Hybrid | Understanding Equitable Property: More Complex than ABC?
21 November 2024, 6:00 pm–7:00 pm
This lecture will be delivered by Professor Ben McFarlane, as part of the Current Legal Problems Lecture Series 2024-25
Event Information
Open to
- All
Organiser
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UCL Laws
Speaker: Professor Ben Mcfarlane (University of Oxford)
Chair: Lord Briggs of Westbourne
About the lecture
In his seminal Yale Law Journal articles, Hohfeld presented his general analysis of legal relations as a means to shed light on the much-discussed question of "the essential nature of trusts and other equitable interests". Over one hundred years later, that question is still fiercely debated, not least because its resolution has important practical effects, as shown by decisions such as Akers v Samba and Byers v Saudi National Bank in the UK Supreme Court and Carter Holt Harvey v Commonwealth of Australia in the High Court of Australia. In this lecture, it will be argued that, whilst significant progress has recently been made, our efforts to understand equitable property have been limited by a focus on three-party examples (as where A holds on trust for B and then transfers the trust property to C) which present a misleadingly simple picture. As Hohfeld noted, the search should be for "the right kind of simplicity" and understanding the power of equitable property requires us to look beyond such examples.
- About the speaker
Professor Ben McFarlane has written widely in the law of equity, the law of property, and the law of obligations. He is Professor of English Law at the University of Oxford, and a Fellow of St John's College, Oxford. He was a Professor of Law at University College London from 2012-2019. His 2008 book, 'The Structure of Property Law', set out a distinctive model for understanding equitable property and he will develop that model in this lecture.
- About Current Legal Problems
The Current Legal Problems (CLP) lecture series and annual volume was established over fifty five years ago at the Faculty of Laws, University College London and is recognised as a major reference point for legal scholarship.
- Book your place
You can attend this event in-person at UCL Faculty of Laws (Bentham House, 4-8 Endsleigh Gardens, London WC1H 0EG) or alternatively you can join via a live stream.
Please make sure you choose the correct ticket when booking your place.
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