01-22-2006, 10:37 AM
THE COMMON RULES OF HANOVERIAN
CHANCERY LAW
PREFACE
The rules contained in this book are a guide to the underlying principles of Hanoverian Chancery Law. Hanoverian Chancery Law may be defined as that amalgam of statute law and case law which forms the law of Hanover. The common rules cited here construe the principles of Chancery Law which have not yet been adopted by case law or codified by parliament. In the absence of such legal recognition the common rules command only the weight of persuasive authority. Their primary function is to act as a guide where statute and case law are silent, they fill in the gaps left by uncodified law.
The common rules are a guide only. They are binding neither upon the courts nor on Parliament. The courts through case law and parliament through statute may adopt the common rules on an individual basis in which case the rule in question then has the force of law. The rule may be adopted as it stands or amended. If the rule is not accepted then it falls into disuse and ceases to have any effect.
The list of common rules cited here is not intended to be exhaustive. They are mainly representative of that body of law which unwritten and uncodified, rests upon good conscience, equity and common consent. That body of law derive in essence from custom and morality rather than legal precepts.
Each common rule is based upon one or more existing maxims to be found in the British system of common law/equity. The maxims are marked with an asterix.
The limited legal effect of the common rules does not detract from their value. As well as being an important primary source of law, they provide an insight into the ethics and moral standards which should underpin any system of law.
G.F.Guelph MP
Laitenburgh
January 2005
Rule No. 1
*Ancient custom is always held or regarded as law.
*Custom is held to be as a law.
Latin : Consuetudo pro lege servatur.
*Custom is the best interpreter of laws.
*A particular case, left unprovided for by statute, must be disposed of according to the law as it existed prior to such statute.
*In contracts, matters of custom and usage are tacitly implied.
Commentary
Custom may be defined as commonly accepted standards or rules lacking official sanction or status. Custom dates from the most primitive of societies and is older than man-made law itself. In those cases where there is no caselaw or statute to apply, custom will be regarded as a valid form of law.
Rule No. 2
*Deeds are more powerful than words.
*He confesses his guilt who flies from his trial.
*He who flees judgment confesses his guilt.
*The intention is to be taken for the deed.
Commentary
In terms of evidence both words and actions may be taken into account in deciding a case. Generally speaking actions count for more than words and the law will place more importance on actions rather than words in proving a person’s intent. Even in the absence of words, actions alone are in some cases capable of raising a presumption of guilt. Intent is proved more by actions than by words.
Rule No. 3
*He who comes into a court of equity must come with clean hands.
*He who committed inequity shall not have equity.
*He who seeks equity must do equity.
*He vainly invokes the aid of the law who transgresses the law.
Commentary
Parties seeking justice must abide by it. A party acting in breach of justice in one instance cannot rely on justice to right a grievance in another. This is not just a negative injunction. Justice will only be granted to those who themselves deal justly with third parties.
Rule No. 4
*Let no one be relieved or gain an advantage by his own fraud.
*You are not to do evil that good may come of it.
Lat: Non faciat malum, ut inde veniat bonum.
*No man can obtain an advantage by his own wrong.
*No one maintains an action arising out of his own wrong.
Commentary
No one may benefit by their own misconduct. The law will not allow a party to benefit from their own fraud. Similarly the law will not permit an action bought on the basis of the plaintiff’s wrongdoing. It will be rejected.
Rule No. 5
*No injury can be complained of by a consenting party.
Commentary
This is the converse of rule 4. any party consenting to injury or damage inflicted upon himself, his property or his legal rights by a third party. cannot then complain of that action. This rule is the basis of the equitable doctrine of estoppel. A party who has consented to an action by which they suffer loss will then be stopped, literally estopped from making claim by virtue of their prior consent.
Rule No. 6
*Equity assists ignorance, but not carelessness.
Commentary
Ignorance is not in all cases an excuse from liability. However courts will deal more leniently with a party who has acted in ignorance of facts which he should have known but did not than a party who had knowledge of the facts but ignored them.
Rule No. 7
*Hard cases make bad law.
