Arbitration of Trust Disputes: Issues in National and International Law (ed. SI Strong)-Book Review

There is no doubt that this book was missing from the scholarly and professional market. Not only because it is complex, but more importantly because while trusts have been around for centuries, the arbitration of trust disputes is relatively unknown in many parts of the world. With the legal nature of trusts aside, and the differences in structure between the common law and the civil law (not to mention other systems, particularly, Islamic, Jewish, Japan, China etc), it is unthinkable that the proliferation of trust vehicles worldwide would not give rise to a parallel freedom to choose arbitration as a dispute resolution method. While it is true that the sensitive tripartite relationship inherent in a trust agreement requires some regulation by the state (e.g. family or inheritance trust), many trusts are organized as purely commercial or financing vehicles. Hence, while some lawyers from particular jurisdictions may view trust arbitration as a radical departure from traditional civil law, to those familiar with commercial trusts, trust arbitration is part of their daily routine.