The Hague Trusts Convention

Scope, Application and Preliminary Issues

Professor Jonathan Harris author

Format:Hardback

Publisher:Bloomsbury Publishing PLC

Published:4th May '02

Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back

The Hague Trusts Convention cover

Trusts cross borders. When they do,real difficulties may arise. Will the understanding of what a trust is be different in a foreign state? Will the rights, powers and duties of the trustee and settlor be the same? What rights will the beneficiary be able to assert? To what extent will the trust assets be safe from the claims of creditors, forced heirs, or third parties? Which legal system will be applied to the trust? Within what limits? What if the trust needs to be recognised in a state which does not have the institution of the trust in its domestic law? The Hague Trusts Convention, enacted into English law by the Recognition of Trusts Act 1987, seeks to ameliorate the situation by providing harmonised choice of law rules for "trusts created voluntarily and evidenced in writing." It also provides for the recognition of trusts in Contracting States. Those Contracting States should recognise the trust, even if they do not have the institution in their domestic law. This book is the first published in England to devote itself to a detailed analysis of the Convention. It is aimed at academics and practitioners; at private international lawyers and at trust lawyers. Frequent reference is made to the position in civil law states (especially in the Contracting States of Italy and the Netherlands) and in other trust states, both offshore and onshore. The Hague Trusts Convention deals with the operation of the trust itself. It does not deal with the preliminary steps needed to create a trust. These preliminary matters raise highly complex and uncharted choice of law issues. Detailed discussion of these matters is also provided, and appropriate solutions suggested.

The strength of Harris's book lies in the way he applies his deep knowledge of the substantive law of trusts in his detailed treatment of the Convention...Harris's book is a much needed comprehensive treatment of the Convention, which will be of great interest to both academics and practitioners dealing with trusts in an international setting. H.L.E. Verhagen, Nijmegen ZeuP January 2006 ...a welcome addition to the private international law literature, being the first detailed analysis of the Convention published in the UK...[an] erudite and lucidly written monograph. It deserves to be widely read. Jonathan Hill, University of Bristol Trusts and Trustees May 2002 Harris' book can be useful in helping to understand the law even in those countries where the convention is not going to enter into force. This is certainly all the merit of the author having written this excellent book. the book is not only useful for English lawyers - which is rather obvious - but also for practitioners in civil law systems. Michael Traest European Review of Private Law May 2003

ISBN: 9781841131108

Dimensions: 234mm x 156mm x 42mm

Weight: 990g

544 pages