Unit name | Law of Personal Property and Trusts |
---|---|
Unit code | LAWDM0074 |
Credit points | 30 |
Level of study | M/7 |
Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 4 (weeks 1-24) |
Unit director | Professor. Chris Willmore |
Open unit status | Not open |
Pre-requisites |
None |
Co-requisites |
None |
School/department | University of Bristol Law School |
Faculty | Faculty of Social Sciences and Law |
This Unit explores the core principles of English personal property law, with its primary focus being on the law of trusts. Though broadly doctrinal in focus, it will also expose the development of those principles, the policies that have driven their development, and practical operation, as well as the future scope for law reform in the area. The unit will cover the following topics: the nature of and distinctions between: property and possession, law and equity, trusts and other concepts such as debt bailment and, powers; the creation of express trusts; charitable trusts and the doctrine of cy-pres; non-charitable purpose trusts, including unincorporated associations, Re Denley-type trusts; operation and management of trusts; including statutory powers and duties of trustees in relation to investment and delegation;the nature of fiduciary obligations; breach of trust and remedies available at common law and in equity as against both trustees and third parties; the theoretical basis of resulting and constructive trusts. The Unit will develop student's skills in common law method (case-law and statutory interpretation), in research (involving both paper and electronic resources), and in multiple-issue problem-solving.
After completing the unit, students will be able to:
This unit also ensures that students develop skills of problem-solving in this field of study.
This unit is taught by way of 20-30 lectures, 10 two-hour seminars and 2 assessment preparation and feedback sessions. Lectures are delivered jointly to students on the related undergraduate unit.
Summative: a 2000 word essay (33%) will assess the candidate's ability to research a topic within the scope of this unit. The remaining Intended Learning Outcomes will be assessed in a 3 hour written examination (67%). Both assessments will assess all of the Intended Learning Outcomes for this unit in the context of topics selected by the examiners.
Formative: students should do one formative assessment (this will usually be 1 x 1500 word essay).
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