Week 1, Lecture 1
Equity means fairness, social justce, rancc of morality, divine justce, recticaton of legal
justce.
Rules and principles of law, cistorically developed.
Developed tcrougc common law courts- egun y means of writs, sealed and issued y tce
ccancery – 4 writs, if you could not prove it didn’t it in tce 4 writs- you could not ring tce
acton.
Equity is to reduce carscness of common law, not a olisc it.
Why & how equity developed-
- Could appeal the king, gave their opinion/judgement.
- Rigidity of common law – litgants wco were denied justce in tce common law
courts ecause cases were not covered y existng writs, pettoned tce king and
eventually tce ccancellor, for justce.
- Precursor of trust – common law did not recognise trusts, a legal owners
undertaking to cold property for tce eneit of anotcer person – so eneiciaries of
succ trusts pettoned tce ccancellor for enforcement,
- Unfair meccanism of tce common law- succ as corrupton or intmidaton of juries –
tce ccancellor would apply a mix of cis conscience, natural law and even sometmes,
y analogy to rules of common law.
Overtme, witc tcis increasing volume of pettons tce ccancery ecame an
esta lisced court.
Pro lem as up untl 187 we cad 2 parallel systems, common law and courts of
equity, administering 2 diferent systems of law. – resolved tcrougc tce Earl of
Oxford’s Case, in favour of equity.
The Judicature Acts of 1973-75:
- A olisced tce ccancery and tce common law courts and esta lisced just one cigc
court of justce in tceir stead to administer otc law and equity – cave to apply otc
to tce case.
The core principles or equity: (mere guidelines, not rules)
• Equity will not sufer a wrong to e witcout a remedy
• Equity follows tce law
• Wcere tcere is equal equity, tce law scall prevail
• Wcere tce equites are equal, tce irst in tme scall prevail
• He wco seeks equity must do equity
• He wco comes to equity must come witc clean cands
• Delay defeats equites
• Equality is equity
• Equity looks to tce intent ratcer tcan to tce form
• Equity looks on tcat as done tcat wcicc ougct to cave een done
• Equity imputes an intenton to fulil an o ligaton
• Equity acts in personam
Equity means fairness, social justce, rancc of morality, divine justce, recticaton of legal
justce.
Rules and principles of law, cistorically developed.
Developed tcrougc common law courts- egun y means of writs, sealed and issued y tce
ccancery – 4 writs, if you could not prove it didn’t it in tce 4 writs- you could not ring tce
acton.
Equity is to reduce carscness of common law, not a olisc it.
Why & how equity developed-
- Could appeal the king, gave their opinion/judgement.
- Rigidity of common law – litgants wco were denied justce in tce common law
courts ecause cases were not covered y existng writs, pettoned tce king and
eventually tce ccancellor, for justce.
- Precursor of trust – common law did not recognise trusts, a legal owners
undertaking to cold property for tce eneit of anotcer person – so eneiciaries of
succ trusts pettoned tce ccancellor for enforcement,
- Unfair meccanism of tce common law- succ as corrupton or intmidaton of juries –
tce ccancellor would apply a mix of cis conscience, natural law and even sometmes,
y analogy to rules of common law.
Overtme, witc tcis increasing volume of pettons tce ccancery ecame an
esta lisced court.
Pro lem as up untl 187 we cad 2 parallel systems, common law and courts of
equity, administering 2 diferent systems of law. – resolved tcrougc tce Earl of
Oxford’s Case, in favour of equity.
The Judicature Acts of 1973-75:
- A olisced tce ccancery and tce common law courts and esta lisced just one cigc
court of justce in tceir stead to administer otc law and equity – cave to apply otc
to tce case.
The core principles or equity: (mere guidelines, not rules)
• Equity will not sufer a wrong to e witcout a remedy
• Equity follows tce law
• Wcere tcere is equal equity, tce law scall prevail
• Wcere tce equites are equal, tce irst in tme scall prevail
• He wco seeks equity must do equity
• He wco comes to equity must come witc clean cands
• Delay defeats equites
• Equality is equity
• Equity looks to tce intent ratcer tcan to tce form
• Equity looks on tcat as done tcat wcicc ougct to cave een done
• Equity imputes an intenton to fulil an o ligaton
• Equity acts in personam
