A
legal remedy (also
judicial relief) is the means with which a
court of law, usually in the exercise of
civil law jurisdiction, enforces a
right, imposes a
penalty, or makes some other
court order to impose its will. In
Commonwealth common law jurisdictions and related jurisdictions (e.g. the
United States), the law of remedies distinguishes between a legal remedy (e.g. a specific amount of monetary
damages) and an
equitable remedy (e.g.
injunctive relief or
specific performance). Another type of remedy is
declaratory relief, where a court determines the rights of the parties to an
action without awarding damages or ordering equitable relief.
In
English and American
jurisprudence, there is a
legal maxim that
for every right, there is a remedy. That is, lawmakers claim to provide appropriate remedies to protect rights. This legal maxim was first enunciated by
William Blackstone: "It is a settled and invariable principle in the laws of
England, that every right when with-held must have a remedy, and every injury it’s [sic] proper redress."