News Releases

The UWI to lead Magna Carta project across the Caribbean

For Release Upon Receipt - October 10, 2014

St. Augustine


ST. AUGUSTINE, Trinidad and Tobago –The University of the West Indies (UWI) St. Augustine Campus has been awarded a grant by the Magna Carta 800th Anniversary Committee in the UK to support the work of The UWI in promoting the understanding of Magna Carta in the Commonwealth Caribbean. Through the grant, a project titled “The Impact and Influence of Magna Carta on the Commonwealth Caribbean,” is being led by Dr. Hamid Ghany, Senior Lecturer in Political Science and Coordinator of the Constitutional Affairs and Parliamentary Studies Unit (CAPSU) of The UWI’s Faculty of Social Sciences. The project will be launched with a Distinguished Lecture by Chairman of the Magna Carta 800th Anniversary Committee, Professor Sir Robert Worcester, KBE DL on Saturday, October 18, 2014 at the Learning Resource Centre from 7.00pm.

Magna Carta was one of the first documents imposed upon a King of England by a group of his subjects, the feudal barons, in an attempt to limit his powers by law and protect their rights. The charter is widely known throughout the English speaking world as an important part of the protracted historical process that led to the rule of constitutional law in England and beyond. It limited the power of authoritarian rule, the “divine right of kings,” and it paved the way for trial by jury, modified through the ages as the franchise was extended. The original Great Charter was agreed by King John on June 15, 1215 when he acceded to barons’ and bishops’ demands to limit his powers and directed that it be sealed. This version of Magna Carta was revised several times in the 13th Century. The 1297 version became part of English law.

Dr. Ghany noted: “In understanding the foundation of the legal and constitutional principles that form the essence of English common law that lie at the core of the democracies of most Commonwealth Caribbean countries today, an appreciation of the role of the Magna Carta will deepen that understanding in a manner not previously articulated.”

The project will deliver lectures and seminars in various parts of the Commonwealth Caribbean and one British Dependent Territory, and encourage discussions that will analyse the impact and influence of the Magna Carta on the Commonwealth Caribbean. It is expected that it will lead to the publication of a book on the impact and influence of the Magna Carta on the Commonwealth Caribbean as well as the infusion of content on the Magna Carta into the UWI postgraduate course GOVT 6005-Political Theory.

Profossor Sir Robert Worcester, past Chancellor of the University of Kent and founder of Market and Opinion Research International, noted: “The 800th anniversary of Magna Carta is an occasion to deepen understanding of the crucial role it has played in the development of so many countries, especially in the Commonwealth. I am pleased that Dr Ghany is taking up the challenge to chart Magna Carta’s influence across the Commonwealth Caribbean. This project will not just be an academic and historical exercise, but will also, through a series of open lectures by distinguished scholars, legal historians and political leaders across the Caribbean, be another opportunity to commemorate the individual rights we enjoy today and to strengthen human rights around the world.”

The lecture is by invitation only. To request invitations, please contact Mrs. Sandra Khan at Sandra.Khan@sta.uwi.edu

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 NOTES TO THE EDITOR

About the “The Impact and Influence of Magna Carta on the Commonwealth Caribbean” Project

The Constitutional Affairs and Parliamentary Studies Unit (CAPSU) of the Department of Political Science has been awarded £20,000 (roughly TT$200,000) by the Magna Carta 800th Anniversary Committee to fund this project. The funding has been    made possible by a grant from the UK Government to the Magna Carta 800th Anniversary Committee to support the promotion and understanding of Magna Carta in the UK and internationally, especially in the Commonwealth.

The UK’s Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rt. Hon. George Osborne MP, who provided for the grant to the Magna Carta 800th Anniversary Commemoration Committee in his March 2014 budget, said: "The principles of freedom and liberty which the Magna Carta codified for the first time have had a lasting impact not just in the UK but around the world. I announced at the Budget that the Government would support the commemoration of the 800th anniversary of King John and his barons sealing the document. I am pleased that it will be commemorated in so many interesting and exciting ways, involving people from around the UK, the Commonwealth and beyond."

About the Constitutional Affairs and Parliamentary Studies Unit (CAPSU)

The Constitutional Affairs and Parliamentary Studies Unit (CAPSU) of the Department of Political Science was formally launched in January 2007. The Unit is comprised of Dr. Hamid Ghany, Senior Lecturer and former Dean, Faculty of Social Sciences and Dr. Mukesh Basdeo, Lecturer, Department of     Political Science. The Unit seeks to provide the following services to the University and the national and regional communities:

·         Research output on matters of constitutional and parliamentary significance.

·         Informed responses to constitutional and parliamentary controversies.

·         Publication of monographs, articles and books on constitutional and parliamentary affairs.

·         Development of courses and programmes to promote the research and teaching agenda of constitutional and parliamentary affairs.

·         The hosting of seminars, workshops and conferences in pursuit of the research agenda of constitutional and parliamentary affairs.

·         The development of a think tank on constitutional and parliamentary affairs.

 

About the Magna Carta Trust 800th Anniversary Committee

The Magna Carta Trust’s 800th Anniversary Committee is charged by the Magna Carta Trust to co-ordinate activities, raise the profile of the anniversary and deliver a number of key national and international      aspirations.  For more information, visit www.magnacarta800th.com.

 

About The UWI

Since its inception in 1948, The University of the West Indies (UWI) has evolved from a fledgling college in Jamaica with 33 students to a full-fledged, regional University with well over 40,000 students. Today, UWI is the largest, most longstanding higher education provider in the Commonwealth Caribbean, with four campuses in Barbados, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, and the Open Campus. The UWI has faculty and students from more than 40 countries and collaborative links with 160 universities globally; it offers undergraduate and postgraduate degree options in Food & Agriculture, Engineering, Humanities & Education, Law, Medical Sciences, Science and Technology and Social Sciences. UWI’s seven priority focal areas are linked closely to the priorities identified by CARICOM and take into account such over-arching areas of concern to the region as environmental issues, health and wellness, gender equity and the critical importance of innovation. Website: www.uwi.edu

 

(Please note that the proper name of the university is The University of the West Indies, inclusive of the “The”, hence The UWI.)

 

 

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