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When truth and fairness are different from what is law，better it is to follow truth and fairness.
——Bandamanna Saga，Chapter 6
Fairness，a fundamental notion，is something which human beings instinctively understand.It is also something they expect and passionately speak up and fight for.
Whether it is in a children’s playground，a corporate battlefield or an international territorial dispute，one expects dealings to be fair.
What does the word “fair” mean？ Definitions typically talk about treating people equally，and without favouritism or discrimination.Some mention “right”，“just” and “equitable”.
In my view，the three words “fair”，“just” and “equitable”，so far as law is concerned，can be used interchangeably.A small caveat is that “equitable” is sometimes used in connection with where the law came from.Historically，in England，case law came from the common law courts.Later，courts of equity（previously called the courts of chancery） were started to provide remedies not available in the common law courts （e.g.requiring that a specific act be performed instead of awarding damages），and these courts also made law.A legal principle coming from the courts of equity is called an equitable principle.For instance，in contract law，compensation is a common law remedy （originating from the common law courts） while specific performance is an equitable remedy（emanating from the courts of equity）.
Some definitions of “fair” even include the terms “honest” or “reasonable”.As mentioned in the earlier chapter，there is an overlap of the three basic notions of fair，reasonable and honest.
So it seems fairness is a concept we all understand but struggle to define precisely.But it is a handy concept and a yardstick which is often used.
The 2008 Global Financial Crisis seems a memory away，but at the time，the effect was devastating.The regulatory response in the UK （and several other countries） was the declaration of a philosophy or culture of TCF — Treat Customers Fairly.Based on the idea of fairness，the regulators identified Desired Outcomes such as informed decision and product suitability，and elaborated upon them through detailed guidelines.
In the arena of professional football （or soccer），smaller clubs often complain of the uphill challenge of competing against clubs with huge financial resources.In Europe，the UEFA （Union of European Football Associations）response was to lay down Financial Fair Play Regulations，which seek，among other things，to curb excessive expenditure in buying players.The NBA （National Basketball Association in the US） has an interesting system of selecting new players coming out of college.Priority of selection is based on the weakness （of performance） of the teams，which sounds rather enlightened and inherently fair.（Of course，there might be some self-interest on the part of NBA — more even teams make the games more enjoyable to watch.）
In the field of consumer protection，many countries have specific legislation which target undesirable conduct by businesses，calling it “unfair practice”.Unfair practice concerns the vulnerability of the consumer，in that he is unable to protect himself or is unable to understand the transaction or its terms.Conceptually as well as practically，this is serious protection indeed.
In Chapter 6，I mentioned that notions of justice are often used in combination.The inclusion of another notion may or may not add any substance to the legal principle.To illustrate，in the tort of negligence，a duty to take care will not be imposed if it is not “fair，just and reasonable” to do so.As mentioned earlier，fair and just mean the same thing and so，frankly，one of the terms is extra or unnecessary.Reasonable，in contrast，introduces a different concept —that of doing what other people would do （see Chapter 8）.
In a similar vein，the validity of an exclusion clause （a contract clause whereby one party seeks to exclude his liability when he does not perform or when he breaks a term of the contract） is subject to the controls of fairness as well as reasonableness.An exclusion clause is valid only if it is fair and reasonable.
The addition of a second notion may also be an elaboration.For example，in the expression “free and fair election”，the idea is that for an election to be fair，it is critical that the voters are free to vote as they wish.If voters were being coerced or inappropriately enticed，then they were not free to choose and the election would not be fair.
Yet another example is the interesting defence to defamation called “fair comment”.Originally，the law was crafted so as to require both fairness and honesty — a fair comment is one which a fair-minded commentator could honestly make.There is a need for the commentator to be fair as well as to be honest.In some countries，the law has evolved to requiring honesty alone.In the UK，for example，the defence is now known as “honest opinion”.
The expression “true and fair view”，which is used in relation to the auditing of financial accounts，is more debatable.Do we have here a combination of different concepts or are they similar concepts，with one elaborating upon the other？ On one view，the primary notion is truth，or freedom from error，and the addition of fairness is necessary because in some situations，it is a matter of judgment whether it is permissible to present a matter in a certain way.For example，whether a particular purchase can be recognised as an expense rather than an asset.In this situation，the issue is not so much about truth but about fairness or，more loosely，appropriateness.
Law is established so that there may be order and justice in society.
And justice is，above all else，about fairness.