In the fiction of law there is always equity; a legal fiction is always consistent with equity.

Explanation

(English-origin maxim.) Every legal fiction must be grounded in equity — the fiction exists to serve fairness, and the moment it produces inequitable results, it ceases to be a legitimate instrument of law.

Where this applies

• A legal fiction treats a child born abroad to citizen parents as if born on domestic soil — this fiction serves equity by not punishing a child for where the birth happened to occur.
• A court uses the fiction of "relation back" to treat a later-filed amendment as if it were filed on the original date, so a party isn't unfairly barred by a technicality.
• The law fictionally treats a deed delivered into escrow as already delivered to the grantee for purposes of protecting the grantee's rights — the fiction exists to prevent injustice, not to create it.