Profili del trust nel diritto inglese: uno studio per fattispecie

Some aspects of the English trust It is an accepted fact that the English common law has long been characterized by the historical presence of one peculiar institute, mostly unknown to many other European legal systems. Actually, trust has been at the centre of the scene for almost 800 years, even if with different names and functions. But it cannot be denied that its weight has always been felt in all fields of private law and occasionally of criminal law when a fiduciary relationship, such as that originated by the institution of a trust, has been breached, resulting in the illegal possession by the trustee of funds due to the beneficiary. This essay moves from a case-law perspective, in that it looks at the various dimensions of trust as it has been developing over the years before the Courts and in the eye of the legal doctrine. Numerous examples are scrutinized in an attempt to elucidate what can be deemed to be the common features of trust and to find out if, and any, peculiar forms of it should be taken as autonomous representations of a general phenomenon capable of generating as many peculiar rules. So, a vast number of specific trusts are taken into account following their judicial paths in order to attribute to each of them the appropriate remedial treatment in case of their misuse. A very close look is given at the most alarming and perturbing factor happening to surround trust, i.e. its breach by the trustee. Furthermore, the classification of trusts seems to be an element of paramount importance, especially as it allows jurists from all systems to categorize the instances when a trust may be said to have arisen, independently on its formal institution. The overall result which the study has been aimed at is to try and offer as quite a reliable means to understand the mystery of trust also on the part of civil lawyers hardly at ease with its intricacies and yet so often fascinated by its everlasting success.