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Clean hands, sometimes called the
clean hands doctrine or the
dirty hands doctrine, is an
equitable defense in which the
defendant argues that the
plaintiff is not entitled to obtain an
equitable remedy because the plaintiff is acting
unethically or has acted in
bad faith with respect to the subject of the
complaint—that is, with "unclean hands". The defendant has the
burden of proof to show the plaintiff is not acting in good faith. The doctrine is often stated as "those seeking equity must do equity" or "equity must come with clean hands". This is a matter of protocol, characterised by
A. P. Herbert in
Uncommon Law by his fictional Judge Mildew saying (as Herbert says, "less elegantly"), "A dirty dog will not have justice by the court".
