Equity: 150 Years After the Judicature Reforms

In 2023, it will be 150 years since the passing of the Judicature Act 1873, the first of two landmark statutes which fundamentally re-organised the administration of civil justice in England and Wales. Today, the Judicature Acts are chiefly noted for their effect on the law of Equity. Prior to the Acts, Equity was developed and applied in a distinct set of Chancery courts; with the Acts, the separate court system was abolished, and courts were given powers to apply both equitable and common law rules.

There was immediate debate as to the proper role of Equity after the Acts. Controversy as to its role continues to this day throughout the common law world. On 1st and 2nd April 2022, international academics, judges and practitioners will come together to present papers examining the operation of Equity today. The papers will examine specific equitable principles and doctrines, seeing how they can best be understood today, and how they might develop in the future. Registered conference participants will have access to a paperbank, and the conference papers will lead to a volume to be published by Hart Publishing in 2023. 

There will be a dinner in the Hall of St John's College on the evening of Friday 1 April. Some of the papers will be presented remotely, but our plan is that the majority will be presented in person. We would encourage participants to attend the conference in person where possible, but an option to attend remotely is available.

The provisional programme can be found here.

Registration for the conference is now open, via the University's Online Shop. The conference organisers are Professor Ben McFarlane and Steven Elliott QC and any queries should be directed to equityconf@law.ox.ac.uk.

There is a wide range of accommodation available in Oxford, and for a selection of conveniently located and reasonably priced college rooms see https://conference-oxford.com/bb-self-catering. A limited number of rooms will be available at St John's College on the nights of 31st March and 1st April: please contact equityconf@law.ox.ac.uk if you are interested in such a room.

Note that conference participants may also be interested in attending (in person or online) the inaugural lecture of Professor McFarlane, which will take place on 31st March 2022 at 5pm in the Gulbenkian Lecture Theatre at the Oxford Faculty of Law, and will be chaired by Lord Burrows: see below for further information and registration. Participants may also be interested in attending (in person or online) the Modern Studies in Property Law conference, which will also be hosted at St John's College, from 29-31 March 2022.