Speech by UK Supreme Court Justice Lord Sumption on 800th Anniversary of the Magna Carta

Earlier this month, Lord Sumption, Justice of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom, gave a speech called Magna Carta then and now to members of the association Friends of the British Library.

The Magna Carta, considered a foundational document for democratic principles, was signed in June 1215 by King John of England.

The speech looks at the origins of the  document and at how it has perceived by lawyers and historians over the centuries.

Earlier Library Boy posts about the Magna Carta include:

• Online History of Human Rights in the UK 1215-1945 (August 1, 2007): "The National Archives of the United Kingdom has a new online exhibition that traces the historical development of legal and human rights in Great Britain from the Magna Carta in 1215 to the emergence of the modern post-WWII Welfare State."
• British Library Exhibition on 900 Years of Struggle for Rights and Freedoms (October 30, 2008): "It takes a look at the people, events and documents that played a major role in the 900-year history of the rise and consolidation of rights and freedoms in the British Isles and by extension throughout the former British Empire/Commonwealth."
• Magna Carta to Tour Canada in its 800th Anniversary Year (January 29, 2015): "The Magna Carta, along with its companion document from 1217 known as the Charter of the Forest, will be exhibited in Ottawa/Gatineau at the Canadian Museum of History from June 11 to July 26, 2015, before making stops in Winnipeg, Toronto and Edmonton."