A Declaration on the Enduring Heritage and Vital Inheritance of the English Common Law Constitution

The English common law constitution is not a mere artifact of history but a living testament to divine order, with principles tracing their roots as far back as 600 BC to the ancient Molmutine laws attributed to King Dyfnwal Moelmud. These legendary edicts, preserved in Welsh tradition and later echoed in Geoffrey of Monmouth's Historia Regum Britanniae, proclaimed a radical equality: every man is as free as the king in every regard, with no one above the law's reach. This foundational principle of inherent liberty and accountability undergirded the development of English jurisprudence, rejecting hierarchies of power in favor of a shared freedom derived from natural and divine law.

It was this very ethos that culminated in the signing of Magna Carta in 1215, a charter that explicitly stated even a king is accountable to the law. Influenced by these ancient ideals, Magna Carta declared the English Church free and its liberties inviolate, while affirming the Gelasian doctrine of dual swords—spiritual and temporal authority, both under God. Here, the separation of powers prevented the total subjugation of the soul to the state, distinguishing England's tradition from the absolutist civil law systems of the continent.

Sir John Fortescue, the 15th-century Chief Justice, built upon this heritage in his De Laudibus Legum Angliae (In Praise of the Laws of England). He praised England's "politicum et regale" governance—limited monarchy under law—as superior to absolute rule, rooted in natural law and Christian theology. Fortescue's assertion that "one would much rather that twenty guilty persons should escape... than that one innocent person should be condemned" reflects the Molmutine emphasis on mercy and equality, portraying the king as a servant to a free community bound by divine grace.

In the 17th century, Sir Edward Coke further defended the common law as the subject's "best and most common birth-right." In his Institutes of the Laws of England, Coke declared it "nothing else but reason—the law which is perfection of reason," safeguarding goods, family, body, fame, and life. His defiance in the Petition of Right (1628) and cases like Dr. Bonham's Case echoed the ancient principle that even sovereign acts could be void if contrary to common right, placing all—king and commoner—under God and law.

Sir William Blackstone, in his 18th-century Commentaries on the Laws of England, synthesized this lineage, describing the common law as "the best birthright and noblest inheritance" of mankind. Tracing its evolution from Molmutine customs through Magna Carta, Blackstone emphasized its protection of absolute rights under "the immutable laws of nature," infused with Christian ethics. He upheld human dignity, equality before God, and the family as society's natural unit, rejecting slavery and promoting the "free and lawful man."

This heritage reached a pivotal affirmation with the signing of the Bill of Rights in 1688/89, which enshrined parliamentary supremacy and included clauses ensuring no foreign person, power, or jurisdiction could override English liberties. This "superiority clause" reinforced the Molmutine and Magna Carta principles, declaring the suspension of laws by regal authority unlawful and protecting against external encroachments, thus securing the common law's sovereignty.

Our rich heritage, then, is one of emancipation: from ancient equality to modern safeguards, spreading across the globe to form the basis of legal systems in the United States, Australia, Canada, and beyond, always carrying the imprint of Christian ethics—dignity, responsibility, and the presumption of goodness.