in æquali jure

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

1. In equal right: said of persons having conflicting claims of apparently equal validity. In such a case the maxim of the law is that the position of the defendant is superior—that is to say, whichever claim is asserted by legal proceedings is to be treated as inferior to the other, because he who takes legal proceedings against another has the burden of showing a better right than his adversary has.