权利请愿书
(1628年)
灵俗两界贵族与众议员集议于国会，谨奏于圣主国王陛下：昔国王爱德华一世临朝时，曾制订一项条例，通称为“statutum de Tallagionon Concedendo”，明定凡贡税或补助金，如未经本王国大主教、主教、伯爵、男爵、骑士、市民及平民中其他自由人之惠然同意，则国王或其嗣君不得于本王国内征课之。又国会复于爱德华三世御极之二十五年制定法律规定，此后不得强迫任何人违反本意，借贷款项与英国之君主，良以此种贷款既背天理，且又违反英国人民所享之权利与特权，又按英国其他法律之规定，亦不得强迫任何人向英国君主作任何类似之捐献，或任何其他类似之捐献。是故根据上述法律、与其他法良意美之英国法律与规章，陛下臣民可谓生而享有此种自由，即非经国会同意，得有不被强迫缴纳任何租税，特种地产税，捐献及其他各种非法捐税之自由。但在最近，却不幸有与上述法律规定背道而驰的情况发生。于是有些委员会派出人员，分赴各郡，称奉诏命，强迫人民，对于陛下缴纳种种之款项，人民如不遵照办理，则彼等动辄勒令立誓，必须恪遵枢密院及其他机关之传唤，出庭应询。凡此措施，均为违反英国法律之规定，实非英国法律之所能容许。但在若干地区，若干人民却竟因此而被监禁、羁押、与种种之骚扰。又有若干人民己因郡长、副郡长、警察官、法官、及其他之官吏，称奉诏命，或枢密院命，致被迫缴纳种种款项，尤其违背法律与英国之习俗。
又据名为“英格兰各项自由之大宪章”之条例明定，凡自由人除经其同侪之合法裁判，或依国法外，皆不得加以拘捕、监禁，或剥夺其管业权、各项自由及自由习惯，或置诸法外，或加以放逐，亦不得以任何方式加以毁伤。当爱德华三世御极之第二十八年，国会亦曾制定法律规定，任何人除经依法律正当程序之审判，不论其身份与环境状况如何，均不得将其驱逐出国，或强使离开所居住之采邑，亦不得予以逮捕、拘禁、或取消其继承权，或剥夺其生存之权利。但在最近，又不幸而有与上述规定及其他善良意美之英国法律相违背之事发生。是即陛下若干之臣民，竟至无端而遭受监禁。迨以陛下所颁之人身保护状呈请法院予以救济时，依照向例，法院应即令斥监禁机关说明加以监禁之原因。但原因莫可究诘，而监禁之机关仅谓乃系遵奉经由枢密院所颁之陛下特别诏命办理。且又将被押者还监，而其实未曾控以依法应由彼等负责之任何罪名。
近来更有大批海陆军队，散驻全国各郡，并违反居民意志，强迫居民接纳住入其家宅，忍受其长期驻扎，既有背于本王国之法律与习惯，且使民不堪命。
国王爱德华三世临朝之第二十五年，国会又制法明定，不得违反大宪章之精神与国法，对任何人臆断处死或残其肢体；更据该大宪章及本王国其他法律条例等，任何人除依本王国习惯或国会法案所确定之法律，不应判处死刑；又无论何种罪犯，均不得免受通行程序之审讯，亦不得豁免本王国法律及条例所加之刑罚。但不幸的是最近陛下玺令设置种种委员会，派遣委员分赴各郡，使享有权威，得对陆海军人，及其他莠民之伙同犯杀人罪、抢劫罪、重罪、反叛罪，暴动罪，或其他各种之轻罪者，均按戒严法论处。众所周知，戒严法之审判程序简单，是故只惟在于战时军中应当适用此种法律。因为根据戒严法审判，犯以上各种罪名者，动辄须以死刑议处。所以遂有若干之臣民，致被该委员等判处死刑。倘系根据普通法律审判，彼等固应死无恕言。但在现时，除非根据上述之戒严法审判，则彼等之罪，不至于死。且已经认定以上各种罪名，应由此种委员会依据戒严法予以审判，所以又使普通官吏，与司法人员，有所推诿，不肯援引普通法律对于此等罪犯提起控诉。所以因之，反使若干情节重大之罪犯，得以逍遥法外，免遭处分。是知此种军法委员会与其他类似性质机构之设置，完全违反上文所述各种法律之规定，以及现时英国之法律。
据此，彼等(即请愿者两院议员——译者)伏祈圣主陛下：自今而后，非经国会法案共表同意，不宜强迫任何人征收或缴付任何贡金、贷款、强迫献金、租税或类此负担；亦不宜因此等负担，或因拒绝此等负担，而对任何人命令其答辩，或作答辩之宣誓，或传唤出庭，或加以禁闭，或另加其他折磨或困扰；亦不宜使任何自由人因上述种种致遭监禁或扣押；陛下宜调离上述海陆军队，俾民人等今后不再受累；又上述执行戒严法之钦差亦宜撤废；又今后不宜再委何人任此类特职，或令其以上述方式执行其职权，恐其有所凭借，竟违背国法民权，使陛下臣民皆有遭受陷害或被处死之虞。
彼等所伏请于陛下者，皆按诸本国法律条例而原为其权利与自由者；陛下亦宜开恩昭示：凡有关以上所举种种害民之裁决、行为和措施，今后皆不得据之以为结论或先例，陛下更宜为增进人民之幸福安全计，颁示德意：凡官吏大臣对上述诸事皆应依国法律例行事，而示效忠陛下，以增进主上之圣德与国家之隆盛。
是年六月二日，国王驾莅国会，批曰，汝等所呈权利请愿书一件，读悉，准如所请。此后复于六月七日，六月二十日，莅临国会，重申六月二日之谕旨.
The Petition of Right
1628
Ⅰ. The Petition exhibited to his Majesty by the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, concerning divers Rights and Liberties of the Subjects, with the King's Majesty's royal answer thereunto in full Parliament. To the King's Most Excellent Majesty, Humbly show unto our Sovereign Lord the King, the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons in Parliament