Criticisms of Courts of Equity In the first half of 19th century, the courts of Chancery were criticised for inordinate delays and inefficiency. Their procedure was extremely slow in particular that association with the Lord Chancellor Eldon. Equity had itself become procedural and rigid. Equity had been criticised for a mass of incompatible and irreconcilable decisions. The criticism was made that equity varied severely from […]
The Equitable Use The courts of Chancery concerned itself with matters relating to ownership of land. It evolved a number of important remedies and doctrines including in particular the use and the trust, the equity of redemption and the remedies of an injunction and specific performance. The user was the earlier version of the trust. An owner may transfer his land by conveyance to another […]
Nature of Equity Equity is a body of law and procedures which developed side by side with common law and statute law. It originated with the Court of Chancery. It sought to mitigate the harshness of the early common law which was as set out in separate chapters, rigid and such as to produce arbitrary unjust results in certain cases. Equity is synonymous with conscience, […]
Early Treasury The Treasury was responsible for raising money and managing Royal properties prior to the Norman conquest. The Normans introduced a centralised government. In the 12th century, the Exchequer took up permanent residence in the Palace of Westminster. In the early days, the Treasury quite literally comprised precious articles, jewels, crowns etc., gold. There were two Exchequers, a lower and an upper. The upper […]
Common Law & Custom In this context, common law is used in a sense as distinct from equity. See separate sections on the history and development of equity. Common law derives its authority from long and immemorial usage and by universal reception throughout the Kingdom according to the highly influential judge, professor and author, 18th century author William Blackstone. The unwritten or common law is […]
Pre-Norman The communal courts predated the Norman invasion of England. They applied law which was based on custom and varied accordance with the locality. It included certain legislative rules emanating from the Crown. Prior to the Norman invasion, England was divided into hundreds, shires and towns. The communal courts were the shire or later county courts or the hundred court. Shire courts dealt with judicial […]
Canon Law Canon law is Roman Catholic Church ecclesiastical law. It comprises decrees of the Church council’s writings, rules, and epistles. William the Conqueror separated the ecclesiastical and civil jurisdiction of courts. Sheriffs and laypersons could not participate in disputes and church affairs and clergy, bishops and archdeacons could not participate in pleas at the courts of the hundred or the shire. 12th-century codification of […]
King’s Role The King had an obligation to ensure peace and justice. As the highest feudal lord, he heard disputes between his tenants in chief. It was the basic principle of feudalism that a tenant who could not obtain justice in his lord’ court, could seek it in his lord’s court. There also existed the concept of the King as a font of justice, giving […]
After the separation of the courts and the King’s Council, the King continued to have jurisdiction though the Council. In judicial matters, the Council advised, adjudicated and administered on the whole range of governmental and judicial matters. It consisted of the King’s principal officers of state, household judges, barons, bishops and other Councillors. In the late middle ages and under the Tudors, the Council assumed […]
Form of Action & Writs The early common law emphasised the form of legal action. The system of forms of action and writ is a key characteristic of medieval English law. The influence of the form was so great that the actual substantive law was subordinate to it. A form of action encompasses the writ by which proceedings are started, the events leading to final judgment […]
Forms of Action & Writs A form of action is historically a mode of framing a writ and pleadings, appropriate to a particular damage which the action is intended to redress. In the early Middle Ages, actions at law were commenced by purchasing a writ out of the Chancery. This does not refer to chancery actions which have a separate origin. The persons seeking relief […]
Origin of Contract Contract as now exists is a combination of common law, equity and some legislation. The basic rules originated at common law. Equity supplied particular remedies and doctrines. For example, specific performance and injunctions may be granted as relief in the case of mistake and misrepresentation. Occasional statutes regulated particular areas such as the Statute of Frauds, Infants Reliefs Act and the Sale […]
Crown Revenue Prior to the 17th century, the King enjoyed hereditary revenues payable by custom. This included crown rents, various duties etc. After the restoration of Charles II, the Crown’s feudal dues were terminated and the position of the Crown relative to Parliament was greatly diminished. They were largely replaced by other levies. When the hereditary revenues exceeded expenses, the sovereign did not have to […]
