All educated persons think they know what the Magna Carta is and why it is important to our lives – but it is always helpful to stop and think about objects that have passed into legend and that have acquired value that the originators could never have foreseen. We all know that a document was sealed at Runnymede (on the
Professor Brand Lectures in Sydney and Canberra
Professor Brand has agreed to come to Australia and deliver lectures in Canberra and Sydney on the Magna Carta. The High Court of Australia has invited Professor Brand to deliver a lecture on 13 May 2015 at the High Court entitled “Magna Carta and the development of the common law.” Professor Brand will also deliver the Australian Academy of Law’s
Independence of the Judiciary Conference at the University of Queensland
The Rule of Law Institute of Australia is very pleased to announce that it will be the sponsor of a conference on the topic of “Judicial Independence in Australia: Contemporary Challenges, Future Directions” to be held in the TC Beirne School of Law, University of Queensland on 10-11 July 2015. The independence of the judiciary in Australia is of the
NSW History Council Symposium
The History Council of NSW and the Rule of Law Institute of Australia will hold a symposium on the Magna Carta at the State Library in Sydney on 7 May 2015. Professor David Clark, Andrew Tink, and the Clerk of the Senate, Rosemary Laing, have agreed to give papers. Professor Nick Cowdery will also present a paper. There are expected
Recreating the 1215 Magna Carta in Australia
Work has begun on recreating the original 1215 Magna Carta. This photograph is a small portion of the document being produced: Margaret Layson has begun work on the world’s latest edition of the original 1215 Magna Carta. She said: It is a real thrill to work on the 1215 Magna Carta and to get into the mind of the scribe who
Grant from UK Magna Carta Trust to create website: Legacy of Magna Carta in the Commonwealth
The Magna Carta Committee of the Rule of Law Institute of Australia is delighted to announce that it has been awarded £20,000 by the UK Magna Carta Trust’s 800th Anniversary Commemoration Committee. The award will be used to develop a website entitled “The Legacy of Magna Carta and fundamental liberties” and make educational material available to all Australians and other
President of the Senate and Speaker of the House Joint Patrons
The Magna Carta Committee is delighted to announce Senator the Honourable Stephen Parry, President of the Senate, and the Honourable Bronwyn Bishop, MP Speaker of the House of Representatives as joint parliamentary patrons of the Magna Carta Committee. The Committee is grateful for their support in celebrating the 800th Anniversary of Magna Carta. To follow the work of the Committee
The Legacy of Magna Carta in Australia
The Magna Carta is the most famous and important document in the history of the English-speaking world. Heard of by most, but read by few, it is handwritten in medieval Latin on untanned animal skin. How it survived is a wonder, and survived it has for nearly 800 years, not simply as a historical document, but relevant in everyday life
Magna Carta Committee – Celebrating the 800th Anniversary
The Rule of Law Institute is pleased to announce the formation of the Magna Carta Committee to celebrate, in Australia, the 800th Anniversary of its grant by King John of England on 15 June 1215. Speaking to The Australian, Professor Nicholas Cowdery AM QC, the Chair of the Magna Carta Committee said of the significance to the Magna Carta in