Commentary
In some cases a loss has to be apportioned to a party to it where the parties involved are either equal in liability or due to circumstances neither party is liable. This means a decision has to be made which will allocate some loss without liability. Such cases do not make good law.
Rule No. 8
*He who is first in time has the prior right.
*He who is first in time is preferred in right.
*He who is before in time is the better in right.
Commentary
A general rule which gives priority to two or more parties with an equal claim to the party which made the claim first. This rule can be displaced by evidence which establishes priority by a factor other than time.
Rule No. 9
*He who stands on his own rights injures no one.
*Use your property in such a manner as not to injure that of another.
*He who uses his legal rights harms no one.
Commentary
It is a presumption that any party who enforces his rights only does not cause damage to or assume any liability to a third party. Owners of property are under a moral duty not to use it to the detriment of others.
Rule No. 10
*Possession is nine-tenths of the law.
*In a case of equal right the condition of the party in possession is the better.
Commentary
Ownership of property can be determined by several factors but possession leads to an assumption that the party in possession is the owner. This assumption may be rebutted by other evidence. Where everything is equal as between the parties then the party in possession is deemed to be the lawful owner.
Rule No. 11
*Law does not suffer that the same thing be twice paid.
Commentary
This rule concerns unjust enrichment. Law will not allow a party to benefit from a transaction twice, double payment/overpayment will be prohibited.
Rule No. 12
*Laws are made to prevent the stronger from having the power to do everything.
Commentary
Law is the safeguard against tyranny, the concentration of power in one source and obstacle to absolutist rule.
Rule No. 13
*Where the law is uncertain, there is no law.
*It is a wretched state of slavery which subsists where the law is vague or uncertain.
*Where the law is uncertain, there is no law.
Commentary
One of the conditions for law to be effective and just is that it must be certain. Uncertain laws are bad laws.
Rule No. 14
*No man ought to be his own judge, or to administer justice in cases where his relations are concerned.
*No one can be at once suitor and judge.
*A man cannot be a judge and a party in his own cause.
Commentary
Justice and the administration of the law must be impartial. Judges must be independent in the cases which they try.
Rule No. 15
*Public necessity is greater than private.
Commentary
The law considers the public interest to have precedence over private rights. Where there is a conflict between the two, the former will prevail. Whilst the law recognises private property and free enterprise, public necessity has priority.
Rule No. 16
*Ignorance of those things which one is bound to know excuses not.
Commentary
Information or facts which should have been known by a party shall be deemed to have been known by that party (cf. rule 6.) Here ignorance is deemed to be that of knowledge or facts which should have been known.
Rule No. 17
*A court is not at liberty to disregard the letter of a statute, in favour of supposed intention.
Commentary
It is the duty of the courts to apply statute as it stands. They are not to imply intentions to the drafters of the statute which are not evident upon the face of it.
Rule No. 18
*A new state of law ought to affect the future, not the past.
*Things invalid from the beginning cannot be made valid by subsequent act.
*Things which ought not to be done are held valid when they have been done.
Commentary
A fundamental principle of justice is that law should not be retrospective. Except in very exceptional circumstances laws should be made with future effect only.
Rule No. 19
*In agreements, the intention of the contracting parties, rather than the words used, should be regarded.
*In wills we more especially seek out the intention of the testator.
*The last will of a testator is to be fulfilled according to his true intention.
*In ambiguous expressions, the intention of the person using them is chiefly to be regarded.
*We must never depart from the signification of words, unless it is evident that they are not conformable to the will of the testator.
Commentary
In agreements between parties and in documents such as wills the courts have a duty to ascertain the true intent of the parties. Again this is in parallel with the rule that actions carry more weight than words as they are perceived to be more indicative of true intent. Intent rather than outward form is the predominating factor.
Rule No. 20
*In an ambiguous expression of law, that signification is to be preferred which is consonant with equity, especially when the spirit of the law can be collected from that.
Commentary
Where there is doubt or ambiguity in matters of construction, courts will opt for an interpretation that leads to a just solution.