Independence Pursuant to the Treaty signed the 6th day of December 1921 a process started by which the Irish Free State was to be established, ultimately a year later. A Provisional Government was established. The Government of Ireland Act 1920 had been passed in the United Kingdom and become law in Northern Ireland. It had contemplated an equivalent devolved government in the 26 counties to […]
Enquiry & Commission on Income Tax A Committee of Enquiry into the taxation of industry was established in 1953. It was to examine in particular the extent to which income tax might be a deterrent to the maintenance modernisation or extension of productive capacity and make recommendations. The Committee reported in 1956. A Commission on Income Tax was established in 1957 once again under the […]
Customs Harmonisation Ireland joined the Customs Cooperation Council based in Brussels in 1952. The Council included a valuation committee and nomenclature committee with a view to uniformity in the application of customs rules. The Finance Act 1952 reflected the Conventions. After considerable work over the following decade, Ireland introduced a new customs tariff on 1 January 1963 following the Convention’s nomenclature. Over a dozen customs […]
Excise Taxes Excise taxes apply to a range of goods are manufactured or imported into the State in particular, beer, spirits, tobacco products, hydrocarbon oils, motor vehicles table waters and televisions (1980) In addition special excise applied to various licences and certificates including manufacture and sale of intoxicating liquor auctioneering gaming betting possession of firearms and numerous other activities. Special excise taxes applied to off […]
Turnover Tax In 1962 receipts from excise taxes on a narrow range of goods in particular tobacco, beers, spirits and hydrocarbon oils constituted 40% of government revenue. The Finance Act 1963 introduced a turnover tax. It applied to all retail sales of goods and provision of services in the course of business. It also applied to supplies by clubs, gaming betting and entertainment. Goods imported […]
Early Twentieth Century A range of taxes on land were commenced in the famous 1910 budget. Many of them were repealed in 1920. They included incremental value duty, undeveloped land duty reversion duty and mineral rights duty. Incremental value duty was to represent on the increase of the site value after 1909 payable when land was transferred on sale or death. Reversion duty was a […]
Consolidation & Reform Until 1967 the income tax legislation was the Income Tax Act 1918 (UK statute) as amended annually. An Income Tax consolidation bill was introduced and became the income Tax Act 1967. The Income Tax Act 1967 consolidated the law and continued to divide income into categories which is reflected in the current legislation trade and professions investment income employment income rental income […]
Truck Acts The Truck Acts were one of the earliest pieces of labour legislation. They were aimed at the common practice of employers paying wages in kind by way of tokens, food, clothing or other non-cash form. They might, for example, only be spent in shops owned by the factory owner. A wide range of abuses was possible. The Truck Act, 1831 repealed this legislation, […]
Background There was relatively little legal legislative development in the period 1760 to 1830. Britain’s position in the world strengthened considerably despite the loss of the thirteen North American colonies in 1776 to 1783. Blackstone’s Commentaries exalted the stability and wisdom of common law. The British Constitution and the liberty of subjects appeared to be an example to the world. The settlement following the so-called […]
Easing of Penal Laws The Papacy had stopped recognising the Jacobite cause on the death of the “Young Pretender” in 1766. The authorities feared that the American rebellion of 1775 might inspire a rebellion by Catholics in the Kingdom of Ireland. The Catholic Relief Act 1778 was passed by the British Parliament was the first Act for Roman Catholic relief. Later in 1778 it was […]
Catholic Relief GB The Roman Catholic Relief Act of 1791 relieved Catholics of certain political, educational, and economic disabilities in Britain. It admitted Catholics to the practice of law, permitted the exercise of their religion, and the existence of their schools. Chapels, schools, officiating priests and teachers were to be registered. Assemblies with locked doors, as well as steeples and bells to chapels, were forbidden; […]
Early 19th Century A series of official and unofficial enquiries in the first decades of the 19th century presented a picture of widespread and severe deprivation. It has been claimed that the conditions in Ireland were the worst in Europe, although this is disputed. There is evidence of higher nutritional standards and well-being, but poorer housing and clothing than in other countries. Prior to 1838, […]
