Equity in Australia and the United Kingdom: Dissonance and Concordance

Abstract

This paper falls within the area of “comparative common law” (a concept which includes equity). It touches on four aspects of equitable principle. Speaking generally, some aspects of the first and second (confidential information and liability for knowing assistance in a breach of trust) in the Australian and United Kingdom legal systems have diverged; some aspects of the third and fourth (exceptions to Saunders v Vautier and judicial advice) have converged. How did that come about and what can be learned from it?

Keywords: comparative common law, equity, confidential information, Barnes v Addy, Saunders v Vautier, judicial advice, assessing persuasive weight of international decisions

JEL Classification: K10, K30