Fundamental Laws of England

In the 1760s William Blackstone described the Fundamental Laws of England in Commentaries on the Laws of England, Book the First – Chapter the First : Of the Absolute Rights of Individuals as "the absolute rights of every Englishman" and traced their basis and evolution as follows:

  • Magna Carta between King John and his barons in 1215
  • confirmation by King Henry III to Parliament in 1216, 1217, and 1225
  • Confirmatio Cartarum (Confirmation of Charters) 1253
  • a multitude of subsequent corroborating statutes, from King Edward I to King Henry IV
  • the Petition of Right, a parliamentary declaration in 1628 of the liberties of the people, assented to by King Charles I
  • more concessions made by King Charles I to his parliament
  • many laws, particularly the Habeas Corpus Act in 1679, passed under King Charles II
  • the 1689 English Bill of Rights assented to by King William III and Queen Mary II.
  • the Act of Settlement of 1701.

Blackstone's list was an 18th-century constitutional view, and the Union of the Crowns had occurred in 1603 between England and Scotland, and the 1628 Petition of Right had already referred to the fundamental laws being violated.

See also: Constitution of the United Kingdom, List of English monarchs, common law

Read more about Fundamental Laws Of England:  Recorded Usage, Unwritten History, 20th Century and Later

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