Simplicity and Innovation in the Law of Equity and Trusts: the Cooke Era

Abstract

This essay explores the contribution that Robin Cooke and his erstwhile colleagues on the Court of Appeal bench made in the field of equity and trusts.  The survey of key equity and trusts cases of the Cooke era demonstrates a commitment to principle, with an emphasis on the purpose of individual equitable and trusts doctrines and a close examination of the individual facts of each case.  The result is that the law of equity and trusts is now more principled in focus and simpler to state.