The Duties of Trustees in Comparative Perspective

(2016), 24 European Review of Private Law 1031-1052

18 Pages Posted: 26 May 2016 Last revised: 20 Jan 2017

See all articles by Lionel Smith

Lionel Smith

Downing Professor of the Laws of England

Date Written: May 25, 2015

Abstract

The new Czech Civil Code includes a trust that was inspired in part by the trust of Quebec law. In this paper, I aim to provide a comparative overview of the duties of trustees, looking at their conceptual organization and their strictness, as well as the extent to which such duties are mandatory or can be altered by private legal act. The paper begins with an overview of trustees’ duties in the common law, emphasizing those characteristics that are particular to the law of trusts, and then compares these with the civil law of Quebec. It concludes with some brief comments on the law of the Czech Republic.

Keywords: trusts, comparative law, common law, civil law, loyalty, fiduciary, duty of care, duty of prudence

JEL Classification: K00, K11, K19, K30, K40

Suggested Citation

Smith, Lionel, The Duties of Trustees in Comparative Perspective (May 25, 2015). (2016), 24 European Review of Private Law 1031-1052, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2784282 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2784282

Lionel Smith (Contact Author)

Downing Professor of the Laws of England ( email )

10 West Road
Cambridge, CB3 9DZ
United Kingdom

HOME PAGE: http://www.law.cam.ac.uk/people/academic/d-smith/83102

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