Court of Equity in United Kingdom

Definition of Court of equity

A court exercising jurisdictiojn founded on the principles of equity, justice, and fairness, as distinct from the application of principles of strict law. In England the major court of equity was for long the Court of Chancery (see) but there were minor courts of equity, such as the Court of Requests (q.v.). In other jurisdictions a court of equity is not necessarily a distinct court from a court of law, but rather a court which takes cognizance of equitable claims and pleas as well as strictly legal ones.

Source: The Oxford Companion to Law, 1980, p. 305.

Courts of Chancery and Equity and Medieval Law

Court of Chancery and Equity and Legal History

Resources

See Also

• Tenure (in this legal Encyclopedia)
• Tenure (in this legal Encyclopedia)
• Estates (in this legal Encyclopedia)
• Exchequer (in this legal Encyclopedia)

Bibliographies of English Law History

• Maxwell, William H. A Legal Bibliography of the British Commonwealth of Nations. Volume 1: English Law to 1800. London: Sweet and Maxwell, 1955-
• Beale, Joseph H. A Bibliography of Early English Law Books. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1926.
• Winfield, Percy H. The Chief Sources of English Legal History. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1925.