Magna Carta ─ A Central European Perspective of Our Common Heritage of Freedom

To mark the 800^th anniversary of the signing of the Magna Carta by King John at Runneymead,Magna Carta provides the Central and Eastern European perspectives on this monumental document and its impact on the political and legal experiences of freedom, from the medieval period to the present day. The volume gives rise to a discussion about the legacy of the Magna Carta as one of the fundamental elements of European identity.

Across 8 chapters, supported by previously untranslated sources at the end of each chapter, contributors consider the lasting legacy of Magna Carta in Hungary, the Czech Republic and Belarus, among others. The contributions present the successful attempts to limit royal power by law while protecting the privileges of the nobility carried out throughout the region from the 13th to 18th centuries. Each chapter considers the historical and political contexts behind these efforts, the processes by which political and legal institutions were subsequently formed and finally examines the legacy of those institutions which are today found in consitutional identities, constitutional arrangements and political projects across Central and Eastern Europe.

This original collection will enable students and academics alike to see for themselves the reverberations this document caused in medieval Europe and beyond from a fresh and unusual perspective.

Zbigniew Rau is Professor in the Faculty of Law and Administration at the University of Lodz, Poland and Director of the Alexis de Tocqueville Center for Political and Legal Thought.

Przemyslaw Zurawski vel Grajewski is Lecturer in the Faculty of International Studies at the University of Lodz, Poland.