GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA

SESSION 1991

S	1 

SENATE RESOLUTION 1096

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Sponsors: Senators Hyde; Winner and Barnes.
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Referred to:  Rules Suspended, Introduced, Referred to Committee on Constitution.
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June 1, 1992

A SENATE RESOLUTION TO COMMEMORATE THE SEVEN HUNDRED SEVENTY-SEVENTH ANNIVERSARY OF THE MAGNA CARTA.
Whereas, on June 15, 1215, King John of England set his seal to a document granting certain privileges and rights to his subjects, which document was later called the Magna Carta, or the Great Charter; and
Whereas, this document consists of a preamble and 63 clauses, written in Latin, and was presented by the King to a group of rebellious barons at Runnymede, a meadow beside the Thames not far from London; and
Whereas, on the eve of the Magna Carta, King John had alienated most of his kingdom by demanding excessive military service, favoring friends, selling offices, increasing old taxes, imposing new taxes without consent, deciding cases by royal whim, and collecting crushing fines; and
Whereas, certain provisions were extremely influential as the "seeds”of the principle of due process of law that guarantees persons freedom from arbitrary imprisonment or punishment and assures proper judicial trial; and
Whereas, in the United States the Magna Carta has served as a source book of basic principles for our national and other state constitutions; and
Whereas, Section 19 of Article I of the North Carolina Constitution which provides that "no person....shall be deprived of his life, liberty, or property, but by the law of the land”is directly traceable to the Magna Carta and guarantees justice in a court of law; and
Whereas, the Magna Carta, having granted liberties and privileges that were to become fundamental legal rights, is today regarded as the cornerstone of English liberty;
Now, therefore, be it resolved by the Senate:
Section 1.  The Senate commemorates the 777th anniversary of the Magna Carta and its contribution to the development of constitutional government and an impartial judicial system throughout English-speaking countries.
Sec. 2.  This resolution is effective upon adoption.