6. Equity (epieikeia) in William Blackstone's Commentaries on the Laws of England (original) (raw)
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Equity An appendage to and friend of the Law
Equity have always been there as a friend and an appendage to the edges,and harshness of the Common Law, and not a revolt to it. Here is the documentation of the history that brought both Common Law, and Equity together, and how their dispute arose. It also encompass the resolution of this issue and other analogous issues thereof.
1. Equity (epieikeia) History: Introduction
1996
This was a search for where the rationale for the English court of equity (run by the chancellor ) came from, as that rationale was given by Christopher St. German in the early 1500s. Special attention is made to Aristotle, Thomas Aquinas, Christopher St. German, Hobbes, and Blackstone. It was my original dissertation topic.
Philosophical Foundations of the Law of Equity, 2019
I defend three related ideas regarding the law of Equity (‘Equity’), and discuss another that is much more speculative. The first two related ideas are that Equity has the characteristic form of public law, and that Equity shares public law’s basic concern, which is to regulate power held by one party for the benefit of another. Equity and public law alike are structured by the presence of other-regarding power in the legal relations they govern. The third related idea is that the legal form of Equity and public law answers to a particular kind of justice that is neither corrective justice nor distributive justice, but what I call jurisdictional justice. The speculative idea I consider is that Equity is best regarded as a species of public law. I refer to the conjunction of the first three ideas as the weak public law theory of Equity. This theory is consistent with Equity belonging on either side of the private law/public law divide. I refer to the conjunction of all four claims as the strong public law theory of Equity. On this account, Equity is a species of public law. My aim is to defend the weak public law theory, identify some of the obstacles that stand in the way of the strong theory, and then nonetheless offer some tentative arguments that aim to show some of the features and possible merits of the strong theory. In Part II I distinguish Equity’s anti-opportunism law, which involves cases of rights sticklers and opportunists, and Equity’s jurisdictional law, which is mainly cases involving fiduciary relations, such as trusts or agency relations. Part III compares trust law and administrative law, and a series of doctrines they share. In Part IV I discuss other-regarding powers. These powers are a defining and structural feature of Equity. Their significance to Equity is the principal basis for thinking that Equity has the form of public law. In Part V I argue that Equity is structured by jurisdictional justice. This is the form of justice apposite to supervisory review of the exercise of other-regarding powers. Its structure is plainly evident in Equity’s jurisdictional law. In Part VI I argue that this mode of justice is also present in Equity’s anti-opportunism law. In Part VII I canvas some of the advantages of the weak and strong public law theories, and their explanatory power.
Law of Equity | Maxims of Equity | Study Material | Notes
The word equity means fairness, justice; it is the feeling of fairness and justice. Blackstone defines "equity as the soul and spirit of all law" (Example: Ek rich gareeb ko mar raha hai aur ap wahan khre han ap k andar jo feelings ati han k is ko rukna chaeye ye equity k feelings han)
Equity is as long as the Chancellor's foot.
“Equity” is a strand of law that has established its existence by taking a great leap forward to stamp its duty for the good of the ‘poor men’s cause’ . This leap is underlined in ‘red ink’ to be viewed with flexibility- how equity is rightfully known to have been. On one hand, this may seem to take favour, since it is supportive of those ‘due for justice’ . On the other hand the lack of certainty forms a substantial deal of frustration for those whom are in great need for it (Bleak House- Charles Dickens ), and especially for the respected practitioners of law. Therefore, it can be valuably argued that the aforementioned statement by J. Selden, ‘Equity is a long as the Chancellor’s foot’, was merely a frustration of one man but felt by the many in the discipline.