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1.4 The Contemporary Contribution of Equity to English Law 17 granted the claimant an order giving it permission to enter the defendant’s premises to remove documents. Lord Denning considered that these orders were exceptional, and that they only authorized entry and inspection with the permission of the defendant, albeit that the effect of the order was that the defendant was ordered to permit entry when it was essential in the interests of justice, for example to avoid the destruction of evidence or the removal of evidence out of the jurisdiction. If the defendant were not to give permission to allow entry, they would be guilty of contempt of court. The jurisdiction to make such an order to preserve evidence or property has now been recognized by statute. 103 This enables the court to order that a person is permitted to enter premises and, for example, to search for items described in the order and to take copies of them. There are many other examples of the equitable remedial jurisdiction. One remedy which was recently considered by the Supreme Court is the solicitor’s equitable lien for their costs. 104 This enables a solicitor to obtain a charge over money received by a client following a dispute in order to secure payment of costs to the solicitor. This remedy has been justified as promoting access to justice since it enables solicitors to take on cases knowing that, if they win, they will have a security interest in the fruits of litigation. The Supreme Court recognized that this equitable remedy will be available as long as the solic itor is making a legal claim on behalf of their client which involves the assertion of a legal entitlement and even if there is no dispute between the claimant and the defendant. 105 Consequently it was held that the equitable lien for costs was available in respect of work undertaken to secure compensation for flight cancellations or delays. 1.4.7 The trust The most important contribution of Equity to English law is undoubtedly the trust. The crucial feature of the trust is that property is held by one person for the benefit of another. This is recognized through the division of property rights. One person, known as the ‘trustee’, holds the legal title to the property. As far as the Common Law is concerned, that person is absolutely entitled to the property. But Equity can see that the legal owner holds the property for the benefit of somebody else, the ‘beneficiary’. The beneficiary therefore has an equitable right, otherwise known as an equitable interest, in the property. The trustee is obliged by Equity to look after the property for the benefit of the beneficiary, and indeed is in a fiduciary relationship with the beneficiary. If the trustee fails to manage the property properly, they will have breached the trust and will be liable to compensate the beneficiary for any loss suffered or to disgorge any benefits that they personally obtained from the property. The trust remains of profound significance in English law today. For example, within the family, it can be used to enable parents to ensure that property is managed for the benefit of their children without the children being tempted to dissipate the property. So, for example, Adam, in the example that opened this chapter, may have wished to benefit his four children in his will, but he might have been concerned that, if £50,000 was paid to each of them, they would be tempted to spend it immediately and not to invest it wisely for their future. So Adam might have provided in his will that the money was to be paid to Eoin to be held on trust for Adam’s children until they reached the age of 25, by which time Adam might have considered that they would be mature enough to be able to invest © Oxford University Press

103 Civil Procedure Act 1997, s. 7. Supplemented by the Civil Procedure Rules, r. 25.1(i). 104 Butt and Co Solicitors Ltd v Ryanair DAC [2022] UKSC 8, [2022] 2 WLR 634. 105 Ibid., [86] (Lord Burrows).

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