Rule No. 21
*The interpretation of deeds is to be liberal, that the thing may rather have effect than fail.
*The words are to be so understood, that the subject-matter may rather be of force than perish.
Commentary
An important rule of interpretation is that if an ambiguity could lead to the failure of the transaction involved, such an interpretation should not be followed.
Rule No. 22
*Things which do not avail when separate when joined avail.
*No one can properly understand any part of a thing till he has read through the whole again and again.
Commentary
These maxims enjoin the reading of a document in toto to extract the exact meaning.
Rule No.23
*The words of charters are to be received more strongly against the grantor.
*In the construction of agreements words are interpreted against the person using them.
*Words are to be taken most strongly against him who uses them.
Commentary
Documents are interpreted in favour of the recipient and against the person issuing them.
Rule No.24
*It is no new thing that prior statutes should give place to later ones.
*Laws are abrogated by the same means by which they are made.
*A later statute takes away the effect of a prior one.
*A clause in a law which precludes its abrogation is void from the beginning.
*It is a perpetual law that no human and positive law can be perpetual and a clause which precludes the power of abrogation is void ab initio.
Commentary
Parliament cannot bind its successor. Any law purporting to bind future parliaments will be void. Therefore later statutes will always take precedence over former ones. Where there is a conflict between the provisions of statutes, the latter will always prevail.
Rule No. 25
*Laws do not undertake to punish other than outward actions.
*No one suffers punishment on account of his thoughts.
Commentary
An important rule with implications for the criminal law. Individuals may not be punished for “thought crimes”, for what they think. This is a fundamental element of civil liberties law.
Rule No. 26
*The intent and the act must both concur to constitute crime
Commentary
Another important rule in criminal law. Intent alone is insufficient to prove guilt. Intent must be supported by some action.
Rule No. 27
*They are not considered to consent who commit a mistake
Commentary
Mistake must be contrasted with ignorance. Mistake can never be equated with true consent. Ignorance is no bar to liability.
Rule No. 28
*Ignorance of the fact excuses; ignorance of the law excuses not.
Commentary
Everybody is presumed to have knowledge of the law. Ignorance of the law is no defence.
Rule No. 29
*Let the punishment be proportioned to the crime.
No comment required.
Rule No.30
*No man ought to be twice tried for the same offence.
No comment required.
Rule No.31
*From his silence a man's consent is inferred.
*He who is silent is supposed to consent.
*He who does not deny, admits
Commentary
Another important rule with respect to the criminal law. Therefore the right to remain silent must be carefully used.
Rule No.32
*The welfare of the people is the supreme law.
Commentary
Probably a most contentious rule amongst jurists as it looks at the law from an extra judicial viewpoint. Laws will be construed in favour of the welfare of the people. This rule can have very far reaching consequences.
Rule No.33
*Law favours life, liberty and dower.
*He who acquires for himself acquires for his heirs.
Commentary
Law defends the social order based upon personal property rights. As such it can be argued that the law supports the capitalist free enterprise model of society. The right of succession explicit in the second maxim entrenches the concept of hereditary rights in the law.
Rule No.34
*He who has the dominion or advantage has the risk.
*He who receives the advantage ought also to suffer the burden.
Commentary
An important rule which attaches responsibility to authority. This is important in establishing a principle of accountability.
Rule No.35
*An act already begun, the completion of which depends on the will of the parties, may be revoked; but if it depend on the will of a third person, or on a contingency, it cannot be revoked.
No comment required.
Rule No. 36
*He who has not does not give.
*No one can transfer more right to another than he has himself.
Commentary
No one may pass better title in an object than he or she has as the party selling it.
Rule No.37
*A benefit is not conferred on one who is unwilling to receive it.
*All persons shall have liberty to renounce those privileges which have been conferred for their benefit.
*Every one may renounce or relinquish a right introduced for his own benefit.
No comment required
Rule No.38
*Agreements founded upon an immoral consideration are not to be observed.
No comment required.
Rule No.39
*Law hates delays.
