Eighteenth and Nineteenth Century Legal History

Introduction

The eighteenth and nineteenth centuries were a period of significant legal development and reform in England. The period saw the publication of Blackstone’s Commentaries, the emergence of the utilitarian reform movement led by Jeremy Bentham, and the enactment of the Judicature Acts 1873-75, which merged the administration of law and equity.

Blackstone’s Commentaries

Sir William Blackstone’s Commentaries on the Laws of England (1765-1769) was the first comprehensive treatise on English law. The Commentaries had a profound influence on the development of law in England and the United States.

Bentham and Legal Reform

Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832) was a philosopher and legal reformer whose utilitarian philosophy shaped the reform of English law. Bentham criticised the common law as obscure and complex and advocated for a comprehensive code.

The Judicature Acts 1873-1875

The Judicature Acts abolished the separate central courts and replaced them with a single Supreme Court of Judicature. The Acts provided that law and equity would be administered concurrently.