Stephen Breyer, Associate Justice of the US Supreme Court, addresses the Rule of Law Symposium at the IBA Annual Conference 2013, in anticipation of the 800th anniversary of Magna Carta, a document that has inspired democracy and the rule of law in many countries.

2015 will mark the 800th anniversary of the Magna Carta, the ‘great charter’ that for the first time reined in the power of absolute English monarchs. The idea that all are subject to the law, including kings and presidents, had its origin in Magna Carta. It is also the basis of the rule of law, the very heart of a democratic form of government.

• Watch more from the Rule of Law Symposium here