Foreword to the Third Edition

 

Equity and Trusts, to many lawyers including myself, is sometimes regarded as

a difficult subject with many of its concepts and principle having their origins

dating back many decades or even centuries ago. These concepts and principles

are often controversial and not easy to grasp. One would have to spend long hours trying to understand what they mean and how they are applied. This was especially the case in the days when there were not too many reference books on the subject.

 

With increasing complicity in commercial, financial and property transactions and matrimonial assets disputes, equitable principles have become more widely invoked and equitable remedies more frequently granted by the courts.  In areas such as breach of fiduciary duty, undue influence, constructive and resulting trusts, modern equity has rapidly developed in recent years through important decisions in many common law jurisdictions as well as in the courts of Hong Kong. It is therefore more necessary than before for practitioners and judges to have access to books which can serve not only as a ready reference in looking for an answer to a particular issue, but also as an up-to-date source of materials for more serious research.

 

Mr. Lawrence Ma’s Equity and Trust Law in Hong Kong is a work which can meet such a need.  It is, I believe, one of the major (if not the only major) Hong Kong reference books on the subject.

 

This admirable work, now in its third edition, continues to be an extremely useful treatise on equity and trusts to local practitioners and judges.  It contains all the important topics in this area of the law, with elaborate exposition of the relevant concepts and principles, supported by cases decided I England, Australis, Hong Kong and other common law courts.  It is comprehensively researched and presented in a clear and systematic way, tracing the origin and history of the relevant equitable principles, followed by discussions on the more recent authorities and academic articles and commentaries with the author’s own analysis.  This mode of presentation enables the reader to more easily understand the fundamental principles of the law, their application and development, especially in the Hong Kong context.  It is a very helpful guide for practitioners and judges.

 

 

 

Patrick Chan

Non Permanent Judge

Court of Final Appeal

September 2014