The Magna Carta is an English charter, originally issued in the year 1215, and reissued later in the 13th century in modified versions which omit certain temporary provisions, including the most direct challenges to the monarch's authority.

The 1215 Charter required King John of England to proclaim certain liberties, and accept that his will was not arbitrary, for example by explicitly accepting that no "freeman" (in the sense of non-serf) could be punished except through the law of the land, a right which is still in existence today.

The Magna Carta was the first document forced onto an English King by a group of his subjects (the barons) in an attempt to limit his powers by law and protect their privileges.