www.magnacarta800th.com
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1.
Magna Carta: Background & Objectives
2. Why Commemorate the Magna Carta?
3. MC NZ Committee members
4. MC NZ experts
5. New Zealand
6. New Zealand Highlight Events 2015
7. Other information
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 The original Great Charter was agreed by King John, 15 June
1215 , when he acceded to barons’ and bishops’ demands to limit his powers, first sealed on 19 June 1215 and distributed throughout the land.
 The 1215 version of Magna Carta was revised several times in the 13 th Century , reissued in 1216 after the death of King John, revised in 1217 and 1225.
 The 1297 version was brought into English law , virtually unchanged from the 1225 version.
 There are 4 known surviving copies of the 1215 Magna Carta - at
Lincoln (1) and Salisbury (1) Cathedrals and in London at the British
Library (2).
 There are 13 known surviving later XIII C. copies – Durham
(1216) (1225), Hereford (1217), Oxford (1217x3) (1225), London (1225x2)
(1297x2), Canberra, Australia (1297), Washington, DC, USA (1297).
 And another 6 (or 7?) of the 1300 Magna Cartas in the City of
London, Durham Cathedral, Faversham Town Council, Oxford (2), and
Westminster Abbey (and Society of Antiquaries in London as well).
Making 24 in all we know of.
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Magna Carta matters:
 ‘England’s greatest export’:
 It is a foundation stone of the liberties enjoyed by hundreds of millions of people in more than 100 countries
 ‘Due process’:
 It enshrined the rule of law in English society
 ‘No one is above the law’ :
 it limited the power of authoritarian rule
 ‘Justice delayed is justice denied’:
 it paved the way for trial by jury
 ‘No taxation without representation’:
 it linked taxation to democratic government, the theme of the American revolution
 “The English Church shall be free’;
 it proclaimed certain religious liberties: ‘
 It has influenced constitutional thinking worldwide in over 100 countries; as well as the
UN Declaration of Human Rights
× Denials of Magna Carta’s basic principles have led to a loss of liberties and human rights and even genocide in many countries for centuries
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Chair – Dr Jennifer Lees-Marshment (Associate Professor, Department of Politics and International
Relations, University of Auckland) j.lees-marshment@auckland.ac.nz
Deputy Chair/Lead organiser of the Auckland University lecture series – Dr Stephen
Winter (Senior Lecturer, Department of Politics and International Relations, University of
Auckland) s.winter@auckland.ac.nz
Ministerial support/government events – Hon Christopher Finlayson, Attorney-General (via James
Christmas, senior advisor) james.christmas@parliament.govt.nz
Parliament and government events liaison – Simon O’Connor
MP simon.oconnor@parliament.govt.nz
Legal History – Professor David V Williams (Professor, Faculty of Law, University of
Auckland) dv.williams@auckland.ac.nz
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Law Professor Paul Rishworth (Crown Law in Wellington, Human rights and constitutional team) pt.rishworth@auckland.ac.nz
New Zealand Law Librarians’ Association – Anne Paton (President New Zealand Law Librarians’
Association) anne.paton@dlapf.com
Libraries – Tracey Thomas (Law Librarian, Davis Law Library; University of
Auckland) tracey.thomas@auckland.ac.nz
Human rights – Rosslyn Noonan (Director of The New Zealand Centre for Human Rights Law, Policy and Practice, University of Auckland) r.noonan@auckland.ac.nz
Māori/Community – Dr Lisa Chant (Senior Lecturer, School of Interprofessional Health Studies, AUT
University) lchant@aut.ac.nz
Medieval History – Dr Chris Jones (Senior Lecturer, History, University of
Canterbury) chris.jones@canterbury.ac.nz
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Experts in the area of the history and events surrounding the Magna Carta
Name: Chris Jones
Institution/organization: History department, University of Canterbury
Expertise: Medieval historian, specifically the Magna Carta and the history surrounding it.
Contacts: chris.jones@canterbury.ac.nz
Name: Dr Lindsay Diggelmann
Institution/organization: Discipline of History, School of Humanities, University of Auckland
Expertise: Medieval Origins and History of Magna Carta
Contacts:
Email: l.diggelmann@auckland.ac.nz
Office phone: 09-9237099
Name: Michael Littlewood
Institution/organization: University of Auckland Law School
Expertise: Tax; Magna Carta and Tax
Contacts: m.littlewood@auckland.ac.nz; 923 5633; http://www.law.auckland.ac.nz/people/mlittlewood
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Māori/Indigenous rights and the Treaty of Waitangi
Name: Professor David V Williams
Institution/organisation: Faculty of Law, University of Auckland
Expertise: English and colonial legal history; commentary on the coincidence of Magna Carta’s
800th anniversary with the Treaty of Waitangi’s 175th anniversary and the fact that the Treaty of
Waitangi has often been called ‘the Maori Magna Carta’.
