What is equity and importance of Equity:
What is Equity
Equity is a body of laws established by the Court of chancery in order to mitigate the hardship orchestrated by the common law. It will be well enunciated that before the emanation of the law of equity, the common law was the most prevalent laws in England and wale and all adherence was held for it. However, when it was obvious that common law was no longer attending to the pressing issues facing the people and in the other hand, common law was laying much emphasis and concentration on technicality rather than the substantial justice, the need for a new set of rules became prominent.
Equity was formulated with the superior intent of dispensing justice and granting people reliefs even in matters that there was no relief or compensation in common law. It may also be correct to state that at the inception of the law of equity, it was flexible and changes to meet the constant developmental needs of the society. In that thought, some authors usually state that equity varies in accordance to the foot of every serving chancellor of the court of chancery.
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One of the maxims of equity is that Equity follows the Law, this entails that equity is not meant to contradict the law or the provisions of the common law instead, equity follows the law in order to see that the law meets the purpose for which it was enacted. Equity usually comes after the law, but its decision when it is in contradiction with the common law, equity will always prevail and this is in consonance with the decision as was held in Earl of Oxford.
It is also part of the maxim of equity that equity abhors double portions which entails that equality is equity.
It can be stated that equity really helped in granting many reliefs to people and this cover in cases that common law denies reliefs on the ground that the matter was not instituted properly or that there are no reliefs that cover such claim. This was entrenched in the Latin maxim of Ubi Jus Ibi Remedium (Where there is wrong, there is remedy).
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Importance of the Law of Equity
- It covers all wrongs.
- Law of Equity is usually flexible to attends to justice.
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