How has Equity Contributed to the Common Law Legal System?

For literature students, the Shakespearean classic – The Merchant of Venice, would ring a bell. This story shows the absurdity that is inherent in strict adherence to the law. Without equity tempering the provisions of the law in order to create justice, the law would end up being a tool of injustice.

Those who have not read the story might be a little bit lost here. As the story goes, Bassanio asked his friend – Antonio, to give him some money in order to marry the woman he loves. Antonio didn’t have the money and he decides to borrow from a moneylender – Shylock. Read More…

The Judicature Act of 1873-1875.

The Earl of Oxford case solidified the position of the Court of Chancery in the English Legal system. As a result, there were two courts with different powers. The presence of two courts with distinct jurisdictions caused a lot of hardships to litigants.

The common law courts could grant damages while the Court of Chancery could grant injunctions and other equitable remedies. For a while, none of these courts could grant remedies obtainable in Read More…

Meaning and Historical Evolution of Equity

The Meaning of Equity

In normal parlance, equity means justice and fairness. In the legal world, equity means this and much more. All legal systems all over the world, over the ages, have always had a concept of equity embedded in their administration of justice. The Civil Law jurisdictions of Europe inherited the Roman Legal system. Read More…

The Application of Evidence in Nigerian Courts

The Evidence Act is relatively lengthy; it has about 259 Sections. An important question that should trouble your mind is “should the Evidence Act is to be used in resolving all dispute?” If there is a family dispute and the elders have the task of resolving the issue, are they bound to make use of the Evidence Act?

Thankfully, the Evidence Act Read More…

The Rules of Evidence

When it comes to tendering evidence before the court of law, there are some fundamental rules that the court has to adhere to. These rules determine the whole practice of bringing evidence before the court. The rules are as follows:

The Burden of Proof

The burden of proof is simply the party whose responsibility it is to establish evidence before the court. When it comes to civil cases, the burden of proof rests on the party that asserts. This could either be the plaintiff or the defendant. For instance, if in a land dispute, Read More…

Introduction to The Law of Evidence

Evidence

A lot of us have heard of the arrest of public figures on charges of corruption and other dastardly acts. After the law enforcement agencies arrest the “suspect”, the media is usually awash with how he allegedly stole millions of naira and did some other unconscionable things. There and then, public opinion finds the “suspect” guilty. Due Read More…

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