Contacts: E-mail: dv.williams@auckland.ac.nz Phone: (09) 923 5639 Mobile: 021 147 1971
Website: http://www.law.auckland.ac.nz/people/dv-williams
Name: Carwyn Jones
Institution/organization: Faculty of Law, Victoria University of Wellington
Expertise: Māori/Indigenous rights, Treaty of Waitangi
Contacts: carwyn.jones@vuw.ac.nz
(04) 4636313
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Rule of law and Bill of Rights in New Zealand and Beyond (1)
Name: Rt Hon Geoffrey Palmer QC (please note away from March 14th until May 2nd)
Institution/organization: Harbour Chambers
Expertise: Magna Carta, the rule of law and the Bill of Rights.
Contacts: geoffrey.palmer@xtra.co.nz
Name: Grant Morris
Institution/organization: Victoria University of Wellington
Expertise: The Magna Carta and its impact on the NZ legal system.
Contacts: grant.morris@vuw.ac.nz 0276568556
Name: Professor Janet McClean
Institution/organisation: Faculty of Law, University of Auckland
Expertise: Bills of Rights and rights protection.
Contacts: E-mail: j.mclean@auckland.ac.nz
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Rule of law and Bill of Rights in New Zealand and Beyond (2)
Name: Alexander Gillespie
Institution/organization: University of Waikato
Expertise: rule of law, civil rights, legal history and its importance today
Contacts:
Email: azg@waikato.ac.nz
Phone: +64 7 838 4466 x 6438
Website: http://www.waikato.ac.nz/law/
Name: Dean Knight
Institution/organization: Victoria University of Wellington, Faculty of Law and New Zealand Centre for Public Law
Expertise: Judicial review and the rule of law
Contacts: dean.knight@vuw.ac.nz
Name: Stephen Winter
Institution/organization: The University of Auckland, Politics and International Relations, School of
Social Sciences, Faculty of Arts
Expertise: Rule of law, legal philosophy, jurisprudence
Contacts: s.winter@auckland.ac.nz
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Human rights and the Magna Carta
Name: Stephen Hoadley
Institution/organization: The University of Auckland, Politics and International Relations, School of Social Sciences,
Faculty of Arts
Expertise: How Magna Carta grew from a truce among English rebel warlords to became an international symbol of human rights. How power relations produced the Magna Carta and continue to shape the realisation of Magna Carta ideals in the 21st century. How Magna Carta-inspired human rights can be meaningfully protected only if embedded in authoritative institutions.
Contacts: s.hoadley@auckland.ac.nz 0274-921-333
Name: Dr Petra Butler
Institution/organization: Victoria University of Wellington
Expertise: Human rights
Contacts: petra.butler@vuw.ac.nz
Name: Scott Walker
Institution/organization: Political science department, University of Canterbury.
Expertise: Human rights, political rights, and civil liberties
Contacts:
Phone: 03 364 2160
Email: scott.walker@canterbury.ac.nz
Name: Dr Stephen May
Institution/organization: Faculty of Education, University of Auckland
Expertise: Language rights
Contacts: s.may@auckland.ac.nz
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 Attorney General’s essay prize
 Now - 1 May
 2015 Identity Conference: Enabling Digital
Identity and Privacy in a Connected World
 18-19 May
 UK Professor Paul Brand Talk Auckland University
 21 May
 Canterbury Historical Association Panel: Magna
Carta – Rights & Legacies
 9 June
 Judicial Review and Rule of Law Talk, Victoria
University
 Reception at Parliament commemorating the
800th anniversary
 15 June
 Special feature in the NZ Law Society’s magazine LawTalk
 19 June
 Lighting of Auckland War Museum
 University of Auckland Lecture Series on Magna
Carta
 Week beginning 6 July
 NZ Professor talk on Maori Magna Carta in the UK
 8-11 July
 Annual Gardner Lecture on Magna Carta
 26 July
 New Zealand Law Librarians’ Association 2015 conference
 10-11 September
 Touring exhibition “Magna Carta to
Commonwealth Charter”
 13-18 September
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signed?
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Q) “I am going to read out a list of some historical documents. Which, if any, of these have you heard of before this interview?”
US Declaration of Independence
UN Declaration of Human Rights
Domesday Book
King James Bible
Lindisfarne gospels
Codex Sinaiticus
Textus Roffensis
None of these
15%
5%
13%
2%
Base: 1,005 GB adults, 20-24 October 2012
18-65+
60%
57%
39%
18-24s Total
90%
82%
87%
73%
89%
87%
70%
85%
Source: Ipsos MORI / Magna Carta 800 th 14

...when was Magna
Carta sealed?”
...where in England was Magna Carta agreed?”
...which King agreed to
Magna Carta?
39%
Don’t know
26%
1215 /
1200s
35%
Other answer/DK
50%
Don’t know
25%
Runnymede
25%
Other answer/DK
52%
Don’t know
27%
King
John
21%
Other answer/DK
Base: 887 GB adults who have heard of Magna Carta, 20-24.10.2012 Source: Ipsos MORI /Magna Carta 800 TH
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60%
The rule of law
Trial by jury 49%
Democracy
Freedom of speech
Basic human rights
Freedom from arbitrary arrest
Freedom of religion
The right to vote
38%
30%
25%
21%
36%
35%
Equal rights for women 9%
Nothing / none 2%
Don’t know 12%
Base: 887 GB adults who have heard of Magna Carta, 20-24 October 2012 Source: Ipsos MORI / Magna Carta 800th

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