W.A. Wilson Memorial Lecture 2026

The Edinburgh Centre for Private Law presents

The W.A. Wilson Memorial Lecture: “The Enforceability Gap: Redeeming the Non-Charitable Purpose Trust”, to be delivered by Professor Lusina Ho, University of Hong Kong.

We are delighted to invite you to join us for this year’s W A Wilson Memorial Lecture, delivered by Professor Lusina Ho, Professor in Trusts and Equity, Faculty of Law, University of Hong Kong.

Non-charitable purpose trusts (NCPTs) have long been viewed with suspicion, primarily due to anxieties regarding their enforceability. Yet, these concerns have not deterred offshore jurisdictions from recognising such trusts to attract private wealth. Whilst Scotland is reconsidering introducing NCPTs, a growing number of US states have adopted perpetual purpose trust legislation to enshrine the social missions of enterprises. This lecture critically assesses these diverging models, focusing on their enforcement mechanisms. Drawing on comparative insights from civil law foundations, it proposes a commercially viable model for the non-charitable purpose trust that ensures adequate accountability.

Lusina Ho is Harold Hsiao-Wo Lee Professor in Trust and Equity at The University of Hong Kong. She has taught and published widely on trusts (including comparative trusts with a focus on Chinese trusts), equity, and unjust enrichment. She serves on the editorial boards for the Journal of Equity and the Oxford Journal of Legal Studies and is a judge at the Trust and Fiduciary Relations Court of the Republic of San Marino. She has advised the governments of the People’s Republic of China and Hong Kong SAR regarding the enactment and reform of trust legislation. Recently, she successfully persuaded the Hong Kong SAR Government to establish a public trust service for individuals with special needs.

WA (Bill) Wilson (1928-1994) taught law at the University of Edinburgh from 1960 until his death in 1994 at the age of 65. From 1972 onwards he was the Lord President Reid Professor of Law. His academic interests were exceptionally wide. A memoir of Bill Wilson forms the first chapter of a series of essays which were published in his memory: see Hector L MacQueen (ed), "Scots Law into the 21st Century: Essays in Honour of WA Wilson" (1996).

This lecture will be followed by a reception.

This event is free and open to all but registration is required.

Know what’s Happening Next — before everyone else does.

Get App

Host or Publisher Edinburgh Law School, University of Edinburgh