Petition of Right
The
Petition of Right is a document produced by the English (pre-British)
Parliament in the run up to the
English Civil War. It was addressed to
Charles I of England in
1628 in an attempt to seek redress on the following points:
- Forced loans
- Arbitrary arrest
- Imprisonment contrary to Magna Carta
- Arbitrary interference with property rights
- Unenforcement of habeas corpus
- Forced billetting of troops
- Imposition of martial law
- Exemption of officials from due process
The petition had the support of Sir
Edward Coke;
John Pym claimed that the rights herein demanded predated even the
Norman conquest and were confirmed by successive kings. The King was under great financial pressure, and agreed in June to look into the “abuses”, but maintained his prerogative rights.
See also