Since its creation in 1215, Magna Carta exists as a ubiquitous symbol of the advancement of rights and progress in the common law world. It is a living document that connects colonial societies with the medieval past. The manner of this connection continues to stimulate intense international debate. In reflection of the revitalised discussion about Magna Carta in the year of its 800th anniversary, the speakers at this symposium will explore topics that range from the specific rights enshrined in the document itself and examine the various socio-political lenses that have shaped and reimagined the great charter. An aim of this Symposium is to provide a platform to explore the legal, social and political future of Magna Carta in New Zealand.

Keynote Speakers: ! Jason Taliadorus (Deakin University)! Sir Tipene O’Regan (University of Canterbury)

Speakers: ! Lindsay Breach (Canterbury)! Laura Kele (Victoria University)! Adam Lopez (University of Melbourne)! Anna Milne-Tavendale (Canterbury)! Hannah Smith (Canterbury)! Julian Vesty (Canterbury)

Venue: !Undercroft 101, James Hight-Puaka! University of Canterbury, Christchurch, NZDate: ! Tuesday, 1st December 2015Time: ! 9:00am – 5:00pm

Convenors: Lindsay Breach and Anna Milne-Tavendale (Canterbury)

Event Sponsors: !Magna Carta 800 NZ Committee! College of Arts, University of Canterbury! School of Law, University of Canterbury! School of Humanities and Creative Arts, University of Canterbury

Hosted by the New Zealand Historical Association Conference

This is a fully catered free event. Please register your interest tomagnacartauc@gmail.com by 27 November 2015 for catering purposes. 1

Reflections on Magna Cartain Australasia

Title page of Magna Carta, rare books collection, M

acMillan Brown Library, UC.

Schedule of Events

8:30–9:00 ! Arrival and confirmation of registration

9:00–9:15 ! Welcome: Lindsay Breach, Anna Milne-Tavendale, and! Assoc. Prof. Jennifer Lees-Marshment, chair of Magna Carta 800 NZ Committee

9:15–10:00 ! Plenary: Jason Taliadorus (Deakin University)! Chair: Chris Jones (University of Canterbury)

10:00–11:00 !Plenary: Sir Tipene O’Regan (Canterbury)! Chair: Te Maire Tau (Canterbury)

11:00–11:30 !Morning Tea

11:30–1:00 ! Session One: Medieval and Early Modern Perceptions! Chair: Jason Taliadoros (Deakin)

! Hannah Smith (Canterbury)! Englishness or Jewishness: The Social and Cultural implications! of the Jewish Presence in Magna Carta

Julian Vesty (Canterbury)Reforming Power in 1215: Magna Carta and the Fourth Lateran Council

Adam Alexander Lopez (Melbourne University)The Law of the Land: Interpretations and Understandings ofMagna Carta and the Common Law in Early 17th-Century England

1:00–2:00 ! Lunch

2:00–3:30 ! Session Two: Magna Carta & Contemporary Society!Chair: Chris Jones (Canterbury)

!Laura Kamau (Victoria University)!Reimagining the ‘Mekana Kaata’

!Lindsay Breach (Canterbury)!The Legal Relevance of Magna Carta in 21st-century New Zealand

!Anna Milne-Tavendale (Canterbury)!Magna Carta and the Righteous Underdog in Modern Popular Culture

3:30–4:00 ! Afternoon Tea

4:00–5:00 ! Round Table: Future(s) of Magna Carta in New Zealand! Jennifer Lees-Marshment (Auckland), Chris Jones (Canterbury),! Jason Taliadorus (Deakin), Jeremy Finn (Canterbury)

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Abstracts

Lindsay Breach (University of Canterbury) ! ! ! lindsaydbreach@gmail.comThe Legal Relevance of Magna Carta in 21st-century New Zealand

Even historians have to admit their surprise that any document would remain topical throughout an 800 year period. Magna Carta has achieved that milestone and the debate shows no signs of slowing down. Yet, the disputes between Kings and Barons seem so far away from modern concerns that our audience might wonder what possible legal relevance it could have in 21st Century New Zealand. The Magna Carta is relevant to New Zealanders because it created legal principles that lie at the heart of our democracy. We can hold up the Magna Carta of 1215 to our Bill of Rights Act 1990 and find the same individual rights and liberties that were enshrined 800 years ago. It addresses issues that remain relevant in the modern world. Therefore, the Magna Carta is as important as ever because it reminds us to hold dear the rule of law and our democratic constitution.

