100px|The Court of Chancery during the reign of George I. Painting by
Benjamin Ferrers
The Court of Chancery was a court of equity in England and Wales that
followed a set of loose rules to avoid the slow pace of change and
possible harshness (or "inequity") of the common law. The Chancery had
jurisdiction over all matters of equity, including trusts, land law,
the administration of the estates of lunatics and the guardianship of
infants. Its initial role was somewhat different, however; as an
extension of the Lord Chancellor's role as Keeper of the King's
Conscience, the Court was an administrative body primarily concerned
with conscientious law. Thus the Court of Chancery had a far greater
remit than the common law courts, whose decisions it had the
jurisdiction to overrule for much of its existence, and was far more
flexible. Until the 19th century, the Court of Chancery was able to
apply a far wider range of remedies than the common law courts, such as
specific performance and injunctions, and also had some power to grant
damages in special circumstances. With the shift of the Exchequer of
Pleas towards a common law court, the Chancery was the only equitable
body in the English legal system. (more...)
Recently featured: Hurricane Eloise – Admiralty Islands campaign –
Charlie Macartney
Archive – By email – More featured articles...
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Court_of_Chancery>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
193:
Praetorian Guards assassinated Roman Emperor Pertinax and sold the
throne in an auction to Didius Julianus.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pertinax>
1862:
American Civil War: An invasion of the New Mexico Territory by the
Confederate States Army was halted at the Battle of Glorieta Pass.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Glorieta_Pass>
1910:
Near Martigues, France, French aviator Henri Fabre's Fabre Hydravion
became the first seaplane to take off from water under its own power.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fabre_Hydravion>
1933:
A passenger aboard the Imperial Airways biplane City of Liverpool set a
fire on board, causing it to break apart in mid-air and crash.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1933_Imperial_Airways_Dixmude_crash>
1979:
British Prime Minister James Callaghan was defeated by one vote in a
motion of no confidence by the House of Commons after his government
struggled to cope with widespread strikes by trade unions during the
"Winter of Discontent".
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1979_vote_of_no_confidence_in_the_government_of_James_Callaghan>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
lacrimae rerum (n plural):
The “tears of things”; the inherent tragedy of existence
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/lacrimae_rerum>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
I saw an angel close by me, on my left side, in bodily form. This I am
not accustomed to see, unless very rarely. Though I have visions of
angels frequently, yet I see them only by an intellectual vision, such
as I have spoken of before. It was our Lord's will that in this vision
I should see the angel in this wise. He was not large, but small of
stature, and most beautiful — his face burning, as if he were one of
the highest angels, who seem to be all of fire: they must be those whom
we call cherubim.
--Teresa of Ávila
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Teresa_of_%C3%81vila>