equity

System of law supplementing the ordinary rules of law where the application of these would operate harshly in a particular case; sometimes it is regarded as an attempt to achieve ‘natural justice’. So understood, equity appears as an element in most legal systems, and in a number of legal codes judges are instructed to apply both the rules of strict law and the principles of equity in reaching their decisions.

In England equity originated in decisions of the Court of Chancery, on matters that were referred to it because there was no adequate remedy available in the Common Law courts. It developed into a distinct system of law, and until the 19th century, the two systems of common law and equity existed side by side, and were applied in separate law courts. The Judicature Acts 1873–75 established a single High Court of Justice, in which judges could apply both common law and equity to all their decisions. Equitable principles still exist side by side with principles of common law in many branches of the law.