Did you knew who orginally invented Habeas Corpus?

Post Reply New Topic

For simplicity I will say that it was not the United Kingdom or United States

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neminem_captivabimus

This Polish king Jagiello who reigned in the fifteenth century, introduced the principle that you can not imprison someone without evidence.

At first it concerned only the Polish nobility, and since the adoption of the First Polish Constitution of May 3, 1791 (Tomorrow we will celebrate day of its enactment, which is annually state holiday), included all Polish citizens, regardless of social status or religion.

That's very interesting!

I am not sure it is meaningful to talk about the "invention" of Habeas Corpus (I bet it has been used many times by societies that are lost to history), but I'll leave this here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magna_Carta

Complete balderdash...

Elle MacPherson invented Habeas Corpus.

After all, she has "The Body".

Seriously, people need to keep up with history...

I hate to break it to you pawelk1986, but the Common Law of England and Wales was ahead of the Polish Lithuanian Commonwealth by at least 125 years.

There are many writs which share the Habeus corpus name, but the one we are concerned with is the writ of Habeus Corpus ad subjiciendem which is the order requiring a person to brought before a court in order to examine the validity of the person's detention.

The first citation of this writ as specifically named is in 1305, and there is evidence of orders of a similar force and effect over a century earlier than that, in the late 12th century, predating Magna Carta.

Furthermore, the Common Law writ of Habeus Corpus ad subjiciendem applied to all subjects of the Crown, not merely the nobility. So in that sense, the English liberty of the common person predates the Polish Lithuanian right by a good 700 years.

Indeed, by the time that the Four Year Sejm go around to extending Neminem captivamibus to all citizens, the Courts of England & Wales had already extended the application of Habeus corpus beyond the Crown to private individuals who were engaged in unlawful confinement.