As the Common Law developed and matured over centuries, its rules and principles assumed progressively more definite shape, sometimes to the point of rigidity. Individual cases increasingly occurred in which it became impossible to apply the relatively strict requirements of the Common Law while simultaneously achieving a result which accorded with basic requirements of justice. The response of the English legal system was to accommodate a parallel system of courts whose task was, in appropriate circumstances, to temper the application of the Common Law with principles derived from elementary considerations of fairness – or equity. Among the more important contributions of equity is the trust, which enables a person to acquire an enforceable interest in something when another person is the legal owner. The flexibility of equity and the jurisdiction of the Court of Chancery also allowed equity to develop a series of remedies which were far more powerful than the common law: amongst these the injunction, specific performance, equitable account and the doctrine of subrogation are very important today in a commercial context. Throughout the course students will learn to evaluate the part played by equity and trusts in: (1) accommodating the law to elementary requirements of justice and fairness; and (2) the suitability of that accommodation to the social, economic, and historical circumstances of Hong Kong. In this course students will develop their problem-solving, research, and writing skills. Topics include: the history and nature of equity; the relationship between the Common Law and equity; the nature and types of trusts; the creation of trusts; trust anomalies; assignments and disposition of equitable interests; and remedies.