Isle Of Man
| Jurisdiction | United Kingdom |
| Pages | 435-456 |
| Author | John Rimmer |
26
ISLE OFMAN
John Rimmer
A. Jurisdiction 26.01
e Hague Convention on the Law
Applicable to Trusts and on eir
Recognition 1985 26.06
Conict of Laws Rules 26.09
Additional Conventions 26.10
B. Recognition and Enforcement of
Foreign Judgments and Orders 26.11
Statutory Reciprocal Enforcement
Provisions 26.11
Common Law Principles on Enforcement 26.15
Letters of Request 26.25
Mutual Legal Assistance Treaties 26.28
C. Reserved Powers 26.29
Trustees 26.30
Protectors 26.31
Sham 26.33
D. Asset Protection and Insolvency 26.35
Statutory Protection 26.35
Co- operation in Insolvency Matters 26.36
Winding- up of Companies 26.37
Bankruptcy 26.39
E. Removal and Retirement of Trustees
and Protectors 26.44
Court’s Power to Remove 26.44
Voluntary Retirement 26.50
Statutory Powers of Retirement and
Replacement 26.55
Indemnities 26.60
Protectors 26.62
F. R ights to Information 26.63
Condentiality Statutes 26.66
Statutory Rights to Information 26.68
G. Guidance to Trustees, Protectors,
or Enforcers 26.72
Statutory Provisions 26.72
Administration Actions 26.78
H. Involvement of Charitable Interests 26.80
Legislation 26.80
Position of the Attorney General 26.85
I. Alternative Dispute Resolution 26.87
J. Procedural Issues 26.92
Court Structure 26.92
Rules 26.93
e Local Bar 26.100
Representation and Capacity 26.103
Appea ls 26.107
K. Costs 26.109
L. C ases of Note 26.115
M. Special Legislation 26.116
Purpose Trusts 26.116
Private Trust Companies 26.119
Tax Information Exchange Laws 26.120
Varying Trusts 26.123
A. Jurisdiction
e Isle of Man is a British Crown Dependency but does not form (and has never formed)
part of the territory of the United Kingdom or its constituent members. Neither is the Isle of
Man a part of the European Union. It is in a common customs and immigration area with the
United Kingdom, which can lead to the local application of relevant legislation.
e Isle of Man has its own legislature, Tynwald, which is the world’s oldest continuous par-
liament. e Isle of Man also has its own legal system, with its own courts, applying the
common law of the Isle of Man and its statutes.
On rare occasion, the Parliament of the United Kingdom has legislated for the Isle of Man.
By convention, however, it does so only at the request, or with the consent, of the Manx
26.01
26.02
26.03
John Rimmer, Isle of Man In: International Trust Disputes. Second Edition. Edited by: Steven Kempster,
Morven McMillan, Alison Meek, Oxford University Press (2010). © Oxford University Press.
DOI: 10.1093/oso/9780198832737.003.0026
436 :
government. More usually, where the Isle of Man determines to apply UK law, it will either
pass its own original legislation or subordinate legislation giving eect to a UK Act with suit-
able amendments.
e key statutory provisions (and the English statutes from which they are derived) are the
Trustee Act 1961 (based on the Trustee Act 1925 and Trustee Investments Act 1961), the
Variation of Trusts Act 1961 (based on the Variation of Trusts Act 1958), and the Trustee
Act 2001 (based on the Trustee Act 2000). e Isle of Man is a common law jurisdiction
and Manx common law will generally follow English case law. In particular, decisions of the
Supreme Court and the Court of Appeal are deemed to be of ‘high persuasive authority’1 in
the Isle of Man.
The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council is the ultimate appellate court for the Isle
of Man, and its decisions on appeal from the Staff of Government Division (the Manx
appellate court) are of binding authority, and are reported in the Manx Law Reports
(‘MLR’).
e Hague Convention onthe Law Applicable toTrusts and oneir
Recognition1985
e Isle of Man is a party to the Hague Convention on the Law Applicable to Trusts and
on their Recognition.2 It is therefore possible to select Manx law to govern a trust. It is
also expressly provided that it is possible to change the governing law of a trust to or from
Manx law.3 is will generally depend (as it does under Manx law) on whether the terms
of the trust give power to change the governing law.4 In addition, in the case of a change of
governing law to Manx law, the purported change must also be recognized by the previous
governing law. In the case of a change from Manx law, the validity of the trust and the re-
spective rights or interests of the beneciaries or potential beneciaries must be recognized
by the new governing law.
It is thought that a Manx court would approach a challenge to a purported change from
Manx law in the same way as the court has done in Jersey.5
e Hague Convention lists a number of factors that are governed by the governing law of a
trust. Manx law goes a step further as regards the eect of a choice of Manx law to govern a
trust:where it is selected, not only are the matters in the Hague Convention covered by Manx
law, but, under its ‘rewall’ legislation, Manx law is extended to other matters,6 and foreign
law (and foreign orders designed to support them) are excluded.7
1 Frankland v R (1987– 1989) MLR 65 PC, per Lord Ackner.
2 Given eect in the Isle of Man by the Recognition of Trusts Act 1988 which came into force on 1 July 1989.
3 Trusts Act 1995, s 3.
4 See Oakley v Osiris Trustees Ltd and others [2005– 06] MLR N- 24, where it was held that a purported change
from Jersey law to Manx law was invalid, because the trust terms required the trust to have the same eect under
Manx law (being the new law) as under Jersey law, but the existence of perpetuity rules meant that the trust would
be curtailed, and no longer have the same eect.
5 Crociani and others v Crociani and others [2014] UKPC 40.
6 See paragraph 26.21 below.
7 See paragraph 26.22 below.
26.04
26.05
26.06
26.07
26.08
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