No One Is Above the Law

Paper Summary:

This paper looks at various legal institutions and laws throughout history and how they have been applied, if at all, to kings and rulers. It looks at the signing of the Magna Carta and how this represented, for the first time in history, a government passing a law requiring that it follow the law as well. The paper goes on to discuss how the Magna Carta became the inspiration for the Constitution of the United States of America.

From the Paper:

"Different states and different times have seen widely varying views on the power of the executive, and the rights of the people. Most ancient nations subscribed to the opinion that the ruler was largely above the law. The concept varied somewhat, for example, in Egypt, the Pharaoh's every word constituted a new legal pronouncement, while in Mesopotamia, the King typically issued law codes that were seen as being the will of the gods. Thus, in the lands along the Tigris and Euphrates, there were some limits to royal authority in so far as both king and subject were ultimately bound by the same commandments, but still, interpretation of the divine will lay in the hands of the King, for it was he who was normally high priest of the gods. Later, in certain Greek city states, such as Athens, the entire population of free men was held to constitute the government."

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