International and Commercial Trusts Law (LAWS0328)

This module is a study of the use of trusts in the modern world of private estate planning and commercial transactions.

YouTube Widget Placeholderhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1VMuN-aO2aQ&list=PLu5fzN_S4dA1iwG9XGCyVO...

Part I of the module covers the modern law of private trusts, that is, the use of the trust in managing family wealth, with a particular focus on legal developments in the ‘offshore world’.

Part II covers the use of the trust in a variety of commercial transactions.

This is an advanced trusts course and students must previously have studied the law of trusts in a common law jurisdiction in order to enrol. The module will appeal most strongly to students with an interest in trusts law, but it will also appeal to students with an interest in commercial law and litigation students who want to take an advanced private law course.

The module has been designed to sit alongside the modules on Restitution of Unjust Enrichment and on Commercial Remedies, and in years when these modules are run, students can take any combination of the three in conjunction without any significant repetition of material.

Each week, students are expected to read cases, textbook chapters and articles for class discussion and/or to prepare answers to questions to be discussed in class. The teaching style is interactive: students are expected to ask and answer questions, make their own points, and debate issues with each other as well as the module teachers.

By the end of the module, students should have:

• a solid understanding of the way that the trust device is used to manage family wealth and the various functions it may perform, such as to protect assets;

• a solid grasp of the issues that arise in respect of controlling trustees’ powers, the rights of the objects of trusts, and the question of the extent to which the law facilitates the intentions of the settlors of trusts;

• a solid understanding of the use of trusts in several types of commercial transaction, and the differences that may exist between the rights, powers, and duties of trustees of commercial trusts as opposed to their family trust counterparts;

• a sophisticated appreciation of the conceptual questions raised by the trust and the different ways in which those questions have been addressed.

Module syllabus

• Introduction: Modern Trusts Drafting
• Massively Discretionary Trusts and Offshore Trust Jurisdictions
• Reservation of Powers, ‘Illusory Trusts’ and the Sham Doctrine
• Protectors
• Letters of Wishes and Beneficiaries’ Rights to Information
• Exemption Clauses and Mandatory Trustee Duties
• Arbitration Clauses and ‘No Contest’ Clauses
• Private Purpose Trusts
• Trusts in Private International Law
• Trusts in the Commercial Context: Introduction
• Quistclose Trusts
• Trusts and Intermediated Holding of Securities
• Trusts and Bonds
• Occupational Pension Schemes

Recommended materials

There is no textbook that covers the whole module. Success in the course requires a good understanding of key principles of trusts law, and so looking at a suitable trusts text will be helpful preparation for the course. Where reference is often made in the readings to a trusts text, the text to be used will be:

• Hayton, McFarlane and Mitchell on the Equity and Trusts (15th edn, 2022)

Module reading lists and other module materials will be provided via online module pages, available at the beginning of term once students have enrolled.

Preliminary reading

None is required, but if you want to refresh your existing knowledge of trusts before starting the module, you could look at a trusts textbook, e.g. Hayton, McFarlane and Mitchell which is listed above.

Key information