Relationship Between Common Law And Equity

Common Law and Equity

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Common Law and Equity

The Relationship between Common Law and equity: Is Equity a gloss on the common law?

Equity therefore does not destroy the law, nor create it, but assist it Dudley v Dudley, 1705

Introduction

Since ancient time, law had already played an important role in the history of human race. Specifically, it allowed people to live together harmoniously and problem free. Consequently, in today’s world, law is often associated with state and sovereignty. However, these three are also interlinked with national identity in the history of law in the United Kingdom. In fact, scholars argue that law and the idea of

These particular centuries were bombarded with jurisdictional conflict and jealousy between the common law courts and Chancery in. The dispute culminated in the celebrated Earl of Oxford’s Case13 in which Chief Justice Coke challenged the jurisdiction of the Chancellor, Lord Ellesmere, to award common injunctions. By the end of the seventeenth century, the Chancery’s work, particularly in enforcing uses and preventing oppression in exercising contractual rights, was recognized as being indispensable to the landholding society of that time. Subsequently, by the end of the eighteenth century most of the basic equitable doctrines applied today had been established, although they have inevitably undergone a continual process of renewal and restatement to meet the needs of industrial and post-industrial society of today. In one vital respect the constitutional battles of the seventeenth century had left their imprint on the shape of the legal system of today. Now, the relationship between the common law and equity was settled. Equity was said to be a ‘gloss’ on the common law, modifying the common law where the enforcement of legal rights was harsh or oppressive, but not claiming to be a parallel or rival system of law (Bryan and Vann,

On the other hand, equity, alternatively as a rule refers to decisions that deals with equality in justice. Both may be traced back from the same English legal conventions but came from two different courts. English common law was instituted in the legal courts. The judges supervised being the spring and defender of the law. Conversely, equity is rooted from the Courts of Chancery. The chancellor, appointed by the King, preside the same. This fundamentally changed owing to the civil rights of English citizens to appeal a common law verdict to the king. The monarch is deemed the final judge of justice (What Is the Difference between Common Law and Equity,