Key Historical Documents

• What did the Magna Carta (1215) do?


  Limit the power of the monarchy. These included

  • the king could not raise tax without consent of the people
  • the right to trial by jury was guaranteed
  • justice had to be free and fair
• What did the Magna Carta establish?

  The Rule of Law: the principle that all people and bodies, including government, must follow the law and can be held to account if they do not
• The Bill of Rights (1689) resulted from the removal of King James II and the establishment of the monarchy under William III and Mary II. As Parliament was worried that the monarch would exceed their powers, this Act of Parliament effectively stated that Parliament was sovereign and would have the final word on legislation and the government's finances
• What did the Act of Settlement (1701) establish?


  The legal rules governing the succession to the throne. It also stated that the monarch should be a member of the Church of England. Its main significance was that it established the monarch's position as the rule of the whole of the United Kingdom of England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland
• What did the Act of Union (1707) do?


  Abolished the separate Scottish Parliament and so established the modern nation of 'Great Britain'.
• What did Parliament Acts 1911 and 1949 do?

  Before this, the two houses were, in theory, of equal status

  
  

  In 1911, the House of Lords lost its powers to regulate public finances and could only delay legislation for 2 years. It could no longer veto proposed legislation for good.

  In 1949, the delaying period is reduced to 1 year.
• What did the European Communities Act (1972) do?

  The European Community is now known as the European Union. It made EU laws binding on the UK, requiring the adoption and enforcement of EU law by UK courts