The main process which led to the development of the modern judicial system clearly came through individuals rather than institutions. This is immediately apparent when looking at key moments in the development of common law, policing and prisons.
Reformist kings were the first individuals who helped to shape the modern judicial system. Alfred the Great’s ‘Law Code’ was an early attempt to unify and streamline a national legal system and showed what an ambitious ruler could achieve. The monarch was ‘protector of the realm’ and dispenser of royal justice. Henry II exemplified this as the legal reforms he introduced produced a body of law and custom that forms the basis of English common law. The rebels who defied King John and produced the Magna Carta also helped redefine relations between the tenants in chief and their king and protected more general rights of freemen too.
Your organisation does not have access to this article.
Sign up today to give your students the edge they need to achieve their best grades with subject expertise
Subscribe
