Blessings: when worlds collide

Abstract

For over 100 years, the English Courts have entertained applications by trustees for directions, including to bless proposed “momentous” exercises of powers. Recently, this jurisdiction has extended through judicial decisions to corporate office-holders. The jurisdiction has received increasing scrutiny, not least in relation to the vexed question of immunity, resulting in the Court of Appeal’s recent decision in Denaxe Ltd v Cooper [2023] EWCA Civ 752, a case concerning Blackpool Football Club. This article considers the jurisdiction’s origins and expansion, before concluding that there are cogent reasons for its continued existence in relation to both trusts and the corporate sphere.