Despite the common belief that they are found only in the common law tradition, trusts have long been known in certain mixed jurisdictions that have a civilian law of property. Trusts have now been introduced by legislation in a number of civilian jurisdictions, such as France and China. Other...

Common law doctrine states that although there are many similarities, the estate of a deceased person is not a trust. The doctrine is unclear, however, as to exactly what are the differences, or why they exist. This paper begins by explaining the conceptual differences between a common law...

Trusts law is infused with the presence of property. By itself, this is not a problem, but what is a problem is the elevated position that property has acquired in trusts law; it has gone from being merely descriptive to being prescriptive. That is, property is now a requirement, and without it...

This note considers the decision of the Irish High Court in Re Prendiville (1992) which dealt with the enforcement of half-secret trusts. It confirms, in a case where the point arose for decision, that Irish law rejects “the prior acceptance rule” favoured in the English cases. The judgment...

In Australia, it is often thought that the decision whether to impose a constructive trust invariably attracts the exercise of remedial discretion. This paper argues that, in reality, the exercise of discretion is highly circumscribed. Further, where such discretion is exercised, it is useful...

Malaysia, as a former British colony, has inherited much of its trusts law from the English. One notoriously difficult area of law is constructive trusts. Precisely when and why constructive trusts arise are fundamental but imperfectly understood matters. This is unfortunate, because the lack of...

Screening potential entrants is a major challenge to any system of immigration, and has become particularly salient in the Trump era. At bottom, the problem is one of information asymmetry, in which migrants hold private information as to their abilities and intentions. We propose a new approach...

What are the key factors that facilitate innovation and creativity? This chapter begins by challenging the traditional emphasis on IP rights as an incentive to innovate. While it is true, that IP rights provide for a much needed tool to protect creative ideas, we argue that a much more important...

This case note criticizes the decision of the Court of Appeal for England and Wales in FHR European Ventures LLP v Mankarious [2013] EWCA Civ 17 and argues for a new understanding of the no-profit rule in fiduciary law. The note was cited in the decision of the UK Supreme Court when it allowed...

This article considers the situation where a family home has been purchased in joint names, without any express declaration of the beneficial interests. The courts have interpreted the applicable equitable doctrines so as to make it very difficult for a defendant to resist a claim by his or her...