The Place and Role of the English Great Charter of the Liberties in Teaching Law in Poland

The article concerns the place of the English Great Charter of Liberties in the teaching of law in Poland. The presentation of the ways of describing this document and its provisions in the most important Polish handbooks on the history of political systems, is preceded by the short historical analysis of the position (still significant) of the history of law in the curriculum of the teaching of law at Polish universities. The English Magna Carta from 1215 became one of the most important documents in the history of constitutionalism. This privilage, delivered to the English barons by king John Lackland, began to play, since the XVIIth century, the foundamental role for the concept of civic liberties and then became the basis of English parlamentarism. In that double sense Magna Carta has for 200 years been present in the education of Polish lawyers. In the article the author analizes from that viewpoint the content of the most influent Polish handbooks on the history of political systems as well as on constitutional law.