Where did due process come from?

Answer 1

The codification of the process of law has MULTIPLE ORIGINS which include customs, practices, enshrined ideals, cherished moral and ethical values and finally, precedents. The freedom struggle has led to the creation of the charters aknowledging human rights and policies of governance which were later made into legally binding statutes.

The concept of due process was already ancient when the US Constitution was written. It is older than English Common Law. The concept pre-dated the Magna Carta although not in the form we understand today. It had its earliest appearances at an unrecorded time in some ancient private courts and councils that unofficially recognized a person needed some protection from a ruling authority that could strip him of his rights, possessions and life arbitrarily. Although rough justice was a normal part of life in ancient times there were always enlightened leaders who understood basic human rights.

The Magna Carta codified much older legal doctrines as early as 1215. It included the right of a man to be protected from being stripped of his possessions or rights except by the lawful judgment of his equals or by the law of the land (see clause 29). The phrase "due process of law" first appeared in an edition of the Magna Carta rendered in 1354. It was further developed and refined in Early English Common Law. Due process was included in early state constitutions in the United States that predated the US Constitution. New York asked Congress to add the due process clause to the US Constitution.