Magna Carta in Context Conference

This conference explored the constitutional legacy of Magna Carta and how the charter—and the myths it inspired—influenced the diffusion of constitutionalism across the globe. How did the great charter impose limits on royal power in medieval England, and are there links between this and similar charters in Poland and Russia? Has Magna Carta influenced the development of parliamentary democracy and human rights? Is its reputation as the social foundation of constitutionalism deserved? Can we make sense of the myth of  Magna Carta by examining its historical, sociological, and legal contexts? A cross-disciplinary selection of scholars examined these questions, seeking to understand the Magna Carta in context.

 It included eight speakers: Professor Paul Brand (Oxford, Law and All Souls College); Dr Tomasz Gromelski (Oxford, History and Wolfson College); Dr Marina Kurkchyian (Oxford, CSLS and Wolfson College); Derek Webb (U.S. Supreme Court Fellow); Professor Mike Macnair (Oxford, Law and St. Hugh's); Professor A. E. Dick Howard (Virginia Law School); Dean Joaquim Falcão (FGV Law School) and Professor Pedro Cantisano (FGV Law School). You can see the full programme online.  

This event was co-organised by the Oxford Faculty of Law (through the Programme for the Foundations of Law and Constitutional Government), by the Oxford Centre for Socio-Legal Studies and by FGV Law School (Rio de Janeiro).