Briefly distinguish between Common Law and Equity in the English Legal System.
Common law system is the rules extracted from decided cases. The Monarch adjudicators
applied and devised the rules in England from about the 13th century onwards for settling
disputes. Since the rules were legal precedents compiled by court decisions, they became rigid in
the sense that at times, the courts could find it hard to provide remedies. In order to soften the
severity of the common law system rules and to deal with instances where the common law
could not provide a remedy, the regulations of Equity were developed by the judges of the Lord
Chancellor’s courts. Equity cases are determined on conscience, whereas the common law cases
are determined on legal precedents. The main common law remedy for an illegal act was
monetary damages while equity remedy was discretional. Remedies such as injunctions were
utilized to stop or prevent the defendant from breaching a contract and in some cases, granted
specific enforcement of obligations. Sometimes decisions made by common law courts were
inequitable while cases determined by equity courts were balanced.
Common law system is the rules extracted from decided cases. The Monarch adjudicators
applied and devised the rules in England from about the 13th century onwards for settling
disputes. Since the rules were legal precedents compiled by court decisions, they became rigid in
the sense that at times, the courts could find it hard to provide remedies. In order to soften the
severity of the common law system rules and to deal with instances where the common law
could not provide a remedy, the regulations of Equity were developed by the judges of the Lord
Chancellor’s courts. Equity cases are determined on conscience, whereas the common law cases
are determined on legal precedents. The main common law remedy for an illegal act was
monetary damages while equity remedy was discretional. Remedies such as injunctions were
utilized to stop or prevent the defendant from breaching a contract and in some cases, granted
specific enforcement of obligations. Sometimes decisions made by common law courts were
inequitable while cases determined by equity courts were balanced.
