In the cutthroat capital markets, what’s “fair” is too often what you can get away with. However, upholding the principle of fair play is critical to investor confidence and, fortunately, that concept still has its defenders.

First, in the Ontario Superior Court, Justice Colin Campbell risked derailing the apparent resolution of the asset-backed commercial paper market’s paralysis when he declined to rule on the proposed plan crafted by Purdy Crawford and his committee.

In Campbell’s decision, he indicated that he could not approve the proposed deal because he didn’t believe its plan to prevent investors from making fraud claims against the firms that created and sold the ABCP could be considered fair and reasonable. The proposal also may not comply with bankruptcy laws, he suggested.

Instead of simply rubber-stamping a hard-won deal for expediency’s sake, he sent the two sides away. They were due to return to the court by May 30, hopefully with an acceptable deal in hand.

Not long after this decision was handed down, a Quebec appeal court shocked the Street when it imperiled the planned buyout of telecommunications giant BCE Inc., ruling that the firm’s directors hadn’t given sufficient consideration to the interests of its bondholders in making the deal.

Again, large, powerful players failed to get their way in court — although they may yet have their day on appeal — and the Quebec judges have stood up for what they believe to be fair, despite the fact that their ruling threatens to kill one of the largest private-equity buyouts in history.

Judges aren’t the only ones standing up for fairness; investment bankers may even be doing it, too. According to reports, Goldman Sachs Inc. is threatening to leave an influential bankers’ trade group over the lobby group’s new-found opposition to fair value accounting.

The group claims that fair value accounting has helped to deepen the turmoil in the credit markets this year. But this theory doesn’t wash with some market-watchers, who point out that bankers were only too happy to use fair value accounting methods to boost profits when asset prices were rising.

Apparently, this hypocrisy is proving too much for Goldman Sachs, which may walk away from the group over the issue.

Stands such as this may not be popular on Bay Street, but markets work best when they are seen to be both fair and efficient.