LLB101 Lecture Notes - Lecture 3: Magna Carta, A. V. Dicey, Royal Assent
Document Summary
A charter agreed to by king john of england at runnymede, near windsor, on 15. Crown, to be implemented through a council of 25 barons. 2015 was the 800th anniversary of magna carta. The exercise of power by government must be shared with the people and cannot be concentrated in the ruler. Everyone is subject to the law: even the ruler. Underpins our legal system, providing for stability, and for order in society, by preventing autocratic rule by government. The absolute supremacy of government by law as opposed to government by arbitrary flat. Governments can operate only if they have specific legal authority to do so. Anyone can be punished only for a breach of the law, and not otherwise. Legislation provides a more flexible method of lawmaking than the common law. In most instances, parliament is free to vary existing statutes or introduce new statutes as it wishes (vlad act, lockout laws)
