The eight papers commented on in this PhD by Publication summarise my analysis of the experience of trusts in legal systems that do not belong to the common law tradition and do not include equity among their sources of law. The English trust has some peculiar features which cannot be replicated outside of the common law tradition. Nevertheless, the importance of trusts for the financial system and society in general has led a number of civil law jurisdictions to “import” the instrument into their legal systems. This has happened in four main ways: (a) natural development (in Scotland), (b) private international law instruments (mainly the Hague Trusts Convention), (c) special legislation, and (d) trust-like arrangement such as private foundations. Some legal traditions outside of the common law environment, such as Islamic law, have developed legal arrangements that achieve many of the functions traditionally performed by trusts in England and in the common law jurisdictions. An example is the Islamic vakf which – it is suggested - may be reproduced under a suitably drafted Cyprus international trust. Another legal arrangement that has been traditionally used as an equivalent of the trust in several civil law jurisdictions is the private foundation. Its appeal to international families has led to a recent transplant of this legal entity under the newly enacted legislation of many common law jurisdictions. Contrary to a received opinion, under the traditional model of private foundations in the civil law jurisdictions where the entity was originally developed, it is not possible to create it for a purpose that does not translate into identified or identifiable beneficiaries. This approach is similar to the “beneficiary principle” under English trust law which determines the invalidity of most non-chartable purpose trusts. A review of the legislation addressing this issue concludes the thesis.
Trusts Without Equity: A Comparative and Transnational Perspective
Panico, P. (Author). 2 Jul 2025
Student thesis: Doctoral Thesis