What is the first known written agreement for due process?

• A. Bill of Rights
• B. Magna Carta
• C. Petition of Right
• D. Habeas Corpus Act

Answer: (B)

The concept being tested is when due process protections were first put into writing. Magna Carta, issued in 1215, is the first known written agreement that limits the king’s power and guarantees legal protections for individuals. It established that the ruler must govern according to law and that people could not be arrested or imprisoned without lawful judgment or the law of the land. This introduced the core idea of due process—the state must follow established procedures and cannot act arbitrarily. Later documents like the Petition of Right and the Habeas Corpus Act expanded and strengthened these protections, and the Bill of Rights codified them further, but Magna Carta is the earliest written articulation of due process principles.