:''This article is about the constitutional prelude to the
English Civil War. For the pre-1947 contractual remedy against the Crown, see:
petition of right.''
The 'Petition of Right 1627' is a document produced by the
English Parliament in the run-up to the
English Civil War. It was addressed to
Charles I of England in
1628 but is dated 1627 because it
retroactively came into force from the start of the 1627 session of Parliament. In enacting the Petition, Parliament attempted to seek redress on the following points:
★ Taxation without Parliament's consent
★ Forced
loans
★ Arbitrary
arrest
★ Imprisonment contrary to the
Magna Carta
★ Arbitrary interference with
property rights
★ Lack of enforcement of ''
habeas corpus''
★ Forced billeting of troops
★ Imposition of
martial law
★ Exemption of officials from due process
The petition had the support of Sir
Edward Coke;
John Pym claimed that the rights herein demanded predated even the
Norman conquest and were confirmed by successive kings. The King was under great financial pressure, and agreed in June to look into the "abuses", but maintained his prerogative rights.
External links
★
Full text
★
The Parliamentary Archives holds this historic record
See also
★
Fundamental Laws of England
★
UK topics