Trusts Law in the Asia-Pacific Region: Reflections and Lessons

Obligations Group Inaugural Public Lecture co-hosted with the Asian Law Centre

This lecture was presented by Professor Ying Khai Liew (Melbourne Law School) on 18 October 2023.

Trusts law is thriving in the Asia-Pacific region. This comes as no surprise: Asia-Pacific is the world’s most populous region with the fastest economic growth rate; and the trust is well-known for its significant contribution to societal stability and economic prosperity. However, little is known about the use and development of trusts law in the region: Asia-Pacific’s rich cultural, linguistic, and ideological diversity, not to mention its multiplicity of legal traditions, poses analytical and practical challenges for an inclusive and systematic region-wide analysis of trusts law.

Drawing on the pioneering project and book series “Asia-Pacific Trusts Law”, Professor Liew reflected on five unique lessons that the region can offer to trusts law scholarship and practice. He discussed the status of trusts law in the region; the nature of the trust and how it affects the transplantation of trusts; the dimensions of the trust and how jurisdictions utilise them; constructive and resulting trusts; and choice of law rules for trusts.

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