136. Jus respicit aequitatem. Law has regard to equity.
(See Jud. Act, 1873, sec. 25, ss. 11, and Max. No. 141.)
137. Leges posteriores priores abrogant. Subsequent laws repeal former ones.
Statutes may repeal prior ones, either by express provision or by implication. Every statute impliedly repeals an earlier one, so far as the latter is contrary thereto. Unless otherwise expressed, a statute must be construed as prospective in its operation. (See Steph. Comm. I. p. 43, and Max. No. 233.)
138. Leges solâ memoriâ et usu retinebant. Laws were only preserved by memory and custom.
Among the primitive Saxons, owing to the small skill in writing that generally obtained, all laws were traditional, being handed down from one generation to another solely by word of mouth. Our “unwritten” or Common Law of the present day, however, is not merely oral, but is to be sought in the records of the various Courts and in the reports of judicial decisions. (See Steph. Comm. I. sec. III.)
139. Lex non cogit ad impossibilia. The law does not force to impossibilities.
This rule does not apply where a thing is impossible on account only of the defendant’s personal inability to perform a contract. (See Chitty on Contracts, 16th ed. pp. 763–4, and Max. 170.)
140. Lex prospicit non respicit. The law looks forward, not backward.
It is but seldom that statutes are made retrospective.