Calvin's Case facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Calvin's Case |
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| Court | Exchequer Chamber |
| Decided | Trinity Term, 1608 |
| Citation(s) | Calvin's Case (1608), 77 ER 377, (1608) Co Rep 1a, Trin. 6 Jac. 1 |
| Court membership | |
| Judge(s) sitting | Lord Ellesmere, and 14 judges, including Sir Thomas Fleming, Sir Edward Coke, Sir Lawrence Tanfield, Sir Thomas Foster, Sir Christopher Yelverton, Sir Thomas Walmsley, |
| Keywords | |
| Citizenship | |
Calvin's Case (1608), also known as the Case of the Postnati, was a very important legal decision in England. It happened in 1608. The case decided that a child born in Scotland after 1603 was an English subject.
In 1603, King James VI and I of Scotland also became the King of England. This event is called the Union of the Crowns. Because of this, people born in Scotland after 1603 were considered English subjects. This meant they had the same rights as people born in England. This idea is known as jus soli, which means "law of the soil." It means you get citizenship based on where you are born. This case later helped shape how citizenship works in the United States.
Contents
What Happened?
Long ago, under a system called the feudal system, it was hard for someone to own land in two different kingdoms. This was because loyalty to a king was linked to owning land.
Robert Calvin was born in Scotland in November 1605. He was given land in England. However, his right to own this land was questioned. People argued that because he was Scottish, he could not legally own English land.
It turned out that "Robert Calvin" was actually named Robert Colville. He was the son of Robert Colville, Master of Culross. His grandfather was a court official named James Colville, 1st Lord Colville of Culross.
The Court's Decision
The main judge, Thomas Egerton, 1st Viscount Brackley, along with 14 other judges, made a decision. They met in the Exchequer Chamber. They ruled in Robert Calvin's favor.
The judges decided that Robert was not a foreigner. He had every right to own land in England. Two judges disagreed with this decision: Sir Thomas Foster and Sir Thomas Walmsley.
Why Was This Case Important?
Who Were the Postnati and Antenati?
The decision in Calvin's Case depended on Robert Calvin's status. He was one of the postnati. This term refers to people born into the loyalty of the Scottish King James after he became the King of England in 1603.
The court decided that since the same King James was both the King of Scotland and England when Robert was born, Robert was an English subject. It was as if he had been born in England. The judges said that loyalty was to the king himself, not just to the kingdom or its laws.
However, Calvin's Case did not give English subject status to the antenati. These were Scots born before 1603. They remained foreigners in England. This was because King James had not yet become the King of England when they were born.
Before this case, the English Parliament tried to make all Scottish people English subjects. This included both the postnati and the antenati. But these efforts failed. People worried that too many "hungry Scots" would come to England. There were also concerns about giving King James more power. Even after Calvin's Case, Parliament never passed a law to make the antenati English subjects.
How It Influenced Later Laws
Calvin's Case helped develop the idea of the Rights of Englishmen. These were the basic rights and freedoms that English citizens had. Some experts believed this case meant American colonists had all the rights of English citizens.
In fact, some people who supported the American Revolution said they had "improved on the rights of Englishmen." They created new, unique American rights.
This case was well-known in the early legal history of the United States. It was included in important law books. The United States Supreme Court and state courts used Calvin's Case to shape American citizenship rules. It strongly supported the idea of jus soli (citizenship by birth in the country). The case has also been mentioned in discussions about the legal rights of Native Americans.
See also
- United Kingdom immigration law
- Jus sanguinis, another way to get citizenship, based on your parents
- Stare decisis, a legal rule where new decisions should follow old ones
