800 years of influence: The Magna Carta and how it shaped the UCMJ

  • Published
  • By 2nd Lt. Allen Ernst
  • 71st FTW Legal Office
VANCE AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. --  What would life in the United States be like without the Constitution? How would your experience in the military be different if regulations or the Uniform Code of Military Justice did not exist?

Would leadership be dictatorial, with the President using military troops to force his will on the people? Would commanders be guided only by their moral compasses? In these cases, bias and corruption would be rampant.

This is what life was like in the Dark Ages, when kings claimed divine authority and lords punished foot soldiers and peasants on a whim.

Then, in 1215, a document was issued that set a precedent, which is still cited today: the Magna Carta or "Great Charter." It was the first document binding rulers to the law since the fall of the Roman Empire.

May 1 is Law Day, as proclaimed by President Eisenhower in 1958. To celebrate, the American Bar Association (ABA) is encouraging law offices to educate their clientele about the Magna Carta, which turns 800 years old this year.

The Magna Carta was a response to a problem. King John of England was abusing his supreme power, supposedly by divine right, acting selfishly at best and destructively at worst.

He lost a significant part of the empire located in what is now France. He caused England to fall out of favor with the Catholic Church, which commanded enormous power in those days. And in particular, he forced his barons to pay exorbitant fines and allegedly molested their wives and daughters.

In 1215, several upstanding and unhappy noblemen rebelled. After trying and failing to negotiate with King John, they and their military forces captured London and forced the king to submit to their demands.

These demands were listed on a sheet of parchment that eventually became known as the Magna Carta. Although it did nothing for the common folk at the time, many of the fundamental rights we now take for granted were embedded in the text.

According to the ABA, the Magna Carta "symbolizes our deep-rooted tradition of constitutional governance" by laying the foundation for the rule of law.

"Magna Carta has become the embodiment of the principle that no person, no matter how powerful, is above the law," said William Hubbard, the ABA president, in a message to attorneys, law offices and the public. "Colonists took with them to America the idea that the sovereign must recognize and respect the rights of the individual."

In America and around the world, the Magna Carta has been cited in human rights movements and court decisions regarding such matters as the due process of law, antitrust issues, habeas corpus, and cruel and unusual punishment.

Why are these concepts important to us as members of the Armed Forces?

The UCMJ governs all US military personnel around the world, from the chief of staff to the newest airman basic, and protects the rights of service members by laying out strict guidelines for the due process of military law.

For example, Article 7(e) prohibits confinement of individuals without probable cause, and Article 55 specifically prohibits cruel and unusual punishment.

For more information on the Magna Carta and guidance on how to educate your friends and colleagues, refer to the ABA's Law Day Guide 2015. You can also find several excellent articles and videos from the British Library.