Comment
Litigation and procedures in court should be dealt with as quickly as possible.
Rule No.40
*Law favours public commerce.
Comment
The law supports trade and commercial relations (se also rule 33).
Rule No. 41
*Law respects the bonds of nature
*The law regards the order of nature.
*Law favours honour and order.
Commentary
Law does not live in a vacuum. It relates to the social and economic environment around it. The rules and principles which the law applies are rooted in society and not in some abstract model.
Rule No.42
*No one can declare law for himself.
*No one is entitled to take the law into his own hands.
Comment
The only location for the determination of legal disputes and enforcement of the law is the courts. No other bodies possess judicial authority unless so specified by parliamentary statute.
Rule No. 43
*No one is above the law.
No comment required.
Rule No. 44
*Law construes things with equity and moderation
*Law favours justice and right.
*Law hates wrong.
*Law favours charity.
*Law always construes things to the best.
*The law will not intend a wrong.
*One wrong does not justify another.
*The law will make such a construction of an instrument as not to injure a party.
*A right does not rise out of a wrong.
Commentary
This group of 9 maxims underlies the point that the law will always seek a justice and equity. In cases of ambiguity courts will always infer a just solution.
Rule No.45
*It concerns the state that crimes remain not unpunished.
Commentary
The law always attributes responsibility and accountability. No one will be allowed to escape criminal liability.
Rule No.46
*One ought to be subject to the law of the place where he offends.
Commentary
This clear statement refers to the question of jurisdiction.
Rule No.47
*The king cannot confer a favour on one subject which occasions injury and loss to others.
No comment required.
Rule No.48
*All things are presumed to have been rightly and duly performed until it is proved to the contrary.
*All things are presumed to have been rightly done.
*A presumption will stand good until the contrary is proved.
No comment required.
Rule No.49
*The king is not bound by any statute, unless expressly named.
No comment required.
Rule No.50
*Let the judges answer to the question of law, and the jurors to the matter of the fact.
Lat., Ad quaestionem juris respondeant judices ad quaestionem facti respondeant juratores.
No comment required.
CHANCERY LAW
PREFACE
The rules contained in this book are a guide to the underlying principles of Hanoverian Chancery Law. Hanoverian Chancery Law may be defined as that amalgam of statute law and case law which forms the law of Hanover. The common rules cited here construe the principles of Chancery Law which have not yet been adopted by case law or codified by parliament. In the absence of such legal recognition the common rules command only the weight of persuasive authority. Their primary function is to act as a guide where statute and case law are silent, they fill in the gaps left by uncodified law.
The common rules are a guide only. They are binding neither upon the courts nor on Parliament. The courts through case law and parliament through statute may adopt the common rules on an individual basis in which case the rule in question then has the force of law. The rule may be adopted as it stands or amended. If the rule is not accepted then it falls into disuse and ceases to have any effect.
The list of common rules cited here is not intended to be exhaustive. They are mainly representative of that body of law which unwritten and uncodified, rests upon good conscience, equity and common consent. That body of law derive in essence from custom and morality rather than legal precepts.
Each common rule is based upon one or more existing maxims to be found in the British system of common law/equity. The maxims are marked with an asterix.
The limited legal effect of the common rules does not detract from their value. As well as being an important primary source of law, they provide an insight into the ethics and moral standards which should underpin any system of law.
G.F.Guelph MP
Laitenburgh
January 2005
Rule No. 1
*Ancient custom is always held or regarded as law.
*Custom is held to be as a law.
Latin : Consuetudo pro lege servatur.
*Custom is the best interpreter of laws.
*A particular case, left unprovided for by statute, must be disposed of according to the law as it existed prior to such statute.
*In contracts, matters of custom and usage are tacitly implied.
Commentary
Custom may be defined as commonly accepted standards or rules lacking official sanction or status. Custom dates from the most primitive of societies and is older than man-made law itself. In those cases where there is no caselaw or statute to apply, custom will be regarded as a valid form of law.
Rule No. 2
*Deeds are more powerful than words.
