Workshop: A Research Agenda for Critical Trusts Law

Abstract

Critical trusts law is an emerging approach to trusts law that rejects purely doctrinal analysis in favour of a wider contextual vision. This vision incorporates theoretical and empirical scholarship from law and other disciplines in order to provide a counterweight to prevailing forces shaping the understanding and development of the law in this area.

This workshop will take the critical tradition forward by setting out a research agenda for trusts law that is particularly attuned to questions of social justice, exploring trusts law within 10 contexts that are becoming increasingly important in the contemporary theory and practice of the trust: the contribution of trusts to rising wealth inequality; the intersection of trusts with tax; the colonial and imperial legacies of the trust; the global context of modern trusts; the use of trusts in commerce and in financial markets; the use of trusts in family arrangements; the intersection of trusts with environmental, social and governance matters; the regulation of trusts beyond doctrinal understandings of accountability; the impact of technological developments on trusteeship; the normative basis of the trust.

The questions that this workshop will raise will be vital to consider for anyone conducting research in trusts law today. Contributions to the workshop will be published in the forthcoming book A Research Agenda for Critical Trusts Law (Edward Elgar, 2026).

Programme

The workshop will feature a distinguished group of international scholars whose expertise spans the full range of contemporary issues in trusts law. For the full programme, including all speakers and the running order, please click here.