The state of the art of comparative research in the area of trusts

Trusts probably represent the instrument common lawyers have always been most proud of, frequently referring to it as their greatest achievement and their most original creation. Equally, trusts are probably the legal creation of which civil lawyers have been most ‘envious’. It is therefore not surprising that trusts have been the subject of comparative studies at least since the point in time from which comparative law is regarded as having established itself as an autonomous discipline. This chapter seeks to explore how comparative research, in common law, civil law and mixed legal jurisdictions, has engaged with the study of trusts and what the scope, the purposes and the methodological approaches of the enquiry have been. In doing so, it attempts to shed light on the achievements as well as on the shortcomings of the research in this field. It will argue that while comparative studies have gone a long way towards aiding the understanding of trusts, there is more to be done in an area of the law still fraught with some misconceptions and which holds an enormous potential for further development.