Law in England prior to 1215 varied from region to region. It was a mixture of customary law and territorial laws and was not necessarily written down6. The people of England believed and accepted that the King was born with absolute right to rule from God. They accepted the King could do no wrong and that the King was accountable only to God7. However, by 1215 the people of England demanded more law and a concert of nobles and barons rose up and forced King John to provide

When King John confirmed the Magna Carta he was acknowledging the concept that no man, not even the king, is above the law15. The Magna Carta ensured the rule of law by binding the king and nobles in explicit written contract and became a symbol of liberty and constitution government for future generations.

The rule of law states that law is supreme and the basis of this statement is linked with both Magna Carta and the Bill of Rights20. The barons wanting to enforce custom, where the law was clear and stable, fair criminal procedure and access to justice, and limitation of the Kings power so as not to interfere with law making process21. The parliament wanted the king to be subject to the law, fair criminal procedure, independent courts and exclusion of the king in law making functions22. Both the barons behind the Magna Carta and parliament behind the Bill of Rights were seeking to enforce the rule of law, and to be ruled by law meaning no one should be above the law, including government.

The Bill of Rights includes protections of such traditional rights of Englishmen as trial by jury, the prohibition against cruel and unusual punishments, and the reaffirmation of the principle that taxation would only be levied with consent from parliament18. The Bill of Rights also restated the rule of law, that all people, including rulers, must obey the laws of t

Some topics in this essay:
Magna Carta, Bill Rights, , Law England, Bill Rights20, King John, Rights17 Bill, William Orange, magna carta, rule law, subject law, fair criminal procedure, criminal procedure, king law, bill rights, ruled law, fair criminal, Carta Bill, law law supreme, law including, parliament bill rights, king nobles, magna carta bill,