International Social Science Journal (Chinese Edition)

No.3, 2024

“Justifying” and “Exploring” the Principle of “Saving Livelihood” in the Magna Carta

(Abstract)

Zhang Qiushi

Chapter 20 of the Magna Carta in 1215 established the common law tradition that “no excessive fines shall be imposed,” and stipulated the principle of “saving livelihood” for the imposition of fines in criminal cases. The various understandings of “contenementum,” which is the core concept of the principle of “saving livelihoods,” represent different perceptions of the origin and evolution of the principle by scholars In different historical periods, and the use of the term “livelihood” is helpful in understanding the context of the formulation of Chapter 20 and its value inclination. The principle had been continuously confirmed by statutes since its promulgation, and judicial records such as Fine Rolls and early Year Books showed that it has been actively applied in judicial practice in England. The principle was overshadowed in the history of judicial abuses by the Star Chamber courts, but was then directly succeeded by the Penal Clause of the Bill of Rights of 1689, and has become an important element of the protection of human rights in the field of criminal justice in contemporary common law system.