This book is concerned with the development of the trust idea in common law jurisdictions, whether mainland or offshore, and in civil law jurisdictions. While trusts are important for preserving family wealth and influence, over ninety per cent of the value of trust funds is found in commercial or financial trusts, about which little has been written. It is interest in the latter type of trust that is likely to lead to the development of the trust idea in European mainland jurisdictions, especially as the economic destinies of European jurisdictions become increasingly intertwined and as the Hague Convention on the Recognition of Trusts comes to be implemented. In this volume the work of leading trust scholars in Canada, England, the USA, Germany and Japan is brought together to explore key issues in trust law, until now not covered in any single resource: the full elasticity of the trust concept; the variety and significance of commercial or financial trusts; the scope for reforming trust law in various jurisdictions to make it more economically efficient in assisting in the preservation and generation of wealth; the potential for the development of a core trust concept in civil law jurisdictions as a special part of the law of obligations, without any need to create equitable proprietary interests in favour of beneficiaries. Modern International Developments in Trust Law will be of interest not only to academic trust lawyers and comparative lawyers, but to common law and civil law practitioners, whether interested in taking advantage of foreign trust laws, or in developing in their local jurisdictions new ideas obtained from foreign jurisdictions.

Rev. versions of papers originally presented at a conference held on Jan. 6-7, 1996 in Cambridge, U.K.

The settlor : reserved powers and private trust companies -- Beneficial interests : protection, forfeiture, and trust termination -- Disclosure of information to the eneficiaries and letters of wishes -- Trustees' dispositive powers and discretionary trusts -- The rule in Hastings-Bass, mistake, and rectification -- Trustee exemption clauses -- Trustee liability to third parties -- Trustees' remuneration, expenses, and indemnity -- Directed trusts and delegated trusts -- Protectors -- Firewall legislation -- Asset protection trusts -- Non-charitable purpose trusts -- Trusts without equity -- Quistclose trusts

'The Principles of Equity and Trusts' brings an engaging contextual approach to the subject. Graham Virgo overcomes the complex issues in the study of trusts and equity with unparalleled clarity, offering a rigorous and insightful commentary on the law and its contemporary contexts.

The reception of the trust in civil law jurisdictions has generated considerable conceptual debate internationally and in East Asia. In Trust Law in Asian Civil Law Jurisdictions, the authors: • Provide a detailed comparative examination of trust laws in Asian civil law jurisdictions from both operational and theoretical perspectives • Discuss the reception of the trust laws in Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and China and the challenges facing them • Engage in in-depth comparative inquiries as to how these Asian legal systems resolve questions pertaining to the trust • Evaluate the distinctive features of Asian trusts and how they are moulded to suit the civilian legal frameworks within which they are situated. The analysis intersects with the Trento trust project in Europe, but also differs from it by providing valuable perspectives of the 'Asian' approaches to trust researchers in Asia and the Anglophone world at large.

A comprehensive, up-to-date material source offering comparison and analysis of trust laws concerned with major jurisdictions across the globe. Contains a digest of trust laws for each of the jurisdictions; considers special issues of related interest to the international trust practitioner and features the complete text of the trust statutes of jurisdictions.

It is unusual, in the precise world of law, to find instances of where ‘near enough is good enough’. This book explores when this is possible, referring to property and monetary transfers, under the increasingly important and influential cy-près doctrine. The doctrine decrees that, when literal compliance is impossible or infeasible, the intention of a donor or testator should be carried out ‘as nearly as possible’. Over the past thirty years, this doctrine has marched into other legal territory where ‘as near as possible’ is also considered sufficient, such as in class actions litigation and under non-charitable trusts. Discussing and analyzing key developments across the Commonwealth jurisdictions and the USA, this book considers whether there is a new and overarching definition which can be attributed to the cy-près doctrine. It asks whether there is a doctrinal symmetry of analysis that truly renders it a body of ‘cy-près law’ in the modern context and whether the doctrine can be expected to play an even greater role in the future. This book is of interest to researchers and practitioners working in trusts and charity law, property law, contract law, and class actions jurisprudence.