Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

Key definition

Law definition

What does Law mean? In legal practice, Law describes the body of binding rules governing parties’ rights and obligations in the relevant jurisdiction(s). It is not a single statutory or case-law definition; in contracts it is a descriptive catch‑all used to capture all sources of applicable law. Law includes: (a) any primary or secondary legislation (including regulations, statutory instruments and byelaws) in force from time to time that applies to a party or to the place the Services are provided; (b) the common law and, where applicable, equity; (c) any binding court order, judgment or decree; (d) any applicable industry code,

Trust jurisdiction clauses: construction, scope and enforceability against beneficiaries, drafting guidance, and the 'forum for administration' pitfall

Published by a LexisNexis Private Client expert

Practice notes

Context

Jurisdiction clauses frequently appear in commercial contracts and are typically framed as either:

Exclusive jurisdiction clauses (see Practice Note:Jurisdiction agreements—exclusive jurisdiction agreements)
Non-exclusive jurisdiction clauses (see Practice Note: Jurisdiction agreements—non-exclusive jurisdiction agreements)

Where parties have chosen an exclusive jurisdiction term, the default position is that the English court will ordinarily ‘exercise its discretion… to secure compliance with the contractual bargain’.

Such provisions now appear ever more often in Trust instruments. Nevertheless, several questions arise concerning:

the drafting of such clauses
the areas to be covered by such clauses
the interpretation and effects of such clauses

Two examples of jurisdiction clauses

As presently encountered, trust jurisdiction provisions create a series of connected issues, including how they are drafted, what they should cover, and how they are interpreted and what they achieve. Before considering their operation, it is useful to look at a couple of typical illustrations:

a Jersey Law trust deed precedent clause: ‘2. Proper law This Settlement is established under the laws of the island of Jersey and subject and without prejudice to any transfer of the administration of the trusts of this

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Web page updated on 22/05/2026

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