46 • The invisible palace —part 2 the constitution

after Diana's death she had had a conversation with Burrell in which he had told her that he was removing items belonging to Diana 'for safe-keeping'.

One of the many questions raised following this revelation was that of the Queen's legal immunity from giving evidence in the courts. How could Burrell have a fair trial if the Queen might have confirmed his innocence, but (as everyone appeared to accept without question) she had a legal immunity from appearing in her own courts? This could have presented a huge problem as it meant, for example, that she could not be compelled to give evidence as a defence witness. The matter, however, was not resolved by any legal ruling because as soon as it was known that this conversation had taken place, the case against Paul Burrell was dropped by the prosecution, and he was acquitted.

The constitution may be an illusion, but it is an illusion that works, and is made to work. It is so convincing and well established by practice and tradition that it has become an accepted fact, which must be guarded and protected. It is the province of the courts to guard and protect the constitution; and, if it becomes necessary, they will do just that. In this way the judiciary plays an essential role not only in the lives of individual citizens, but also in the running of the country as a whole.

HUMAN RIGHTS

We will be considering human rights in Chapter 19, but by way of introduction to this subject, it is important to understand that this is an aspect of constitutional law, for it is under the constitution that individual citizens have duties to their 'Queen and Country' (the State) and the State has certain duties to protect the human rights of its citizens.

DUTIES OF THE CITIZEN

The duties of the citizen include serving in HM Forces when it becomes necessary, as in time of war. Citizens must also serve on juries, and give evidence in criminal or civil proceedings when required to do so. There are duties relating to the registration of births and deaths, or notifying the authorities of certain infectious diseases; and of course individuals must pay their taxes.

It is also the duty of every citizen to obey the law. This should be quite easy when we know what the laws are, but how is it possible when there are many thousands of laws, and we may know only a small fraction of them? In fact, contrary to popular belief, we are not all presumed to know the law.

John Selden, the jurist, wrote: 'Ignorance of the law excuses no man: Not that all men know the law, but because

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'tis an excuse every man will plead, and no man can tell how to refute him'. Again, in 1937, Lord Atkin said, 'The fact is that there is not and never has been a presumption that every one knows the law'. Lord Atkin said the rule is 'that ignorance of the law is no excuse', and that is the position. This means that if anyone offends against the law, it is no answer to say that as they did not know the law they should not be responsible for breaking it. Genuine ignorance of the law may be a matter that the court can take into account when deciding how to deal with a case, but, as Selden explained, if ignorance of the law could always be an answer to any charge, the entire justice system would be unworkable.

DUTIES OF THE STATE

The duties of the State include giving citizens their civil liberties, which include all the civil and political rights recognised by English law. There are many of these, and they include the right to life, the right to personal liberty, and the right to freedom of expression and of conscience (for example, free­dom of religion). Freedoms of expression and of assembly mean, for example, that people are free to demonstrate, provided that they do not break any laws when doing so. Then people have the right to be involved in govern­ment, to vote, and to stand for election to Parliament or local councils. They have the freedom to own property. They also have the right to the protection of the law, which includes the right of anyone accused of crime to a fair and speedy trial.

Until recently, the human rights enjoyed by every citizen in this country were not easy to find. They were contained in numerous Acts of Parliament, and in cases which form part of the common law. Three of the most import­ant landmarks in our human rights history span the centuries. After a wait of over three hundred years we now have another—the Human Rights Act 1998.

• Magna Carta (The Great Charter) 121S was signed by King John in June of that year on a small island near Windsor called Runnymede. Most of the 63 clauses in this famous document handed over power from the king to his barons; but by clauses 39 and 40, as we will see in Chapter 15, King John promised that no freeman should be imprisoned without a fair trial accord­ing to law, and that no one should be denied justice. The Magna Carta has been called the foundation of our constitution.

• The Petition of Right 1628 was passed by both Houses of Parliament and reluctantly signed by King Charles I. It brought a new promise that no one should be imprisoned without trial. The King also confirmed that the Crown would not tax the people without the authority of Parliament. Part of the reason