1. Equity

The common law may be admired and copied today, but in centuries gone by it was primitive, and became rigid while circumstances changed. In consequence it came nowhere near to satisfying the growing needs of the people.

Another serious problem was that the use of juries became widespread, even in civil cases, and they could be intimidated, bribed and 'packed' (filled with the friends of one of the parties).

Even after the formation of the common law courts, it was always open to those who felt that they could not receive justice, or afford the expense of going to court, to petition the King to 'redress their grievances'. At first Kings would consider these petitions themselves, or leave it to their Councils, or 'Parliaments', to decide them, but during the fifteenth century this work was delegated to one of the Council members. This was the Chancellor — later to receive the title Lord High Chancellor.

The chancellor did not try criminal cases. He dealt only with civil disputes concerning, for example, matters of property and breaches of contract. The law that was applied in the Court of Chancery was known as equity, a word meaning even – handedness and fairness.

The essential principle by which the Court of Chancery acted was that everyone should receive fairness and justice from the Court of Chancery had to meet:

• He had to show that he could not receive justice in the common law courts

• He had to show that he was himself without blame. This was called coming to court with clean hands

• He had to show that he had not delayed in bringing his case before the court

2. Judge-made law

Windsor Castle was built as a royal fortress by William the Conqueror towards the end of the eleventh century. The great round tower was built in the twelfth century in the reign of Henry II. Important additions to the palace were made in the reign of the Stuart King Charles II, and the royal apartments were later rebuilt or restored many times under the direction of George III, George IV, and Queen Victoria.

The beginnings and the development of the law in this country have been very much like those of Windsor Castle. The importance of William the Conqueror, not only to island history but also to the story of English legal system, is seen by the fact that some of the foundations of the law which we know today were being laid in the very days that William's workmen were laying the foundation stones of his castle at Windsor.

William was the Duke of Normandy, before he became King of England, and the great 'legal' foundation which he laid was an import from northern France, the Curia Regis (King's Court). This was not just a court of law, but a royal household. William used it as an instrument both to govern the country, and as a court for deciding disputes.

New courts have been built to provide justice in areas where justice was not available before. New ways were invented to enable people who had been harmed to commence legal actions (proceedings)—to bring their grievances before the courts and have them remedied.

The supreme law-making body in England is Parliament, and this has been so for centuries. Parliament passes laws in the form of Acts of Parliament, which are known as statutes. The law created by Parliament is known as statute law.

Nevertheless, judges play an essential part in the lives of individual citizens. UK has a system of law in which judges decisions—have for hundreds of years been recorded in law reports. These reports first appeared in Year Books. Each report begins with a 'headnote', which provides an expert summary of the facts and the court's decision. This summary is followed by the exact words of the judgments given by the judges. The principles of law as stated in these cases must normally be accepted and followed by the next court which has a similar case.

Many thousands of cases have come before the courts, and the decisions of the judges, like the individual stones of a palace—case by case, year by year-have added to the gradual build-up of the law. In this way, over the years and running alongside the laws passed by Parliament, a great body of law, known as judge-made law, has been developed. It is not possible to see it, as we can see a royal palace, where Parliament passes its laws. It is an Invisible Palace, but still it exists—and it plays a vitally important part in the life of english nation.

Another and equally crucial part of our national life is the way in which the UK itself is governed. This may not be widely known, but here also the courts play an essential role. The country is governed according to the rules of the UK constitution. This too cannot be seen. If Invisible Palace has a throne room, the constitution is it, and as we shall see, the judges may be called upon, and counted upon, to protect it should the need arise.

Judge-made law has over the centuries been divided into two main types: common law and equity. And now we will examine something of the beginnings and nature of each of them.