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Jun 15, 1215
Magna Carta
In response to King John of England's abusive taxation, the Magna Carta was written to concede a number of the crown's legal rights to the barons and to the people The signing of the Magna Carta marked the first time a king could be subject to law, and introduced rudimentary judicial guarantees that have become the <i>blueprint of English common law</i> including the freedom of church, free taxation, etc. BBC, 2011 -
The English Bill of Rights
The English Bill of Rights limited Parliament's right to raise money through taxation and limited the Royal Family's legal privileges. It would later serve as the foundation of the 1791 American Bill of Rights. BBC, 2002 -
The Salem Witch Trials
In a judicial frenzy triggered by accusations of young women practising witchcraft, over 300 people in the town of Salem, Massachusetts were accused of worshiping the Devil and 20 executed. Salem Witch Trials Documentary Archive, 2002 -
The American Declaration of Independence
The Declaration of Independence renounced the United States as a colony of Great Britain, making it the first legal document to overturn the medieval theories of colonialism in favour equality and democracy. National Archives and Records Administration, 2011 -
The Constitution of the United States of America
The American Constitution formed the world's first republican government with separate executive, legislative, and judicial branches. It would later serve as the model for the constitutions of other newly-independent or democratic states. National Archives and Records Administration, 2011 -
Napoleonic Code
The French code of law demonstrates both elements of Roman law as well as the ideals of the French Revolution: individual liberty; equality before the law, etc. The Napoleon Series, 2008 -
The Geneva Convention
With the addition of the Prisoner of War Convention, these two agreements served to protect basic human rights in times of war, including the protection of military medical personnel and the humane treatment of POWs and the wounded. Red Cross, 2011 -
The Thirteenth Amendment
Amendment to the American Constitution abolishing slavery in the United States. Our Documents, 2011 -
The Nuremberg War Crimes Trial
24 Nazi officers were tried for crimes against peace, crimes against humanity, and war crimes committed during WWII by a panel of 8 judges of the Allies. The Nuremberg Trials reinforced the precedence of basic moral standards over military principles, even in times of war. For crimes of torture, persecution, etc., 12 of the Nazi officers were sentenced to death. United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, 2011 -
Justinian's Code
The <i>Corpus Juris Civilis</i>, a compilation of Roman Law by Emperor Justinian, was derived from logic-based Greek legal principles and served as the basis of contemporary Byzantine law. The Justinian Code and the concept of Roman Law remains relevant to modern lawmakers and forms the base of Western civil law. UC Berkeley Office of Resources for International and Area Studies, 2004
