The Bermuda branch of the English Speaking Union wants local students, ages 11 to 18 to enter the ESU’s international “My Magna Carta” essay competition.

The organisation said: “The ‘My Magna Carta’ is an international creative essay competition in celebration of the 800th anniversary of the sealing of Magna Carta. Young people from across the English Speaking Union’s member countries and throughout the Commonwealth, are invited to create their very own Magna Carta for the 21st Century; one document that safeguards and promotes the rights, privileges and liberties of either their own country or the whole world.

Making the announcement, Bermuda ESU committee member Coral Waddell noted: “The Bermuda branch of the ESU is very pleased to be participating in, and promoting this global initiative and we are very keen to engage as many local students as possible.

“This is such a relevant subject right now, both locally and internationally, so it will be very interesting to see what our leaders of tomorrow have to say on the subject of equality, privilege and liberty.”

The ESU said the 800-year-old document is important today because it established for the first time the principle that everybody, including the monarch, was subject to the law. It also enshrined the right to justice and a fair trial. It says that “No free man shall be seized or imprisoned, or stripped of his rights or possessions, or outlawed or exiled, or deprived of his standing in any other way, nor will we proceed with force against him, or send others to do so, except by the lawful judgment of his equals or by the law of the land. To no one will we sell, to no one deny or delay right or justice.”

Today, three clauses of the 1225 Magna Carta remain on the United Kingdom’s statute books. One defends the liberties and rights of the English Church, another confirms the liberties and customs of London and other towns, but the third, addressing legal justice and giving all free men the right to justice and a fair trial, is the most famous.

The Magna Carta has become a potent, international rallying cry against the arbitrary use of power, the British Library said.

The US Bill of Rights includes its core principles as does the European Convention of Human Rights, along with many other nations’ laws governing human rights, including UK constitutional law.

The British Library, where there are two copies of the Magna Carta, explains that it was originally issued by King John of England as a practical solution to the political crisis he faced in 1215.

King John is remembered today as the Regent who governed England while his brother, Richard the Lionheart, was fighting the Crusades. He subjected the people to such high taxes to pay for those wars that many were thrust into poverty, and he became very unpopular.

The legend of Robin Hood, whose arch enemy was the Sheriff of Nottingham, who along with his coterie of friends famously stole from the rich and gave to the poor, is set in this time.

King John did not abide by the terms of the Magna Carta, but it provided a new framework for the relationship between the monarch and his subjects. A 1225 version of the Magna Carta was instituted under Henry III.

The British Library explains that the Magna Carta dealt with specific grievances the rebel Barons had regarding ownership of land, the regulation of the justice system, and medieval taxes with no modern equivalent, such as ‘scutage’ and ‘socage’. It demanded the removal of fish weirs from the Thames, the Medway and throughout England; the dismissal of several royal servants; the standardisation of various weights and measures; and so on.

Mrs Waddell explained that: “The competition is divided into two categories, 11 to 14 year olds, and 15 to 18 year olds. Junior competitor essays must be between 500-750 words, and Senior’s between 750-1250 words in length.”

Local entries will first be judged by a Bermuda panel and the winner in each category will be awarded $250; the winning essays will then be forwarded on to the ESU’s London headquarters to be entered into the international competition which closes later this summer. The deadline for local entries is April 24th, 2015.

Full details on the ‘My Magna Carta’ essay competition are available at all public and private Middle and Senior schools. Additionally, information may be obtained directly from Mrs Waddell by e-mailing cwaddell@northrock.bm

For more information about the Magna Carta visit http://www.bl.uk/magna-carta