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United Kingdom
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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...
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Defences to breach of trust claims: beneficiary consent, court approval, release and acquiescence, exemption clauses, Trustee Act 1925 s61 relief, limitation and laches (England and Wales)
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Practice notes
The simplest defence available to a trustee confronted with a breach of trust allegation is that the claim is baseless, for instance that no breach occurred, or that a breach occurred but no loss followed. Likewise, the claimant might fail entirely to prove any causal link between the alleged breach and the loss. In short, a failure to show breach, loss, or causation will be fatal to the case. Aside from these self-evident points, a range of other defences exists, depending on the facts at hand too.
Consent by beneficiaries
A beneficiary who consents to, or participates in, a breach will generally struggle to succeed in a claim, even if they receive no benefit from the wrongdoing. Nevertheless, a corporation may still bring a claim where some of its members have fraudulently and illegally exercised its powers (for example, in a pension trust setting) to deprive it of property to which it was entitled. Where there are multiple beneficiaries, those who did not give consent remain entitled to sue. If such a claim is successful, the beneficiary who consented will be prevented from taking any benefit from it. To rely on this defence, a trustee must be able to point...
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Web page updated on 21/05/2026
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Date [ date ] Parties [ name of Landlord ] [ of OR incorporated in England and Wales (company registration number [ number ]) with its registered office at ] [ address ] (Landlord) [ name of Tenant ] [ of OR incorporated in England and Wales (company registration number [ number ]) with its registered office at ] [ address ] (Tenant) [ [ name of Guarantor ] [ of OR incorporated in England and Wales (company registration number [ number ]) with its registered office at ] [ address ] (Guarantor) ] [ [ name of Mortgagee ] [ of OR incorporated in England and Wales (company registration number [ number ]) with its registered office at ] [ address ] (Mortgagee) ] Definitions Within this Deed, the terms below shall be interpreted as follows: [ Annual Rent • the annual sum reserved under the Lease; ] [ Insurance Rent • the Tenant’s share of the Landlord’s costs of insuring the Property (as set out in the Lease); ] Lease • the lease of the Property dated [ date ], entered into between (1) [ the Landlord OR [ name ...
I, [ name ], of [ address ], solemnly and sincerely state that: [ Matters to be verified, set out in numbered paragraphs ] I make this solemn statement in good conscience, believing it to be true, and pursuant to the provisions of the Statutory Declarations Act 1835. DECLARED at [ details ] this [ day ] day of [ month and year ] Before me ................................................................................ [ signature of the person before whom the declaration is made ] A [ commissioner for oaths OR [ solicitor OR [ insert other qualification ] ] authorised to administer oaths ]...
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