STRATIFICATION OF LAW 11

condemnation for the interminable delays of Chancery.14 The delays in the

Chancery Division arc today no more than in the rest of the High Court.
The differences between law and equity are still of importance. One
important distinction is that a common law remedy is said to be a right,
whereas a remedy in equity is, theoretically, discretionary. It depends on
the justice of the cause. The distinction may be illustrated by the conse¬
quences of a breach of contract . The common law remedy is damages,
which will be awarded however unjustly the plaintiff has acted , and
whether or not damages will make good the loss suffered. Alternatively,
in equity the plaintiff can ask for the remedy of specific performance,
that is, that the defendant be compelled to fulfil their obligation. But this
will be available only under certain conditions, inter alia, that the plain ¬
tiff has acted fairly, that they have not delayed in seeking their remedy
and that damages would not adequately compensate them.

Where to find the law

From the foregoing it may be said that the law' proper is to be found
only in law reports and in statutes, regulations and the like. However,
textbooks and articles by academics, practitioners and ( increasingly )
by judges play an important part in stating the law'. Legal writing has
the function not only in presenting and commenting on source material,
but of putting cases and legal materials in a wider context, perhaps an
international one. Textbooks and articles published in reputable journals
are often cited to the court and may be referred to in judgments with
approval, giving the text added authority. The status of any book depends
on the standing of its author and current editor. As a general rule, it is
said that the courts pay less attention to the views of an author while they
are still alive, although this rule is diminishing in importance as even
legal writers live longer.
Legal textbooks arc of several different kinds. Many were originally
written by individuals on particular topics, although today it is rare for the
original author or indeed any individual editor to be responsible for a
complete textbook . In most fields there will be an authoritative text, often
produced by a number or specialist editors. In the construction field,
Keating on Building Contacts (currently the 9th edn ) and Hudson s Building
and Engineering Contracts (currently the 12th edn ) are the best know n and
.
respected.15 In the field of contracts Chilly on Contracts (currently the 31st

14
Jarnttyce v Jarnttyce, Bleak House.
15 To these two major works, there should now be added texts by Richard Wilmot-Smith
. .
QC Construction Contracts Law amI Practice and by Julian Bailey (CMS Cameron
.
McKenna ) Construction Law .