Analyse and contrast the decisions of the judges in the case of Bertram Badens trust House of Lords decision

Critical Analysis for Equity and Trusts


Mr Bertram Baden in 1941 established a trust for the benefit of his employees. Clause 9 of the deed stated

‘The trustees shall apply the net income of the fund in making at their absolute discretion grants to or for the benefit of any of the officers and employees or ex- officers or ex-employees of the company or to any relatives or dependants of any such persons in such amounts at such times and on such conditions (if any) as they think fit.’

The words of this deed caused problems regarding the objects named and the certainty of these named objects especially regarding relatives and dependants. Mr Baden died in 1960 and in 1962, when the fund assets had reached £163,000 Mr Baden’s executors claimed that the trust was void for reasons of uncertainty.

The question now is whether under the test attached to discretionary trusts the trust fails on uncertainty of the objects; referring to ‘dependants’ and ‘relativesâ...