Conscience, Equity and the Court of Chancery in Early Modern England

Conscience, Equity and the Court of Chancery in Early Modern England
Author: Dennis R. Klinck
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 328
Release: 2016-05-23
Genre: History
ISBN: 1317161955

Judicial equity developed in England during the medieval period, providing an alternative access to justice for cases that the rigid structures of the common law could not accommodate. Where the common law was constrained by precedent and strict procedural and substantive rules, equity relied on principles of natural justice - or 'conscience' - to decide cases and right wrongs. Overseen by the Lord Chancellor, equity became one of the twin pillars of the English legal system with the Court of Chancery playing an ever greater role in the legal life of the nation. Yet, whilst the Chancery was commonly - and still sometimes is - referred to as a 'court of conscience', there is remarkably little consensus about what this actually means, or indeed whose conscience is under discussion. This study tackles the difficult subject of the place of conscience in the development of English equity during a crucial period of legal history. Addressing the notion of conscience as a juristic principle in the Court of Chancery during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, the book explores how the concept was understood and how it figured in legal judgment. Drawing upon both legal and broader cultural materials, it explains how that understanding differed from modern notions and how it might have been more consistent with criteria we commonly associate with objective legal judgement than the modern, more 'subjective', concept of conscience. The study culminates with an examination of the chancellorship of Lord Nottingham (1673-82), who, because of his efforts to transform equity from a jurisdiction associated with discretion into one based on rules, is conventionally regarded as the father of modern, 'systematic' equity. From a broader perspective, this study can be seen as a contribution to the enduring discussion of the relationship between 'formal' accounts of law, which see it as systems of rules, and less formal accounts, which try to make room for intuitive moral or prudential reasoning.

Common Law and Enlightenment in England, 1689-1750

Common Law and Enlightenment in England, 1689-1750
Author: Julia Rudolph
Publisher:
Total Pages: 340
Release: 2013
Genre: History
ISBN: 1843838044

The book demonstrates how the 'common law mind' was able to meet the various challenges posed by Enlightenment rationalism and civic and commercial discourse, revealing that the common law played a much wider role beyond the legal world in shaping Enlightenment concepts.

The Oxford Handbook of Christianity and Law

The Oxford Handbook of Christianity and Law
Author: John Witte, Jr.
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 921
Release: 2023
Genre: Education
ISBN: 019760675X

This volume tells the story of the interaction between Christianity and law-historically and today, in the traditional heartlands of Christianity and around the globe. Sixty new chapters by leading scholars provide authoritative and accessible accounts of foundational Christian teachings on law and legal thought over the past two millennia; the current interaction and contestation of law and Christianity on all continents; how Christianity shaped and was shaped by core public, private, penal, and procedural laws; various old and new forms of Christian canon law, natural law theory, and religious freedom norms; Christian teachings on fundamental principles of law and legal order; and Christian contributions to controversial legal issues. Together, the chapters make clear that Christianity and law have had a perennial and permanent influence on each other over time and across cultures, albeit with varying levels of intensity and effectiveness. This volume defines "Christianity" broadly to include Catholic, Protestant, and Orthodox traditions and various denominations and schools of thought within them. It draws on Christian ideas and institutions, norms and practices, texts and titans to tell the story of Christianity's engagement with the world of law over the past two millennia. The volume also defines "law" broadly as the normative order of justice, power, and freedom. The chapters address natural laws of conscience, reason, and the Bible and positive laws enacted by states, churches, and voluntary associations. Several chapters focus on Christian engagement with specific types of law: canon law, family law, education law, constitutional law, criminal law, procedural law, and laws governing labor, tax, contracts, torts, property, and beyond. Other chapters take up cutting edge legal issues of racial justice, environmental care, migration, euthanasia, and (bio)technology as well as fundamental legal principles of liberty, dignity, equality, justice, equity, judgment, and solidarity.

Inventing American Exceptionalism

Inventing American Exceptionalism
Author: Amalia D. Kessler
Publisher: Yale University Press
Total Pages: 563
Release: 2017-01-10
Genre: Law
ISBN: 0300224842

A highly engaging account of the developments not only legal, but also socioeconomic, political, and cultural that gave rise to Americans distinctively lawyer-driven legal culture When Americans imagine their legal system, it is the adversarial trial dominated by dueling larger-than-life lawyers undertaking grand public performances that first comes to mind. But as award-winning author Amalia Kessler reveals in this engrossing history, it was only in the turbulent decades before the Civil War that adversarialism became a defining American practice and ideology, displacing alternative, more judge-driven approaches to procedure. By drawing on a broad range of methods and sources and by recovering neglected influences (including from Europe) the author shows how the emergence of the American adversarial legal culture was a product not only of developments internal to law, but also of wider socioeconomic, political, and cultural debates over whether and how to undertake market regulation and pursue racial equality. As a result, adversarialism came to play a key role in defining American legal institutions and practices, as well as national identity.

Law and Judicial Duty

Law and Judicial Duty
Author: Philip HAMBURGER
Publisher: Harvard University Press
Total Pages: 705
Release: 2009-06-30
Genre: Law
ISBN: 0674038193

Philip Hamburger’s Law and Judicial Duty traces the early history of what is today called "judicial review." The book sheds new light on a host of misunderstood problems, including intent, the status of foreign and international law, the cases and controversies requirement, and the authority of judicial precedent. The book is essential reading for anyone concerned about the proper role of the judiciary.

Introduction to English Legal History

Introduction to English Legal History
Author: John Baker
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 704
Release: 2019-03-21
Genre: Law
ISBN: 0192540734

Fully revised and updated, this classic text provides the authoritative introduction to the history of the English common law. The book traces the development of the principal features of English legal institutions and doctrines from Anglo-Saxon times to the present and, combined with Baker and Milsom's Sources of Legal History, offers invaluable insights into the development of the common law of persons, obligations, and property, and also of criminal and public law. It is an essential reference point for all lawyers, historians and students seeking to understand the evolution of English law over a millennium. The book provides an introduction to the main characteristics, institutions, and doctrines of English law over the longer term - particularly the evolution of the common law before the extensive statutory changes and regulatory regimes of the last two centuries. It explores how legal change was brought about in the common law and how judges and lawyers managed to square evolution with respect for inherited wisdom.

History of the Common Law

History of the Common Law
Author: John H. Langbein
Publisher: Aspen Publishing
Total Pages: 1310
Release: 2009-08-14
Genre: Law
ISBN: 0735596042

This introductory text explores the historical origins of the main legal institutions that came to characterize the Anglo-American legal tradition, and to distinguish it from European legal systems. The book contains both text and extracts from historical sources and literature. The book is published in color, and contains over 250 illustrations, many in color, including medieval illuminated manuscripts, paintings, books and manuscripts, caricatures, and photographs.

A Short History of European Law

A Short History of European Law
Author: Tamar Herzog
Publisher: Harvard University Press
Total Pages: 297
Release: 2018-01-08
Genre: History
ISBN: 0674980344

Tamar Herzog offers a road map to European law across 2,500 years that reveals underlying patterns and unexpected connections. By showing what European law was, where its iterations were found, who made and implemented it, and what the results were, she ties legal norms to their historical circumstances and reveals the law’s fragile malleability.