Court of Chancery

Court of Chancery The Court of Chancery was a court of equity in England and Wales that followed a set of loose rules to avoid the slow pace of change and possible harshness or “inequity“ of the common law The Chancery had jurisdiction over all matters of equity, including trusts, land law, the administration of the estates of lunatics and the guardianship of infants Its initial role was somewhat different, however; as an extension of the Lord Chancellors role as Keeper of the Kings Conscience, the Court was an administrative body primarily concerned with conscientious law Thus the Court of Chancery had a far greater remit than the common law courts, whose decisions it had the jurisdiction to overrule for much of its existence, and was far more flexible Until the 19th century, the Court of Chancery could apply a far wider range of remedies than the common law courts, such as specific performance and injunctions, and also had some power to grant damages in special circumstances With the shift of t