‘Trust purposes, beneficiaries and public policy’

Most English textbooks on trusts tend to contain a chapter or a section dedicated to the so-called ‘beneficiary principle’ as laid down in the seminal decision in Morice v Bishop of Durham. According to this principle, for a trust other than a charitable trust to be valid in England and Wales, there needs to be an ascertainable individual. The principal reason for this requirement seems to be that ‘there must be somebody, in whose favour the court can decree performance.’ But what is the situation in Scotland? While the Scottish Law Commission (SLC) has recently argued that there is no such requirement in Scots law, the answer to the question is far from straightforward. This talk aims to explore the reasons for that.
Speaker profile:, Lord President Reid Chair of Law
Event location
Moot Court Room
Old College
Image credit: Magnific