Subject Matter

Transcript:

In order for a valid trust to be set up, the property transfer must clearly meet what are known as the three certainties:

1. The Certainty of Intention;
2. The Certainty of the Subject Matter; and
3. The Certainty of the Object.

Let’s look at this example:

Mary (the settlor) sets up a trust in which she clearly gives Theodore (the trustee) the right to hold the entire title of a home in Surrey for the benefit of her daughter Josephine (the beneficiary).

In this example who or what is the subject matter of the trust?

Who or what is the object of the trust?

This may seem like a simple a question, but if you work in the Roman civil law system, or if you are an Italian, French or Spanish mother tongue speaker, you may be surprised to learn that the subject matter of the trust is the home in Surrey, while the object of the trust is the beneficiary, Josephine.

Likewise, we speak about the subject matter of a contract. In a sales agreement, for example, this would be the property which is sold and transferred from one party to another. Similarly, in a donation the subject matter of the donation would be that thing that is being donated.

Thank you very much and see you next time for more Peter’s Pills to improve your Legal English!

See more about Subject Matter here in this Columbia Law Review: https://www.jstor.org/stable/1109895?seq=1#metadata_info_tab_contents

Legal English – Sommario delle Lezioni

• Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 39 – When is Latin hot, and when is it not?
• Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 38 – Default
• Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 37 – Company Agent
• Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 36 – Injunction (false freind)
• Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 35 – Mortgage
• Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 34 – Freehold, Leasehold and Commonhold estates
• Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 33 – Transferor, Transferee and Transmittee
• Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 32 – Tax evasion, tax mitigation and tax avoidance
• Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 31 – Numbers
• Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 30 – Ordinary resolutions vs special resolutions
• Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 29 – AGM vs EGM
• Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 28 – A going concern
• Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 27 – Collocations: Violate, breach, break, disobey and infringe
• Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 26 – Company meeting words
• Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 25 – Mortgagor vs Mortgagee
• Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 24 – Fixed charges vs Floating charges
• Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 23 – Doctrine
• Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 22 – Construe
• Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 21 – Sign vs Execute
• Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 20 – The closing statement
• Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 19 – Writing Business Emails
• Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 18 – Limited companies
• Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 17 – Annual Accounts
• Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 16 – Meetings
• Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 15 – Attorney-at-law vs Attorney-in-fact
• Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 14 – Here and there compounds
• Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 13 – Subject Matter
• Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 12 – The clear days rule
• Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 11 – Shareholder, Member or Holder of shares?
• Legal English: Peter’s Pills – Lesson 10 – Competition Law
• Legal English: Peter’s Pills – Lesson 9 – Lasting Power of Attorney
• Legal English: Peter’s Pills – Lesson 8 – Guardianship
• Legal English: Peter’s Pills – Lesson 7 – Damage vs Damages
• Legal English: Peter’s Pills – Lesson 6 – Legal Doublets
• Legal English: Peter’s Pills – Lesson 5 – Escrow
• Legal English: Peter’s Pills – Lesson 4 – Memorandum of Association vs Articles of Association
• Legal English: Peter’s Pills – Lesson 3 – Sign legibly
• Legal English: Peter’s Pills – Lesson 2 – Deed poll
• Legal English: Peter’s Pills – Lesson 1 – Party, counterparty and counterpart

Peter Liebenberg

Peter Liebenberg è uno specialista nella formazione delle persone nella conoscenza della lingua inglese. Ha creato molti corsi nel campo dell’inglese per professionisti, tra cui English for banking, English for business e English for Insurance, ma ha sempre avuto un debole per l’inglese legale. Altri corsi che ha creato comprendono Phrasal Verbs I e II. Quando Peter non fa formazione, corre a Parco Sempione, crea arte nel suo studio sulla Martesana e fa volontariato.