assembles, that whereas it is declared and enacted by a statute made in the time of the reign of King Edward I, commonly called Stratutum de Tellagio non Concedendo, that no tallage or aid shall be laid or levied by the king or his heirs in this realm, without the good will and assent of the archbishops, bishops, earls, barons, knights, burgesses, and other the freemen of the commonalty of this realm; and by authority of parliament holden in the five-and-twentieth year of the reign of King Edward III, it is declared and enacted, that from thenceforth no person should be compelled to make any loans to the king against his will, because such loans were against reason and the franchise of the land; and by other laws of this realm it is provided, that none should be charged by any charge or imposition called a benevolence, nor by such like charge; by which statutes before mentioned, and other the good laws and statutes of this realm, your subjects have inherited this freedom, that they should not be compelled to contribute to any tax, tallage, aid, or other like charge not set by common consent, in parliament.
II. Yet nevertheless of late divers commissions directed to sundry commissioners in several counties, with instructions, have issued; by means whereof your people have been in divers places assembled, and required to lend certain sums of money unto your Majesty, and many of them, upon their refusal so to do, have had an oath administered unto them not warrantable by the laws or statutes of this realm, and have been constrained to become bound and make appearance and give utterance before your Privy Council and in other places, and others of them have been therefore imprisoned, confined, and sundry other ways molested and disquieted; and divers other charges have been laid and levied upon your people in several counties by lord lieutenants, deputy lieutenants, commissioners for musters, justices of peace and others, by command or direction from your Majesty, or your Privy Council, against the laws and free custom of the realm.
III. And whereas also by the statute called 'The Great Charter of the Liberties of England,' it is declared and enacted, that no freeman may be taken or imprisoned or be disseized of his freehold or liberties, or his free customs, or be outlawed or exiled, or in any manner destroyed, but by the lawful judgment of his peers, or by the law of the land.