*He confesses his guilt who flies from his trial.
*He who flees judgment confesses his guilt.
*The intention is to be taken for the deed.
Commentary
In terms of evidence both words and actions may be taken into account in deciding a case. Generally speaking actions count for more than words and the law will place more importance on actions rather than words in proving a person’s intent. Even in the absence of words, actions alone are in some cases capable of raising a presumption of guilt. Intent is proved more by actions than by words.
Rule No. 3
*He who comes into a court of equity must come with clean hands.
*He who committed inequity shall not have equity.
*He who seeks equity must do equity.
*He vainly invokes the aid of the law who transgresses the law.
Commentary
Parties seeking justice must abide by it. A party acting in breach of justice in one instance cannot rely on justice to right a grievance in another. This is not just a negative injunction. Justice will only be granted to those who themselves deal justly with third parties.
Rule No. 4
*Let no one be relieved or gain an advantage by his own fraud.
*You are not to do evil that good may come of it.
Lat: Non faciat malum, ut inde veniat bonum.
*No man can obtain an advantage by his own wrong.
*No one maintains an action arising out of his own wrong.
Commentary
No one may benefit by their own misconduct. The law will not allow a party to benefit from their own fraud. Similarly the law will not permit an action bought on the basis of the plaintiff’s wrongdoing. It will be rejected.
Rule No. 5
*No injury can be complained of by a consenting party.
Commentary
This is the converse of rule 4. any party consenting to injury or damage inflicted upon himself, his property or his legal rights by a third party. cannot then complain of that action. This rule is the basis of the equitable doctrine of estoppel. A party who has consented to an action by which they suffer loss will then be stopped, literally estopped from making claim by virtue of their prior consent.
Rule No. 6
*Equity assists ignorance, but not carelessness.
Commentary
Ignorance is not in all cases an excuse from liability. However courts will deal more leniently with a party who has acted in ignorance of facts which he should have known but did not than a party who had knowledge of the facts but ignored them.
Rule No. 7
*Hard cases make bad law.
Commentary
In some cases a loss has to be apportioned to a party to it where the parties involved are either equal in liability or due to circumstances neither party is liable. This means a decision has to be made which will allocate some loss without liability. Such cases do not make good law.
Rule No. 8
*He who is first in time has the prior right.
*He who is first in time is preferred in right.
*He who is before in time is the better in right.
Commentary
A general rule which gives priority to two or more parties with an equal claim to the party which made the claim first. This rule can be displaced by evidence which establishes priority by a factor other than time.
Rule No. 9
*He who stands on his own rights injures no one.
*Use your property in such a manner as not to injure that of another.
*He who uses his legal rights harms no one.
Commentary
It is a presumption that any party who enforces his rights only does not cause damage to or assume any liability to a third party. Owners of property are under a moral duty not to use it to the detriment of others.
Rule No. 10
*Possession is nine-tenths of the law.
*In a case of equal right the condition of the party in possession is the better.
Commentary
Ownership of property can be determined by several factors but possession leads to an assumption that the party in possession is the owner. This assumption may be rebutted by other evidence. Where everything is equal as between the parties then the party in possession is deemed to be the lawful owner.
Rule No. 11
*Law does not suffer that the same thing be twice paid.
Commentary
This rule concerns unjust enrichment. Law will not allow a party to benefit from a transaction twice, double payment/overpayment will be prohibited.
Rule No. 12
*Laws are made to prevent the stronger from having the power to do everything.
Commentary
Law is the safeguard against tyranny, the concentration of power in one source and obstacle to absolutist rule.
Rule No. 13
*Where the law is uncertain, there is no law.
*It is a wretched state of slavery which subsists where the law is vague or uncertain.
*Where the law is uncertain, there is no law.
Commentary
One of the conditions for law to be effective and just is that it must be certain. Uncertain laws are bad laws.
Rule No. 14
*No man ought to be his own judge, or to administer justice in cases where his relations are concerned.
*No one can be at once suitor and judge.
*A man cannot be a judge and a party in his own cause.
