The Rule of Law for Citizenship Education: Magna Carta and the Rule of Law
In 2015, the Centre published an educational resource called 'The Rule of Law for Citizenship Education: Magna Carta and the Rule of Law
This resource on Magna Carta is intended for use in Citizenship classes for Key Stages 3 and 4. It has been produced against the backdrop of the 800th anniversary of Magna Carta.
Magna Carta is remarkable because provisions in the original 1215 document and later versions set out some fundamental values that are the foundation for many of the principles that we still strive towards today in the justice system. These include, for example, some very broad principles that students and teachers may already have come across in one form another, such as, 'innocent before proven guilty,' and 'nobody is above the law.' This resource explores these and other enduring principles underpinning our justice system and their relevance today to modern day society. (Of course, much of the historic document is no longer relevant to modern day life - for example the parts referring to the rights of the barons of the day and to societal norms and systems that no longer exist - and the resource does not examine these aspects of the document.)
This resource can be used as either:
- a standalone lesson without any other resources
or
- an additional component to the Bingham Centre's resources on the justice system
