Abstract

Understanding the common law trust has traditionally posed mayor difficulties for civilian lawyers. This article submits that, to a relevant extent, these difficulties stem from attributing excessive importance to metaphors that describe trusts as a form of "double" or "divided” ownership. As an alternative, it proposes using theories that explain trusts as a case of "rights against rights", arguing that this is as conceptually more precise and adequate to explain this institution to a Latin American audience.  Based on this, the article analyzes some classic functional equivalents of the trust in the civilian tradition, such as companies and agencies, and two specific institutions of Chilean law: pension funds and investment funds.

Keywords

trust comparative property law comparative private law investment funds pension funds