LEGAL PRINCIPLE: CIVIL PROCEDURE – Injunctions – Legal Right Requirement
PRINCIPLE STATEMENT
It is a fundamental rule of law that the court will grant an injunction only to support or protect a legal right; if the applicant has no legal right recognised by law, there is no power to grant an injunction.
RATIO DECIDENDI (SOURCE)
"It is a fundamental rule of law that the court will grant an injunction only to support or protect a legal right. If the applicant has no legal right recognised by law, there is no power to grant an injunction."
EXPLANATION / SCOPE
Injunctions are equitable remedies protecting legal rights—they’re unavailable without an underlying legal right. “Legal right” means: right recognized and enforceable by law (contractual, proprietary, statutory, or constitutional), not mere commercial interests, expectations, or moral claims. Before granting injunction, courts must: identify the legal right claimed, determine whether it’s legally recognized, and assess whether it needs injunctive protection. Without established legal right: courts lack jurisdiction to grant injunctions, the application must fail regardless of other factors, and no equitable discretion exists to grant relief. This threshold requirement prevents: injunctions protecting non-legal interests, judicial overreach beyond legal rights, and using injunctions for improper purposes. Once legal right is established, courts then consider: whether injunction is appropriate remedy, balance of convenience, and other equitable factors. But without the foundational legal right, analysis proceeds no further—injunctions are remedies for legal wrongs, not tools for commercial advantage or protecting mere expectations.