Petition of Right
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This article is about the constitutional prelude to the English Civil War. For the pre-1947 contractual remedy against the Crown, see petition of right.
The Petition of Right 1628 was produced by the English Parliament in the run-up to the English Civil War. It was addressed to Charles I of England in 1628 but is dated 1627 because it retroactively came into force from the start of the 1627 session of Parliament. In enacting the Petition, Parliament attempted to seek redress on the following points:
- Taxation without Parliament's consent
- Forced loans
- Arbitrary arrest
- Imprisonment contrary to Magna Carta
- Arbitrary interference with property rights
- Lack of enforcement of habeas corpus
- Forced billeting of troops
- Imposition of martial law
- Exemption of officials from due process
The petition had the support of Sir Edward Coke; John Pym claimed that the rights demanded predated even the Norman conquest and were confirmed by successive kings. The King was under great financial pressure, and agreed in June to look into the "abuses", but maintained his prerogative rights.

