[Cromwell]

Another document of this nation's Constitution which rarely gets a reference these days is the Petition of Right (1628) whose chief writer was Sir Edward Coke (1552-1634), one of England's last great defenders of the Common Law. He was Solicitor General and then Attorney General of England under Queen Elizabeth 1st. As Attorney General, Coke famously prosecuted Sir Walter Raleigh and the Gunpowder Plot conspirators for treason. In 1606, he was made Chief Justice of the Court of Common Pleas, later being elevated, in 1613, to Lord Chief Justice of England. As a judge, Coke delivered numerous important decisions, and gained a reputation as the greatest jurist of his age. But his unwillingness to compromise in the face of challenges to the supremacy of the Common Law made him increasingly unpopular with James I and the monarchists, and he was eventually removed as Lord Chief Justice in 1616.

Despite his dismissal from the bench and his already advanced age, Coke remained an influential political figure, leading Parliamentary opposition to the actions of the Crown in the 1620s. His career in parliament culminated in 1628 when he acted as one of the primary authors of the 'Petition of Right'. This document reaffirmed many rights of all Englishmen and prevented the Crown from infringing them.

Coke's fame and importance rests principally on his immensely influential legal writings and on his staunch defense of the rule of the common law in the face of royal absolutism. His legal texts formed the basis for the modern common law, with lawyers in both England and America learning their law from his Institutes and Reports until the end of the eighteenth century. As a judge and Member of Parliament, Coke supported individual liberty against arbitrary government and sought to ensure that the king's authority was circumscribed by law. After Coke's death the legal industry sought to water down the Common Law even more, finally closing down the Court of Common Law (the Court of Common Pleas) in the late 19th century.

The Petition of Right (1628)

This document (agreed by both the King and Parliament before the onset of the English Civil War in May of 1628) says taxes may not be imposed on people of this nation unless they are levied by Parliament. It also agrees martial law cannot be declared in a time of peace, and that prisoners of state have the right under the Common Law of England to challenge the lawfulness of their detention. Vital parts of our Constitution.

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[Andy]

I cannot believe that so many of our constitutions are being totally ignored.

I have no legal grounding whatsoever and trying to read some of the sites you link to has my head spinning.
Is there a beginners guide to constitutions? Many sites just seem to jump straight into the legalities and actual cases ongoing.


For example I like this idea of being a freeman of the land....but what does it mean? and how does one go about becoming one?