Laura Kele (Victoria University) !! ! ! ! Laura.kamau@vuw.ac.nzReimagining the ‘Mekana Kaata’

In making sense of Pākeha customs and laws, Māori began imagining the Mekana Kaata as a way of exercising and consolidating their authority guaranteed under the terms and conditions of Te Tiriti o Waitangi. In conceptualising their new authority, Māori likened themselves to the Barons of England who held their King accountable to the unjust wars that caused the confiscations of their lands by the victors of these wars by forcing King John to seal the Magna Carta in 1215.  There is some evidence to suggest that Māori became aware of the Magna Carta in the decades following the signing of Te Tiriti when a Māori King was proposed to stop the sale and loss of Māori lands and again when Māori forced Parliament to represent the interests of Māori and ‘allowing’ Māori representation in Parliament. This paper discusses and aligns the Mekana Kaata with some developments in Māori political theory since the advent of the Declaration of Independence in 1835 until the establishment of Māori representation in New Zealand’s Parliament.

Adam Alexander Lopez (Melbourne University) a.lopez3@student.unimelb.edu.au The Law of the Land: Interpretations and Understandings of Magna Carta and the Common Law in Early 17th-Century England

An examination of the "golden passage" of Magna Carta, ch 29, including a discussion of how the phrase "by the law of the land" came to be read as "by due process of law". It will be demonstrated that this protected against and continues to protect against (among other things) arbitrary commitment or imprisonment without the lawful judgment of one’s peers, etc. In order to understand what is meant by the repeated references to "the law of the land" and "due process", Sir Edward Coke and John Lilburne's views on the common law will be explored. In particular, by way of example, the Five Knights' Case and the oath ex officio will be analysed. To contextualise their theories, their thoughts on prerogative power, ancient constitutionalism and fundamental liberties will also be unpacked with a view to demonstrating the continued relevance of the Great Charter’s protections in Anglo-Australia and America today.

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Anna Milne-Tavendale (University of Canterbury)! anna.milne@pg.canterbury.ac.nzMagna Carta and the Righteous Underdog in Modern Popular Culture

From its sealing 800 years ago, Magna Carta has provided for multiple audiences a unique intersection of the legendary and historical, in which the ‘facts’ have often become irrelevant. Stripped of many of its historical contingencies, Magna Carta’s importance is consequently seen to rest in what it can say about its interlocutors. Popular interpretations, in particular, have been an important vehicle for the development and often, distortion, of the broader meaning and symbolism of Magna Carta from its sealing in 1215. In this paper, I will examine the emergence of Magna Carta in two key episodes of modern popular culture from the past decade. Firstly, I will discuss its appearance in director James Cameron’s version of the Robin Hood legend, released in 2010. Secondly, the symbolism behind the title of American rapper Jay-Z’s 2013 album, Magna Carta . . . Holy Grail will be explored. I will suggest that the insistent and ubiquitous negative portrayal of King John in popular media has been largely responsible for the construction of a version of Magna Carta as a story of every-man’s political freedom and victory over tyranny. I will demonstrate that the fluidity and adaptability of Magna Carta’s symbolism and mythology is ultimately responsible for its continued popularity and utility to contemporary political societies.

Hannah Smith (University of Canterbury) ! hannah.smith@pg.canterbury.ac.nzEnglishness or Jewishness: The Social and Cultural implications of the Jewish Presence in Magna Carta

This paper explores the Jewish clauses contained in Magna Carta and the specific social and cultural context that gave rise to them. Based on a re-examination of the social and cultural context that is seen to have created the need to regulate and control the Jewish community, I will argue that Magna Carta represents a continuation of the deteriorating rights of the Jewish community following the York Massacre of 1190. I will then explore the subsequent rebellion by the Barons in Magna Carta, against the regulation of the Jewish community that was financially detrimental to the Barons livelihood. This paper contributes to the debates on the disparity between the study of British history and Jewish history, and seeks to bring the focus back to the intrinsic links between the two disciplines, when exploring the nature of the Jewish clauses in Magna Carta.

Julian Vesty (University of Canterbury) ! ! julian.vesty@pg.canterbury.ac.nzReforming Power in 1215: Magna Carta and the Fourth Lateran Council

The signing of Magna Carta occurred in the same year as the Fourth Lateran Council. The English Baron’s charter and Pope Innocent’s synod marked watershed moments in the history of English government and the Roman church – but in radically different ways. While the Papacy was centralising its power and advocating discipline in order to solve political and social problems within the Church, Magna Carta addressed disorder by centralisation – the increase of aristocratic autonomy at the expense of the monarchy. Innocent III annulled Magna Carta the year that it was signed, even though bishops were the beneficiaries of the Charter. This paper aims to compare and contrast two landmark political events in the evolution of Church and State. Magna Carta continues to impact on British and Commonwealth government today, while the Fourth Lateran Council set the tone for subsequent generations of ecclesiastical administration. The issues found in modern Catholicism are different to those in the Westminster system, but they are the fruit of a common grappling with issues of administration, and with Church-State relations. Although they were very different, Magna Carta and the Fourth Lateran Council speak to the diverse approaches to authority and government during the thirteenth century. 

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