Commentary
Justice and the administration of the law must be impartial. Judges must be independent in the cases which they try.
Rule No. 15
*Public necessity is greater than private.
Commentary
The law considers the public interest to have precedence over private rights. Where there is a conflict between the two, the former will prevail. Whilst the law recognises private property and free enterprise, public necessity has priority.
Rule No. 16
*Ignorance of those things which one is bound to know excuses not.
Commentary
Information or facts which should have been known by a party shall be deemed to have been known by that party (cf. rule 6.) Here ignorance is deemed to be that of knowledge or facts which should have been known.
Rule No. 17
*A court is not at liberty to disregard the letter of a statute, in favour of supposed intention.
Commentary
It is the duty of the courts to apply statute as it stands. They are not to imply intentions to the drafters of the statute which are not evident upon the face of it.
Rule No. 18
*A new state of law ought to affect the future, not the past.
*Things invalid from the beginning cannot be made valid by subsequent act.
*Things which ought not to be done are held valid when they have been done.
Commentary
A fundamental principle of justice is that law should not be retrospective. Except in very exceptional circumstances laws should be made with future effect only.
Rule No. 19
*In agreements, the intention of the contracting parties, rather than the words used, should be regarded.
*In wills we more especially seek out the intention of the testator.
*The last will of a testator is to be fulfilled according to his true intention.
*In ambiguous expressions, the intention of the person using them is chiefly to be regarded.
*We must never depart from the signification of words, unless it is evident that they are not conformable to the will of the testator.
Commentary
In agreements between parties and in documents such as wills the courts have a duty to ascertain the true intent of the parties. Again this is in parallel with the rule that actions carry more weight than words as they are perceived to be more indicative of true intent. Intent rather than outward form is the predominating factor.
Rule No. 20
*In an ambiguous expression of law, that signification is to be preferred which is consonant with equity, especially when the spirit of the law can be collected from that.
Commentary
Where there is doubt or ambiguity in matters of construction, courts will opt for an interpretation that leads to a just solution.
Rule No. 21
*The interpretation of deeds is to be liberal, that the thing may rather have effect than fail.
*The words are to be so understood, that the subject-matter may rather be of force than perish.
Commentary
An important rule of interpretation is that if an ambiguity could lead to the failure of the transaction involved, such an interpretation should not be followed.
Rule No. 22
*Things which do not avail when separate when joined avail.
*No one can properly understand any part of a thing till he has read through the whole again and again.
Commentary
These maxims enjoin the reading of a document in toto to extract the exact meaning.
Rule No.23
*The words of charters are to be received more strongly against the grantor.
*In the construction of agreements words are interpreted against the person using them.
*Words are to be taken most strongly against him who uses them.
Commentary
Documents are interpreted in favour of the recipient and against the person issuing them.
Rule No.24
*It is no new thing that prior statutes should give place to later ones.
*Laws are abrogated by the same means by which they are made.
*A later statute takes away the effect of a prior one.
*A clause in a law which precludes its abrogation is void from the beginning.
*It is a perpetual law that no human and positive law can be perpetual and a clause which precludes the power of abrogation is void ab initio.
Commentary
Parliament cannot bind its successor. Any law purporting to bind future parliaments will be void. Therefore later statutes will always take precedence over former ones. Where there is a conflict between the provisions of statutes, the latter will always prevail.
Rule No. 25
*Laws do not undertake to punish other than outward actions.
*No one suffers punishment on account of his thoughts.
Commentary
An important rule with implications for the criminal law. Individuals may not be punished for “thought crimes”, for what they think. This is a fundamental element of civil liberties law.
Rule No. 26
*The intent and the act must both concur to constitute crime
Commentary
Another important rule in criminal law. Intent alone is insufficient to prove guilt. Intent must be supported by some action.
Rule No. 27
*They are not considered to consent who commit a mistake
Commentary
Mistake must be contrasted with ignorance. Mistake can never be equated with true consent. Ignorance is no bar to liability.
Rule No. 28
*Ignorance of the fact excuses; ignorance of the law excuses not.
