The Purpose of Equity

Abstract

‘The way is equity, the end is justice’, wrote the umpire in the Aroa Mines case. The chapter probes the ethical foundations of equity in international law and argues that the overarching purpose of equity is to do justice. In this light, it surveys equity as corrective, distributive, and supplementary justice. Under the heading of corrective justice, the chapter canvasses equity as individualised justice and as justice that tempers the rigour of the law. Distributive justice is conceptualised in relation to the allocation of resources and the sharing of benefits and burdens, the common heritage of mankind, intergenerational equity, and equitable representation in the composition of international bodies. The chapter further reviews equity as supplementary justice, when legal rules are absent. The analysis shows that the different roles of equity as justice overlap and stresses that justice provides the backbone and rationale for the broader need for equity.