Laches (/ˈlætʃᵻz/, LA-chəz, like "latches"; /ˈleɪtʃᵻz/, LAY-chəz; Law French: "remissness", "dilatoriness," from Old French laschesse) refers to a lack of diligence and activity in making a legal claim, or moving forward with legal enforcement of a right, in particular with regard to equity; hence, it is an unreasonable delay that can be viewed as prejudicing the opposing [defending] party. When asserted in litigation, it is an equity defense, that is, a defense to a claim for an equitable remedy. The person invoking laches is asserting that an opposing party has "slept on its rights," and that, as a result of this delay, circumstances have changed, witnesses and/or evidence may have been lost or no longer available, etc., such that it is no longer a just resolution to grant the plaintiff's claim. Laches is associated with the maxim of equity, "Equity aids the vigilant, not the sleeping ones [that is, those who sleep on their rights]." Put another way, failure to assert one’s rights in a timely manner can result in a claim being barred by laches.
Laches may refer to:
The Laches (/ˈlækiːz/; Greek: Λάχης) is a Socratic dialogue written by Plato. Participants in the discourse present competing definitions of the concept of courage.
Lysimachus, son of Aristides, and Melesias, son of Thucydides (not the historian Thucydides), request advice from Laches and Nicias on whether or not they should have their sons (who are named after their famous grandfathers) trained to fight in armor. After each gives their opinion, Nicias for and Laches against, they seek Socrates for counsel.
Laches is a neighbourhood (barrio) of Bogotá, Colombia. It is in the Santa Fe district in east-central Bogotá, on the edge of the forest reserve. In fact, some 4,500 inhabitants, mostly from the poorer stata of society, live in the forest reserve area in illegal dwellings.
Laches lies on the edge of the eastern hills of Bogotá and is bounded on the north by La Peña neighbourhood, on the east by forest reserve, on the south by El Rocio neighbourhood, on the west by Lourdes neighbourhood and on the northwest by El Guavio neighbourhood.
Members of the Lache people settled in this area as Bogotá grew. One of the earliest churches, "Nuestra Señora de la Peña" (Our Lady of the Rock) was built in Laches in 1722. The church contains a stone carving weighing 400 kilograms said to depict the "Holy Family" (Jesus, Mary, Joseph and the Archangel Michael), which carving was found in 1685 near Cerro Guadalupe.
In 1961, the government officially recognized Laches.
Equity may refer to:
In jurisdictions following the English common law, equity is the set of maxims that "reign over all the law" and "from which flow all civil laws". The Chancery, the office of equity, was the "office that issued the writs that were the foundation of the common law system". Equity is wholly "unaffected by any state laws” (Pomeroy) and is "everything, even without law".
Equity is commonly said to "mitigate the rigour of common law", allowing courts to use their discretion and apply justice in accordance with natural law. In practice, modern equity is limited by substantive and procedural rules, and English and Australian legal writers tend to focus on technical aspects of equity. Twelve "vague ethical statements", known as the maxims of equity, guide the application of equity, and an additional five can be added.
A historical criticism of equity while it developed was that it lacked fixed rules, with the Lord Chancellor occasionally judging in the main according to his conscience. The rules of equity later lost much of their flexibility, and from the 17th century onwards, equity was rapidly consolidated into a system of precedents (or case law) much like its common-law cousin.
Equity or economic equality is the concept or idea of fairness in economics, particularly in regard to taxation or welfare economics. More specifically, it may refer to equal life chances regardless of identity, to provide all citizens with a basic and equal minimum of income, goods, and services or to increase funds and commitment for redistribution.
Inequality and inequities have significantly increased in recent decades, possibly driven by the worldwide economic processes of globalisation, economic liberalisation and integration. This has led to states ‘lagging behind’ on headline goals such as the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and different levels of inequity between states have been argued to have played a role in the impact of the global economic crisis of 2008–2009.
Equity is based on the idea of moral equality. Equity looks at the distribution of capital, goods and access to services throughout an economy and is often measured using tools such as the Gini index. Equity may be distinguished from economic efficiency in overall evaluation of social welfare. Although 'equity' has broader uses, it may be posed as a counterpart to economic inequality in yielding a "good" distribution of wealth. It has been studied in experimental economics as inequity aversion. Low levels of equity are associated with life chances based on inherited wealth, social exclusion and the resulting poor access to basic services and intergenerational poverty resulting in a negative effect on growth, financial instability, crime and increasing political instability.