Equity :: Papers

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 â€Å"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 â€Å"fountain of justice† for a more suitable