The Magna Carta was established between King John of England and his barons; it provided the foundation for the common law that would disseminate throughout the English-speaking world including Canada. Magna Carta, which means “The Great Charter”, secured the proposition that …show more content…
all individuals are subject to the law, including the king. It guaranteed individual rights such as the right to justice and the right to a fair trial. Many regulations included in this charter are present in modern society; for instance The Rule of Law is a fundamental principle of Canadian law that found its roots from the Magna Carta. Furthermore, to recognize the revolutionary significance of this document; one must acknowledge that prior to the Magna Carta, Britain was ruled under an unjust feudal system that highly discouraged reason of authority. This led to monarchs forming laws on the basis of oppressing citizens rather than liberating them. The Magna Carta established the notion of authority sustaining limited power in order to prevent tyranny.
King George III issued the Royal Proclamation in 1763 to mark North America as a colony of Britain after the 7 years of war.
This resulted in the establishment of a new political and judicial system in New France. Unfortunately, this approach carried imperialistic intentions and many policies incorporated in the Royal Proclamation displayed an attempt to assimilate the French culture. This resulted in discontent among citizens that led to the institution of the Quebec Act. The Quebec act imparted various rights for the conquered French people; it guaranteed the right to free religious practice, sustaining French civil law, and most importantly allowing Roman Catholics who previously ruled New France to participate in political affairs. The Quebec Act was a significant because marked the inception of citizens challenging authority in order to protect their rights through an official document.
Individuals overlook the importance of legal history because the central emphasis is on the current state of law. It is vital to recognize that today’s equitable judicial system was not formed through one rapid notion but rather many unconventional propositions extending over a period of
time.