Common Law And Equity Laws

Equity is that part in the law that moderates the harshness of common law and statute and because of this persons seeking assistance from an unconscionable transaction have been able to find relief through equity. Although equity only appears in the most repugnant of situations, it comes as in disbelief, that the courts would consider a newer level of standard for unconscionability. The following paper considers the effect of the statement made and the ramifications of the statement through equity.

In Middle Ages, the Feudal Judicial system was formed around old Germanic ideas and also Ancient Roman Law. Law during this time was seen as rather harsh than fair. The saying "innocent until proven guilty" was switched around to "guilty until proven innocent". Most people were found guilty due to how they dealt with trying to prove their innocence. The system was split into three courts, due to the different levels in society also the seriousness of the crime. These three courts were royal, church, and manor. Being brought to the royal court was for serious crimes such as murder, rape, treason.etc. Although the King was in complete control of everything, he used common law to help with justice. The courts that lie within the church

(2) Tamanaha, Brian. 2008. “Law”, Oxford International Encyclopedia of Legal History, St. John's Legal Studies Research Paper No. 08-0095. Link in Course Readings and Available online: http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1082436&rec=1&srcabs=1012051

Differences in American & English Common Law - American Common Law: whipping post ducking stool stocks common as to execute labor is not a smart idea; more freedom of press; some colonists felt laws were reflective of divine well while others saw it as of natural order

Common law was not England’s only legal system. There were many other courts in England, however, people of England and America believed they had certain unalienable rights. One main factor of common law rights was the right to a fair trial. Through common law, the people were assured there would be an impartial judge and/or jury. Without such, the laws would be unfair and no one would receive a fair trial.

Common law became into effect after the Norman Conquest (A.D. 1066) consolidated their hold on newly won territory. One way was to take control over the legal/court systems. When this happen

This was called "Feudal Justice", and gave nobles the ability to create court cases to settle disputes between the defendants and the accused. These courts usually ended with the accused having to pay a fine, which brought considerable income to the nobles throne, however, ordeal by God and trial by combat were considered equally as effective in proving innocence. This system of justice brought the same political power of the feudal system itself, knights could not accuse the king, but peasants could call other peasants to be accused. Under this system, the daily lives of peasants could be brought into question, however, both the accused and the accuser would receive the same treatment, and if the accused was not found guilty, the accuser would receive the punishment. This created a system that discouraged the use of judicial courts for personal gain, and disallowed the ability to move higher in terms of social status("Feudal

The conventional accounts of Justice normally begin by stating a fundamental rule of Aristotle – Justice is to treat equals equally and unequals unequally, and that unequal treatment should be in proportion to the inequality. In everyday life though, justice is seen as an attribute of law, while all laws are not necessarily just. Many great socio- political movements of the world have focused from time to time on unjust laws eg Apartheid laws in South Africa and Caste laws in India. Impartiality and fairness are understood to be the two aspects of justice. But it would be misleading to suggest that Justice refers solely to the fair application of a rule.

In this assignment I will critically analyse the problematic origins of the South African common law and the capacity of the supreme Constitution to remedy said origins. This will be discussed by referring to the history of colonialism and its impact on the formation of common law practices, the development of common law in terms of the constitution, the opposing approaches made by different courts regarding the same cases and as a final point I will discuss the role of legal culture in the transformation of common law.

In the 6th century, the trial or ordeal began, later in the 11th century the common law developed in England and the Normans evaded England. The common law system was brought over to Australia in the year 1788. The courts of Equity were developed due to the common law courts are ‘unjust’. These courts introduced fairness into our common law system.

Equity has been described as a ‘mysterious creature’ that lies distinctly alongside the common law. In considering the statement, there is an almost linear reversal in which the remedies in equity procure a type of right not necessarily available in the common law. This peculiar jurisdiction has created consistent controversy especially in regards to the fusion of the common law and equity. To understand further, this essay will consider the relationship between equity and the common law. The development of equity alongside the common law through its history and intention, and application in case law will be imperative in the discussion of the statement. In conjunction with an analysis of fusion, it will become apparent that equitable damages were enlivened, separate to, in unfair circumstances where no rights/damages existed within the common law. In trying to tread the murky waters of the distinction yet the procedural fusion of equity and common law, the contention of this essay becomes apparent. Effectively, this essay aims to highlight that the history, intention, application and fusion fallacies regarding equity, all which point to an assertion that rights in equity are indeed the product of its remedies. Whether they are merely ‘two streams of jurisdiction, though they run in the same channel, run side by side and do not mingle their waters’, is yet to be seen.

Common law - that part of the English law not embodied in legislation. It consists of rules of law based on common custom and usage and on judicial court decisions. English common law became the basis of law in the USA and many other English-speaking countries.

In the statement, it is mentioned that the great strength of the common law lies in its capacity to develop to meet the changing needs and circumstances of the society in which it functions. A case to illustrate this point would be W v Registrar of Marriages [2013] HKCFA 39 (CFA).

Equity by its nature is a fluid subject where maxims are simply guidelines to be used or ignored at the whim of the court and solutions to litigation sometimes aim at justice (or expedience) at the expense of the legal rules of equity (equity will [sometimes] follow the law).

in criminal law and Beckett Ltd v. Lyons [1967] 1 All ER 833 the law