ABSTRACT
A couplet attributed to Sir Thomas Moore LC summarised the jurisdiction of the ‘Court of Conscience’:
The unravelling of fraud was an objective of both common law and equitable jurisdictions. However, equitable fraud was a broader notion than common law, found encompassed by the tort of deceit. In particular, a defendant might be held to be fraudulent in equity even though there was no intent to deceive or recklessness with respect to the making of a statement (contrast Derry v Peek (1889) with Nocton v Lord Ashburton (1914), Lord Haldane LC).
