Origin Explicitly formulated in English equity practice in Fitzroy v Gwillim (1786, Court of King's Bench) and Dering v Earl of Winchelsea (1787, Court of the Exchequer); spread thereafter to other common law jurisdictions.
The clean hands doctrine is an equitable defense holding that a party is required to be free of wrongdoing, to come with clean hands, if it wants a court to issue a ruling in its favor; a court of equity will deny relief to a plaintiff whose own conduct in the matter has itself been unlawful or inequitable. It was explicitly formulated in the English cases Fitzroy v Gwillim (1786, Court of King's Bench) and Dering v Earl of Winchelsea (1787, Court of the Exchequer), and spread from there to other common law countries. It is closely associated with the Latin maxim ex turpi causa non oritur actio, that an unlawful act or dishonorable cause cannot serve as the basis of a legal action. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/
Facts
Origin PeriodExplicitly formulated in English equity practice in Fitzroy v Gwillim (1786, Court of King's Bench) and Dering v Earl of Winchelsea (1787, Court of the Exchequer); spread thereafter to other common law jurisdictions. 1 Core PrincipleA court of equity will deny relief to a plaintiff whose own conduct in the matter for which relief is sought has itself been unlawful or inequitable; a party must come to equity with clean hands. 1 Core PrincipleThe defense is discretionary rather than automatic (the judge may decline to apply it) and is scoped chiefly to equitable remedies such as an injunction or specific performance, though some jurisdictions also allow it against suits at law seeking damages. 1 Origin Period
Origin Period (category)Early Modern (1500-1800) 1 Connections
Associated With
Established By
Source Clean Hands (Wikipedia)
In Legal System
Source Clean Hands (Wikipedia)
Sources
1. Clean Hands (Wikipedia)
Lead section, definition of the doctrine
In non-criminal matters, the clean hands doctrine, also called the unclean hands doctrine or dirty hands doctrine, states that a party is required to be free of wrongdoing (come with "clean hands") if it wants the court to issue a ruling in their favour.
Definition section
a party is required to be free of wrongdoing (come with 'clean hands') if it wants the court to issue a ruling in their favour
Origin section
explicitly formulated in the cases Fitzroy v. Gwillim (1786; Court of King's Bench) and Dering v. Earl of Winchelsea (1787; Court of the Exchequer)
Description section, scope and discretion
Showing 'unclean hands' is an affirmative defence, which the judge has discretion to not approve. ... The doctrine typically applies to equitable remedies only (e.g. requests for an injunction or specific performance), but some jurisdictions also allow application to suits in law (such as those seeking damages).
- In Category: Doctrines
- In Legal System: Common Law
Established By: Fitzroy v Gwillim, Appearance in English law section (doctrine origin edge)
The doctrine was explicitly formulated in the cases Fitzroy v. Gwillim (1786; Court of King's Bench, opinion by Chief Justice Lord Mansfield) and Dering v. Earl of Winchelsea (1787; Court of the Exchequer, Lord Chief Baron Eyre), respectively, from which the concept spread to other common law countries.
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