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Trusts Law in the Asia-Pacific Region (LAWS90230)
Graduate courseworkPoints: 12.5On Campus (Parkville)
About this subject
Contact information
October
Lecturer
Ying Liew (Coordinator)
Email: law-masters@unimelb.edu.au
Phone: 13 MELB (13 6352), International: +(61 3) 9035 5511
Website: law.unimelb.edu.au
Overview
| Availability(Quotas apply) | October |
|---|---|
| Fees | Look up fees |
It is well-known that the trust is a significant device that provides the foundation for a wide range of domestic and commercial arrangements in common law jurisdictions. Trusts law is also flourishing in the Asia-Pacific region: with a rich diversity of legal traditions, cultures, and history, the trust has been (and is being) used in an increasing variety of ways to meet a range of different needs. However, the existence, influence, and development of trusts law in Asia are under-discussed.
This subject explores, from theoretical and practical perspectives, the influence and potential of trusts law across the Asia-Pacific region. The subject begins by exploring the rationales and benefits of a comparative study of trusts law in Asia-Pacific. It traces the history of trusts law diffusion in both common law and non-common law jurisdictions across the region, and considers how trusts law has been used to regulate customary/religious property-holding forms. In doing so, the subject critically assesses the (re)conceptualisation of the trust undertaken by non-common law jurisdictions in order to transplant the trust. The subject then considers the reach of constructive and resulting trusts in Asia-Pacific, before moving on to examine the different uses of the trust in the region — in the family context, in the commercial context, as well as a financial product in offshore and mid-shore jurisdictions. Finally, it discusses the private international law perspective, focusing on the issue of choice of law.
Principal topics will include:
- Comparative trusts law in the Asia-Pacific region
- Trusts Diffusion in the Asia-Pacific region
- Trusts and customary/religious property-holding forms
- Civil law and mixed traditions in the Asia-Pacific region, and conceptions of the trust
- Constructive and resulting trusts in the Asia-Pacific region
- Trusts in the family context
- Trusts in the commercial context
- Offshore and mid-shore jurisdictions
- Private international law: choice of law
Intended learning outcomes
A student who has successfully completed this subject will understand, appreciate, and be able to explain the significance of:
- The differences between common law and civil law traditions in the Asia-Pacific region and how they impact on the reception of the trust;
- The historical reception of the trust in Asia-Pacific;
- How trusts law has been used or adapted to address issues in the family, commercial, and customary/religious contexts, as well as a financial product;
- The applicability of constructive and resulting trusts in the region; and
- Choice of law issues surrounding trusts in the Asia-Pacific region.
Generic skills
- An appreciation of the inherent character, flexibility, and limits of trusts law from an Asian-Pacific perspective;
- An ability to identify, understand, and critically evaluate how trusts law facilitates certain domestic and commercial transactions and its limitations;
- An understanding of how the trust interacts with customary or religious property-holding forms;
- An ability critically to analyse the desirability of incorporating, developing, and transplanting aspects of the trust in Asia-Pacific;
- An appreciation of cross-border issues that arise in Asia-Pacific in relation to trusts; and
- Skills in the application of the comparative method.
Last updated: 20 June 2024