Commentary
Everybody is presumed to have knowledge of the law. Ignorance of the law is no defence.
Rule No. 29
*Let the punishment be proportioned to the crime.
No comment required.
Rule No.30
*No man ought to be twice tried for the same offence.
No comment required.
Rule No.31
*From his silence a man's consent is inferred.
*He who is silent is supposed to consent.
*He who does not deny, admits
Commentary
Another important rule with respect to the criminal law. Therefore the right to remain silent must be carefully used.
Rule No.32
*The welfare of the people is the supreme law.
Commentary
Probably a most contentious rule amongst jurists as it looks at the law from an extra judicial viewpoint. Laws will be construed in favour of the welfare of the people. This rule can have very far reaching consequences.
Rule No.33
*Law favours life, liberty and dower.
*He who acquires for himself acquires for his heirs.
Commentary
Law defends the social order based upon personal property rights. As such it can be argued that the law supports the capitalist free enterprise model of society. The right of succession explicit in the second maxim entrenches the concept of hereditary rights in the law.
Rule No.34
*He who has the dominion or advantage has the risk.
*He who receives the advantage ought also to suffer the burden.
Commentary
An important rule which attaches responsibility to authority. This is important in establishing a principle of accountability.
Rule No.35
*An act already begun, the completion of which depends on the will of the parties, may be revoked; but if it depend on the will of a third person, or on a contingency, it cannot be revoked.
No comment required.
Rule No. 36
*He who has not does not give.
*No one can transfer more right to another than he has himself.
Commentary
No one may pass better title in an object than he or she has as the party selling it.
Rule No.37
*A benefit is not conferred on one who is unwilling to receive it.
*All persons shall have liberty to renounce those privileges which have been conferred for their benefit.
*Every one may renounce or relinquish a right introduced for his own benefit.
No comment required
Rule No.38
*Agreements founded upon an immoral consideration are not to be observed.
No comment required.
Rule No.39
*Law hates delays.
Comment
Litigation and procedures in court should be dealt with as quickly as possible.
Rule No.40
*Law favours public commerce.
Comment
The law supports trade and commercial relations (se also rule 33).
Rule No. 41
*Law respects the bonds of nature
*The law regards the order of nature.
*Law favours honour and order.
Commentary
Law does not live in a vacuum. It relates to the social and economic environment around it. The rules and principles which the law applies are rooted in society and not in some abstract model.
Rule No.42
*No one can declare law for himself.
*No one is entitled to take the law into his own hands.
Comment
The only location for the determination of legal disputes and enforcement of the law is the courts. No other bodies possess judicial authority unless so specified by parliamentary statute.
Rule No. 43
*No one is above the law.
No comment required.
Rule No. 44
*Law construes things with equity and moderation
*Law favours justice and right.
*Law hates wrong.
*Law favours charity.
*Law always construes things to the best.
*The law will not intend a wrong.
*One wrong does not justify another.
*The law will make such a construction of an instrument as not to injure a party.
*A right does not rise out of a wrong.
Commentary
This group of 9 maxims underlies the point that the law will always seek a justice and equity. In cases of ambiguity courts will always infer a just solution.
Rule No.45
*It concerns the state that crimes remain not unpunished.
Commentary
The law always attributes responsibility and accountability. No one will be allowed to escape criminal liability.
Rule No.46
*One ought to be subject to the law of the place where he offends.
Commentary
This clear statement refers to the question of jurisdiction.
Rule No.47
*The king cannot confer a favour on one subject which occasions injury and loss to others.
No comment required.
Rule No.48
*All things are presumed to have been rightly and duly performed until it is proved to the contrary.
*All things are presumed to have been rightly done.
*A presumption will stand good until the contrary is proved.
No comment required.
Rule No.49
*The king is not bound by any statute, unless expressly named.
No comment required.
Rule No.50
*Let the judges answer to the question of law, and the jurors to the matter of the fact.
Lat., Ad quaestionem juris respondeant judices ad quaestionem facti respondeant juratores.
No comment required.