Anti-Bartlett Provisions - Back On Track

In a judgment delivered on 22 November 2019, the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal has determined the extent to which 'anti-Bartlett' clauses commonly found in trust instruments are effective to relieve trustees of supervisory duties relating to the trust. In a ruling that will be of comfort to the trust industry, the court found that anti-Bartlett clauses were effective to relieve trustees of supervisory duties and any liability which flowed from the failure to exercise supervisory powers. Although the case was heard in Hong Kong, the law of the trust was that of Jersey, so will be of particular interest in the Channel Islands.

Background

The first and second plaintiffs were husband and wife referred to as Zhang and Ji respectively in the judgment. They were the settlors of the Amun Trust, of which DBS Trustees HK (Jersey) Limited, were the trustees. The sole asset of the trust (besides the USD10 settled on the trust as its initial property) was the sole share in a