To my understanding, in contemporary practice that is; a 'contract' that is written in perpetuity has no standing
Legal Freedman on the Land Territory
- Thread starter hunboldt
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As far as I know there is a 99 year limit on contracts. So now we have bigger questions. Does that mean any law on the books longer than 99 years is invalid? Where does that put treaties that were signed before 1914? What about laws or contracts enacted before the 99 year limit came about?
Same way you repeal any other law, by repealing or superseding it. If the English government of the time had the authority to make a law, then the English/British governments of later times have the authority to make other law, with the effect of repealing, superseding, or changing the Magna Carta. How could it be otherwise? Did the nobles and king of 1215 somehow have some form of sovereignty that was superior to the sovereignty the queen and Parliament have in 2013? Does the mere insertion of "forever" into a law mean that it can never be changed? If so, what happens when the whole country and every member of Parliament agrees that a law is outdated and wrong, but that law has the word "forever" in it?
So forever doesn't really mean forever? Great, I have just invented a battery that lasts forever, until it runs down. :roll:
BTW, the Magna Carta is about rights, not law.
Two things to remember about Magna Carta. First is that it was repealed a year after it was passed. Its spirit lingers on, but the 1215 enactment itself is dead.
Second is that under common law any statute can be amended. No legislature can bind a later legislature. Constitutional enactments are "entrenched", in other words different, but they weren't in the 13th Century and anyway even constitutions have amending formulas.