The Famine The famine affected all parts of the country, but the south and west were particularly badly affected. The majority of the population depended on the potato. When the potato blight first appeared, public works were established to provide employment and the addition of food supplies was imported. Relief committees were established under the Central Temporary Relief Commission in 1845. The poor law guardians […]
Medical Dispensaries After the famine, outdoor relief was abolished or reduced to minimum levels. The Poor Law Commissioners and guardians attempted to revert to their pre-famine role. The medical profession sought to limit the expansion of the Commission’s role in medical matters. The Medical Charities Act of 1851 established dispensaries funded by the Poor Law rate and administered by local committees. They comprised poor law […]
Early Twentieth Century The Workman’s Compensation act 1897 required employers to pay compensation to employees injured in the course of work. It applied initially to workplace as hazardous, but the scheme is extended by a 1906 Act to cover all employees engaged in manual labor, whose income did not exceed to £250 per annum. The 1903 Vice-Regal Commission was appointed on Poor Law reforms. A […]
A Department of Social Welfare An important reform was the establishment of the Departments of Health and Social Welfare in 1947. They recognised these areas as distinct policy areas with separate ministerial responsibilities. Irish society at the time was much more agricultural and rural based than the United Kingdom. The resources available to governments are much lower, and the Irish equivalent of British reform was […]
1937 Constitution The Constitution was accepted by a plebiscite at the end of 1937. It replaced the Free State Constitution, which had been very heavily amended. Emergency-type provisions for non-judicial trial, had, in effect, been written into the Free State Constitution following continuing IRA activity. Article 2A of the Free State Constitution, inserted in 1931, supported a very draconian Public Safety Act. That Act provided […]
Cereals The Agricultural Produce (Cereals) Acts, 1933 to 1956 conferred functions on the Department in relation to cereals. The initial 1933 legislation sought to secure that wheat and flour consumed in Ireland should be made in Ireland to arrest the contraction of the milling industry into a number of large units, prevent ownership from passing into the hands of non-nationals and encourage the use of […]
1898 Act Reforms Significant reforms in local government occurred in the 20 years prior to the Dail Declaration of Independence. The Local Government (Ireland) Act 1898 effectively removed local government from the Irish autocracy and placed it into the hands of elected councillors. The franchise was based on adult male ratepayers, which was substantially representative of nationalist Ireland. The cost of rates was shifted from […]
1952-65 The social welfare legislation was consolidated and reformed in 1952. There were incremental developments from then onwards. There was severe immigration, employment and immigration in the 1950s. 1951 saw the introduction of a contributory old age pension. Children’s allowance was extended to the first child in 1963. The second Program for Economic Expansion 1963 sought to improve social welfare services in line with improvements […]
Grand Juries Counties are ancient divisions which date back to the 13th to 16th centuries. Originally, assizes were held on a regular basis, often quarterly, dealing with the adjudication of legal disputes. They sat as grand juries and were comprised of the local aristocracy and upper classes. They had a role both in the judicial and the early origins of the administrative and, in particular, […]
Early Reform The powers of the Local Government Board were transferred to the Department of Local Government in 1924. Another early pieces of legislation in the Free State reformed of the poor law system and placing t on a county wide basis. County Boards administered the new system. Rural District Councils were abolished by the Local Government Act 1925, which transferred their functions of the […]
Establishment During the 18th century, the Irish Parliament passed a number of Acts relating to land drainage. They required the initiative of promoters. The works carried out were largely limited to the construction of canals. The Board of Inland Navigation continued to exist after the Union of 1800. The Board of Public Works was established in 1831 with a vote of £500,000 for use in […]
Dominion Status On 6th December 1922, the Irish Free State became a dominion with the same status as Canada and South Africa. Dominions were self-governing. Until the Treaty of Locarno, they were bound by international treaties made by the Crown. Initially they sat with Great Britain under League of Nations, the predecessor of the United Nations. After the 1926 Imperial Conference at Westminster, dominions became […]