This book is aimed at LLB students in Scotland studying property, trusts and succession.

This paper was delivered in Edinburgh on 19 October 1996, at a conference on constructive trusts sponsored by the Scottish Law Commission, the University of Strathclyde and the University of Edinburgh. The first part, which appears in this issue, deals with the nature of the constructive trust, and raises the question of whether it in fact exists in Scots law, and, if it does, to what extent and to what effect. The view arrived at is that it does exist, though only at the margin. It is argued that the doctrine is an unhelpful one and can be productive of injustice. In the second part, which will appear in Issue 3 of Volume 1, possibilities for law reform are examined.

One of the central questions in any attempt to study the history of trust must be the extent of English influence. It is a question of considerable difficulty, which is discussed in this chapter. The origins of the trust remain uncertain, and while it must be presumed that English law had some influence — the adoption of the English name is suggestive — the evidence does not support the theory of anything like a reception of English trust law, and, indeed, it is hard to prove any substantial degree of English influence before about the middle of the nineteenth century, by which time the institution had long been established.

DOI:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198267782.003.0012