ABSTRACT
This chapter provides the grounding on ownership concepts which is necessary for an understanding of how and why many international, state and regulatory disclosure and regulation initiatives fall short of the mark, and why chimeric orphan structures exert such an allure. Trusts, charities and the wakf gradually developed in response to social needs, to protect and support the vulnerable. Corporations, partnerships and foundations were the state’s regulatory response to growing commercial complexity. The distinction between legal and equitable title underlies the distinction between “ownership” and “beneficial ownership”. In any legal system one set of rules will work well for the majority of cases, but no system can foresee and make provision for all circumstances. That can lead to unfairness. Charity is a characteristic which colours the structures to which it applies. It is not a structure in itself, though the delivery mechanism of charity is often a trust or a corporation.
