© The Author (2008). Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved.
Editorial |
Editorial
*Tony Molloy QC, Shortland Chambers, 13/70 Shortland Street, PO Box 4338, Auckland. Email: apmolloyqc@shortlandchambers.co.nz
Toby Graham, Partner and Head of Contentious Trusts and Estates, Farrer & Co, 66 Lincoln's Inn Fields, London WC2A 3LH, Email: TBG@farrer.co.uk
| The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below. |
Which court should assume jurisdiction over an international trust dispute, where trustees, beneficiaries, settlor and trust property are located in different jurisdictions? The courts of the overpaid beneficiary's domicile might be an obvious answer. But, what if the law of that beneficiary's domicile does not recognize the trust concept? The courts of the domicile of one of the trustees might be another answer. But what if its judgments are not enforceable in other relevant jurisdictions—such as where the overpaid beneficiary is domiciled and the country of incorporation of the company in which the trust hold shares. The courts of the law governing the trust might be the solution. Claimant beneficiaries brought an action before the High Court in England in Gomez v Gomez-Monche Vives [2008] EWHC 259 (Ch). They sought to found jurisdiction upon the Judgments Regulation, which contains a special jurisdiction in relation to trusts—Article 5(6)—conferring jurisdiction over a