7 - Fusion without Fission

Summary

When the English Judicature Acts were adopted in Victoria, there was scarcely a need for them. From its establishment, the Supreme Court of Victoria held legal and equitable jurisdiction and little differentiation between law and equity. Indeed, the successful operation of the court before the English Judicature legislation shows how much the success of a court depends on the skill and work of its judges and officers as distinct from its institutional structure. This is shown through a study of the work of Justice Robert Molesworth, who as the principal equity judge for a long period in effect embodied equity in Victoria. His versatility and industry are examined to explain why law and equity operated harmoniously, and why the professional and practical dualism experienced in England – which motivated reform – was absent from Victoria. Hence the inutility of the Judicature Act reforms later introduced in Victoria.