Magna Carta’s 800th anniversary reminds corrupt politicians and judges that no one can be above the law, Ambassador Cannon says
TIRANA, June 15 – Magna Carta, a document charted 800 years ago this week to curtail the powers of the English monarch, set the foundation for rule of law in modern societies and holds lessons for Albania today, according to Britain’s ambassador to Tirana.
Speaking at a reception marking the anniversary of the charter, UK Ambassador Nicholas Cannon said Magna Carta had relevance for today’s Albania as the country continues on its path of democratic and judicial reforms.
Cannon cited a report released last week by the ad-hoc parliamentary committee on justice reform and its experts’ group that takes note of widespread corruption in the judicial appointments, finding judges and prosecutors paying bribes up to 300,000 euros in order to be appointed to more lucrative positions.
According to the same report, the judicial police officers can destroy evidence at crime scenes, prosecutors refuse to initiate criminal proceedings, and judges delay unnecessarily the scheduling of a first hearing in a criminal trial or may even condition their rulings, in exchange for bribes.
“Such reports do indeed bear witness to Magna Carta’s significance and relevance for today’s Albania,” Cannon said. “Its clauses 40, 41 and 45 stipulate the existence of a legal system, to which people could turn, confident that their rights and interests would not be infringed.”
The charter, for example, prevented the king from interfering with the course of justice, expecting that justices would administer justice speedily and without corruption, in accordance with the law.
“Citizens’ trust in the courts can be ensured if and only if the essential principle of judicial independence is respected,” Cannon said. “The courts are there in order to safeguard the rights and interests of citizens and as a result their authority is based precisely on the trust the society places in the courts’ rulings.”
Cannon dug deeper into British history and folk hero Robin Hood, whose great enemy was the Sheriff of Nottingham, “a corrupt judge, who oppressed poor people and honest citizens.”
“He took bribes to distort and misuse the law. He exemplifies in literary and mythical form the evils that the barons of Magna Carta were trying to fight,” Cannon said. “In Albania, where the struggle for justice is still ongoing, there are some people in the political class who believe themselves to be above the law, like King John. There are some judges who believe that the law does not apply to them. There are some who buy and sell justice and oppress the poor, like the Sheriff of Nottingham.”
The ambassador made the comments at an open lecture the British Embassy organized at the University of Tirana’s Law School with the collaboration of Slynn Foundation on the occasion of the 800th anniversary of the signing of Magna Carta.
“Magna Carta has been described as Britain’s greatest gift to the world,” Ambassador Cannon said. “Almost by accident, these medieval barons had created the concept of rule of law and the beginnings of parliamentary democracy.”
The panel which featured Sir David Latham of the Slynn Foundation as keynote speaker provided valuable insights on the historical background and significance of Magna Carta to the international law.
Sir David Latham said that Magna Carta has served as an inspiration for many important documents from the U.S. Declaration of Independence to the UN Charter of Universal Rights.
