Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

Key definition

Disputes definition

What does Disputes mean? In legal practice, disputes are disagreements giving rise to potential legal rights and remedies between parties, addressed through dispute resolution including litigation, arbitration and ADR such as mediation and negotiation. The term is descriptive rather than a defined statutory concept; the substantive rights and procedures arise from statute and common law. Typical features include identification of the cause of action, applicable limitation periods, choice of jurisdiction and forum, compliance with pre-action protocols or pre-action correspondence, disclosure/discovery, evidence, settlement, costs and enforcement. Usage is broadly consistent across England & Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Ireland, though civil procedure differs: CPR in England...

Following and tracing in trust disputes: common law and equitable principles, mixed funds, proprietary remedies and defences

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Practice notes

At times, a beneficiary seeks to reclaim a particular asset. In such a scenario, tracing is the remedy of choice, as the claimant aims to demonstrate a proprietary entitlement to the item. A crucial distinction must be drawn between pursuing the very asset once owned and identifying a replacement property that now stands in for what was formerly held. A clear illustration is an attempt to prove title to a house purchased with the proceeds from selling a house that formed part of a trust. In the first situation, the claimant need only show that the property was theirs; in the second, the path is less direct, because equitable principles are engaged. Although the expression tracing is commonly used, and will be used here, it is often clearer to describe the former as ‘following’ and the latter as ‘tracing’. As a leading case explains, the process encompasses both following and tracing, each being an exercise in locating assets that are, or may be treated as, representing an asset of the claimants and in respect of which they assert. The task is to follow the original asset, or trace into its substitute, reflecting the manner in which trust property was handled...

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Web page updated on 21/05/2026

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