“In his first article, published in this journal in 1979, Professor Mark Thompson said of a classic judicial statement concerning the equitable doctrine of part performance: ‘[t]his passage was the locus classicus on the subject, but what is its meaning?’. Mark then highlighted inherent ambiguity in the locus classicus, and argued that it had had a negative impact on the development of the law. The emergence of loci classici – classic judicial statements – is a curious but little-studied phenomenon within the English legal system. The purpose of this paper is to analyse the phenomenon and to demonstrate that it may influence and shape the law in a manner which is not captured by the doctrine of precedent. The individual loci classici that are discussed will primarily be statements concerning doctrines and principles of equity. Given the underlying reason for this special edition of the Conveyancer and Property Lawyer, I hope that, in this small way, I may pay tribute to Mark’s vast knowledge of equity; I was privileged to reap the benefit of several discussions and (admittedly rather one-sided) debates with Mark about several aspects of equitable doctrine during 2015 and 2016. In keeping with Mark’s academic career, all additional cases cited will, as far as is reasonably possible, be authorities concerning property law more generally …”
€ (Westlaw)
Gregory Allan, ‘The phenomenon of locus classicus: an analysis of judicial reliance on classic judicial statements of equitable doctrine’ [2022] 1 Conveyancer and Property Lawyer 87-110.
First posted 2022-03-25 13:15:27
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