Constructive Trusts

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 below, 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 the next issue, possibilities for law reform are examined.