The Magna Carta is Signed
In Anglo-American history, the Magna Carta is regarded as the foundation of the principle of the rule of law, from which subsequent constitutions and the bill of rights derived.
A group of feudal barons forced King John to concede in the “Great Charter” that his arbitrary will was not the absolute law of the land.
Most important, the Great Charter established that no “freeman” could be punished except according to the rule of law.
The key provision: “(39) No free man shall be seized or imprisoned, or stripped of his rights or possessions, or outlawed or exiled, or deprived of his standing in any other way, nor will we proceed with force against him, or send others to do so, except by the lawful judgement of his equals or by the law of the land.”
Read about the Magna Carta: http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/featured_documents/magna_carta/
Read: Danny Danziger and John Gillingham, 1215: The Year of Magna Carta (2004)
Learn more about the Magna Carta at the British Library.