Origins of Equity

Equitable considerations have been present in human societies for unfathomable aeons. From ancient Greece and Rome to modern times, through ecclesiastical law and the medieval English Chancery, equity has introduced considerations of fairness in legal thought and has helped mitigate the harshness of draconian laws. What is considered equitable has varied over time, with the equitable innovations of the past typically becoming the hard law of today. The purpose of the chapter is to show equity’s continuity in time and across legal systems, as a stepping stone to the argument presented later in the book that equity is a source of international law. The chapter explains that the distinct ways in which we make sense of equity owe something to its historical evolution in our respective legal systems. Ultimately, the chapter highlights equity’s journey from municipal legal systems to international law.