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In jurisdictions following the English common law, equity is the set of maxims that "reign over all the law" and "from which flow all civil laws".〔Bacon〕 The Chancery, the office of equity, was the "office that issued the writs that were the foundation of the common law system".〔〔Spence, p. 224〕 Equity is wholly "unaffected by any state laws” (Pomeroy) and is "everything, even without law".〔John Bouvier〕 Equity is commonly said to "mitigate the rigour of common law", allowing courts to use their discretion and apply justice in accordance with natural law. In practice, modern equity is limited by substantive and procedural rules, and English and Australian legal writers tend to focus on technical aspects of equity. Twelve "vague ethical statements", known as the maxims of equity,〔〔Hudson states that these are primarily "culled from Snell's ''Equity'', the 4th edition of which can be read online. See (Chapter 2 ) for the these statements.〕 guide the application of equity, and an additional five can be added.〔A. Hudson (2009). ''Equity and Trusts'', p. (24 ). Routledge-Cavendish.〕 A historical criticism of equity while it developed was that it lacked fixed rules, with the Lord Chancellor occasionally judging in the main according to his conscience. The rules of equity later lost much of their flexibility, and from the 17th century onwards, equity was rapidly consolidated into a system of precedents much like its common-law cousin. ==History== (詳細はhistory. The law courts or "courts of law" were the courts in England that enforced the king's laws in medieval times. There the King's Judges, educated in law rather than theology, administered the universal law of the realm.〔S. Worthington, ''Equity'' (2nd edn. OUP, Oxford 2006) p. 8.〕 This body of law evolved on the basis of previously set precedent into what is recognized as the Common law of England. However, if changes were not quick enough, or if decisions by the judges were regarded as unfair, then litigants could still appeal directly to the King, who, as the sovereign, was seen as the 'fount of justice' and responsible for the just treatment of his subjects. Such filings were usually phrased in terms of throwing oneself upon the king's mercy or conscience. Eventually, the king began to regularly delegate the function of resolving such petitions to the Chancellor, an important member of the King's Council.〔 The early Chancellors were often clergymen, acting as the King's confessor and thereby sacerdotally as keeper of the King's conscience. As a result of their theological and clerical training, Chancellors were well versed in Latin and French, as well as in classical Roman civil and canon law, which heavily influenced the development of equity.〔S. Worthington, ''Equity'' (2nd edn. OUP, Oxford 2006) p. 10/11.〕 Soon the Chancery, the Crown's secretarial department, began to resemble a judicial body and became known as the "Court of Chancery". By the 15th century, the judicial power of Chancery was recognized. Equity, as a body of rules, varied from Chancellor to Chancellor, until the end of the 16th century. After the end of the 17th century, only lawyers were appointed to the office of Chancellor. One area in which the Court of Chancery assumed a vital role was the enforcement of uses, a role that the rigid framework of land law could not accommodate. This role gave rise to the basic distinction between legal and equitable interests. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Equity (law)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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