IV. And in the eight-and-twentieth year of the reign of King Edward III, it was declared and enacted by authority of parliament, that no man, of what estate or condition that he be, should be put out of his land or tenements, nor taken, nor imprisoned, nor disinherited nor put to death without being brought to answer by due process of law.
V. Nevertheless, against the tenor of the said statutes, and other the good laws and statutes of your realm to that end provided, divers of your subjects have of late been imprisoned without any cause showed; and when for their deliverance they were brought before your justices by your Majesty's writs of habeas corpus, there to undergo and receive as the court should order, and their keepers commanded to certify the causes of their detainer, no cause was certified, but that they were detained by your Majesty's special command, signified by the lords of your Privy Council, and yet were returned back to several prisons, without being charged with anything to which they might make answer according to the law.
VI. And whereas of late great companies of soldiers and mariners have been dispersed into divers counties of the realm, and the inhabitants against their wills have been compelled to receive them into their houses, and there to suffer them to sojourn against the laws and customs of this realm, and to the great grievance and vexation of the people.
VII. And whereas also by authority of parliament, in the five-and-twentieth year of the reign of King Edward III, it is declared and enacted, that no man shall be forejudged of life or limb against the form of the Great Charter and the law of the land; and by the said Great Charter and other the laws and statutes of this your realm, no man ought to be adjudged to death but by the laws established in this your realm, either by the customs of the same realm, or by acts of parliament: and whereas no offender of what kind soever is exempted from the proceedings to be used, and punishments to be inflicted by the laws and statutes of this your realm; nevertheless of late time divers commissions under your Majesty's great seal have issued forth, by which certain persons have been assigned and appointed commissioners with power and authority to proceed within the land, according to the justice of martial law, against such soldiers or mariners, or other dissolute persons joining with them, as should commit any murder, robbery, felony, mutiny, or other outrage or misdemeanor whatsoever, and by such summary course and order as is agreeable to martial law, and is used in armies in time of war, to proceed to the trial and condemnation of such offenders, and them to cause to be executed and put to death according to the law martial.
VIII. By pretext whereof some of your Majesty's subjects have been by some of the said commissioners put to death, when and where, if by the laws and statutes of the land they had deserved death, by the same laws and statutes also they might, and by no other ought to have been judged and executed.
IX. And also sundry grievous offenders, by color thereof claiming an exemption, have escaped the punishments due to them by the laws and statutes of this your realm, by reason that divers of your officers and ministers of justice have unjustly refused or forborne to proceed against such offenders according to the same laws and statutes, upon pretense that the said offenders were punishable only by martial law, and by authority of such commissions as aforesaid; which commissions, and all other of like nature, are wholly and directly contrary to the said laws and statutes of this your realm.
X. They do therefore humbly pray your most excellent Majesty, that no man hereafter be compelled to make or yield any gift, loan, benevolence, tax, or such like charge, without common consent by act of parliament; and that none be called to make answer, or take such oath, or to give attendance, or be confined, or otherwise molested or disquieted concerning the same or for refusal thereof; and that no freeman, in any such manner as is before mentioned, be imprisoned or detained; and that your Majesty would be pleased to remove the said soldiers and mariners, and that your people may not be so burdened in time to come; and that the aforesaid commissions, for proceeding by martial law, may be revoked and annulled; and that hereafter no commissions of like nature may issue forth to any person or persons whatsoever to be executed as aforesaid, lest by color of them any of your Majesty's subjects be destroyed or put to death contrary to the laws and franchise of the land.
XI. All which they most humbly pray of your most excellent Majesty as their rights and liberties, according to the laws and statutes of this realm; and that your Majesty would also vouchsafe to declare, that the awards, doings, and proceedings, to the prejudice of your people in any of the premises, shall not be drawn hereafter into consequence or example; and that your Majesty would be also graciously pleased, for the further comfort and safety of your people, to declare your royal will and pleasure, that in the things aforesaid all your officers and ministers shall serve you according to the laws and statutes of this realm, as they tender the honor of your Majesty, and the prosperity of this kingdom.
