ABSTRACT
It has been observed in Hanbury’s Modern Equity that of the many attempts which have been made at defining a trust none has been entirely successful. In the same vein, Eveleigh J has remarked, in Allen & Others v Distillers Co (Biochemicals) (1974), that ‘no one has yet succeeded in giving an entirely satisfactory definition of the trust’. This is scarcely surprising as the trust is such a multi-faceted device which has been employed in a diverse range of settings. Various commentators have therefore suggested that it is more instructive to describe rather than define the trust. A convenient way of describing the trust is to elaborate on the key elements which emerge from the various definitions.
