Sir William a'Beckett: first Chief Justice of Victoria 1852 1857 (Lives of Australian Chief Justices)

As a judge, and Chief Justice, Stawell was ideal for his times. In the later half of the nineteenth century, Victoria needed a judge who was able to dispense justice speedily. He was a man prepared to lead the community by speaking out, in a variety of venues, on the necessity of the rule of law the vital plank in an ordered society.

The fusion of law and equity in common law systems was a crucial moment in the development of the modern law. In this volume leading scholars assess the significance of the fusion of law and equity from comparative, doctrinal, historical and theoretical perspectives.