Jersey Law of Trusts 4th Edition by Harriet Brown

Written by on 16/01/2014 17:38

Book review:  Edward Buckland , November 2013

 It is said that good things come to those who wait, and, as almost 20 years have passed since the previous edition of The Jersey Law of Trusts, the wait for this particular work has been considerable.

A simple update of what had gone before would have been extremely welcome; however, Harriet Brown has not contented herself with such a task, arduous though that would have been. She has definitely placed her imprint upon the edition while, as she acknowledges, building on the strong foundations left by Messrs Matthews and Sowden.

Moreover, the author has extended the references to Jersey case law and removed many of the historical references to English precedents. This has been done to point out that the Jersey Trust Law will be interpreted according to Jersey law principles where, of course, Jersey case law will be the most relevant. The author also takes the opportunity to update the book to cover those four amendments referred to above.

Wisely, the author has decided to keep the basic framework set out by Matthews and Sowden. That means the Jersey Trust Law is analysed under helpful and logical headings such as ‘Beneficiaries’, ‘Trustees’ and ‘Powers and Duties of Trustees’. It also means every article of the Jersey Trust Law is explored using a combination of the author’s own analysis and reference to appropriate case law.

When one adds to this the knowledge that amendment number seven is already actively under discussion, which will probably address the possibility of giving the court the power to vary a trust a la s47

of the Bermuda Trustee Act 1975, and considers the plethora of cases that continue to pour forth, one can only hope that the fifth edition of The Jersey Law of Trusts will be with us a little sooner than in another 20 years.

As ever with such a work, the author cannot be expected to cover every nook and cranny, although it is a shame that recent judgments on litigation funding in trust actions do not merit a mention. Most of these may have occurred after the book went to print, but they are a rich vein of jurisprudence that will become more important in the years to come, not just in Jersey but beyond.

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Article reproduced on the Key Haven Website by courtesy of STEP