property law

The first 200 words of this essay...

EQUITY AND PROPERTY

In addition to the proprietary rights operating at common law, a large part of the law of property consists of rights operating through Equity. In order to understand the nature of these rights and how they differ from, and interrelate with, common law proprietary rights, it is necessary to appreciate the relationship between Equity and the common law. This lecture therefore outlines the nature of that relationship, first in general and then with particular reference to property rights. The main equitable right regarding property, the trust, is then introduced. In the following weeks will involve description of the other main types of equitable property rights.

Definition of "Equity"

"Equity" in the pure sense means justice, particularly abstract justice as opposed to the accurate application of rules. Aristotle defined it as "a correction of law where it is defective owing to its universality". In this sense of an appeal to a higher justice above rules, equity forms part of many legal systems. In English law, however, equity has been institutionalised and the term now refers to a particular set of rules, which have developed from an original appeal to equity in the pure sense. The