversary in 1998 as the “Magna Carta for all Humanity”. This is something that we in Britain are immensely proud of. It is also a source of pride that American Institutions are extremely keen to celebrate the 800th anniversary of the Magna Carta because of its relevance to their constitution.
What the Good of All initiative together with Brunel University, an organisation of which I am proud to be Pro-Chancellor, will achieve is to promote public awareness of the meaning of both the Magna Carta and the UDHR and its relevance to our daily lives. By focusing on education, it will be an opportunity for us to commemorate the adoption of this landmark document 800 years ago and to re-invigorate the United Kingdom’s key role in supporting and maintaining human rights worldwide.
We know that challenges lie ahead, despite many accomplishments in the field of human rights. However, unless we respect the rights given to us by the Magna Carta and enhanced by the UDHR, the maintenance of international peace and security and the promotion of economic and social development cannot be achieved.
The future of our rights lies in our own hands. Individuals must take responsibility for the realisation and effective protection of their own rights. They can use the anniversary of this most British of documents, to educate and inform.
Nazir Afzal OBE
Chief Crown Prosecutor
CPS North West
20 November 2013
