William Forbes, THE INSTITUTES OF THE LAW OF SCOTLAND, with an introduction by Hector L MacQueen Edinburgh: Edinburgh Legal Education Trust, Old Studies in Scots Law, vol 3, 2012. xxx + 912 pp. ISBN 9780955633249. £30.Henry Home, Lord Kames, PRINCIPLES OF EQUITY, THIRD EDITION, with an introduction by Daniel J Carr Edinburgh: Edinburgh Legal Education Trust, Old Studies in Scots Law, vol 4, 2013. lii + 431 pp. ISBN 9780955633256. £30.
| DOI | 10.3366/elr.2014.0218 |
| Date | 01 May 2014 |
| Author | Andrew Herd |
| Publication Date | 01 May 2014 |
| Pages | 300-301 |
One of the greatest joys of Scots law is that its study is traditionally also the study of history. The books presently under review will undoubtedly contribute to that tradition, increasing awareness of two writers who were influential to the development of Scots law. William Forbes's
The first work under review here was written by William Forbes. Forbes, an Advocate and Professor of the University of Glasgow, was one the most prolific Scots legal authors writing in the early 18th Century. Whilst Forbes's work does not display the flair or erudition of the institutional writers of the 17th Century, it spans a variety of areas and sheds light on contemporary legal thought and social-political attitudes. Forbes's work is a valuable topic of study because it spans a period of intense social, economic and legal change. His writing career covered what was perhaps the most important legal development in Scottish history, the 1707 Union with England, and his works consider the important consequences of that Union for trade, taxation, and criminal policy.
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