The Habeas Corpus Act of 1679, was passed during the reign of the restored monarchy of Charles II after the English Civil War. It strengthened the ancient and powerful writ which had been a feature of English Common Law since before Magna Carta. It served to safeguard individual liberty, preventing unlawful or arbitrary imprisonment. Habeas Corpus is Latin for “you may have the body” – subject to legal examination before a court, or a judge.
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David Davis
Member of Parliament
Introduction – Runnymede and all that. Winston Churchill described the Magna Carta as “the foundation of principles and systems of government of which neither King John or his nobles dreamed”. Now in Politics we’re used to the law of unintended consequences...
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