Equity

Equity

In 1066 when William the conqueror came to England the law was very

different from today. Itinerant judges who would travel around the

country settling any disputes administrated it. They started out using

local laws and applying these to cases before them. However, the

Normans were keen to develop a law which they could apply to the whole

country, a law which would be common to every one. So they gathered

what was considered to be the best of different local laws and

developed a common law.

Soon though many problems were found with common law. It soon became

too ridged. Two of the main problems with common law were, that it

didn’t offer sufficient remedies and, a civil action could only be

taken by use of a “writ.” A writ was used to set out the cause of the

action and the grounds for the claim. The writ became a problem

because it had to be made to fit and existing writ. To start with a

new writ was created when a suitable previous case could not be found

however, it was soon stopped and no new writs could be issued. This

meant that some cases were unable to be pursued, as an existing writ

that suited the case could not be found. This made many people unhappy

with the common law system. The other main reason people were unhappy

with the common law system is that insufficient remedies were offered

in some cases. The only remedy available was damages, this meant

compensation, which was not always satisfactory.

As a result of these problems many people became increasingly

dissatisfied with the common law system. More and more people began to

petition to the king as a “fountain of justice” for a more suitable