The truster had left funds applying the income inter alia to the improvement and expansion of ‘the Universities of Scotland’. When the trust was created in 1901 only the four ancient universities existed. When Strathclyde and Heriot-Watt Universities came into existence they claimed to be entitled to participate in the benefit of the trust.
Held: The truster’s primary purpose was to benefit the youth of Scotland by assistance in paying fees in any institution in which they were receiving higher education and by assistance to those institutions in improving opportunities for study and research, and that therefore the expression ‘the Universities of Scotland’ included all the universities in Scotland at any particular time.
Lord Reid said: ‘The principal beneficiaries are ‘the Universities of Scotland’. Taken by itself, that phrase can equally well mean the universities which existed when the gift was made or the universities which exist at any time when benefits are to be distributed.’
and: ‘In order to determine what the truster meant by ‘the Universities of Scotland’ one must read the trust deed as a whole. I can entertain no doubt that his main general purpose was to benefit ‘the deserving and qualified youth’ of Scotland in whatever institution in Scotland they might be receiving higher education and to benefit all institutions providing such education . . I can find nothing in the language which he has used to require one to hold that new universities are excluded.’
Lord Guest said: ‘The expression ‘Universities of Scotland’ is general in character, and unless there is something in the deed to indicate the contrary, I should be disposed to hold that it means universities of Scotland from time to time and is not limited to those in existence at the date of the deed.’
Lord Upjohn also said: ‘Looking thus at the preamble, I find nothing in it which leads me to the conclusion that as a matter of language the truster was intending to benefit only the four ancient Universities, though no doubt it never occurred to him that there ever would be any other universities . . Indeed in such a deed [a trust deed providing for long term benefits in the form of income only] the natural meaning of the phrase ‘the Universities of Scotland’ in my opinion is that the Universities for the time being in existence are to be the object of [the truster’s] bounty year by year and not merely those in existence in 1901.’
Judges:
Lord Reid, Lord Guest, Lord Upjohn
Citations:
1968 SC (HL) 27
Jurisdiction:
Scotland
Cited by:
Distinguished – Unilodge Services Ltd v University of Dundee ScHC 10-Sep-2001
A lease had been granted to the University for student accommodation. The rent was to vary along with average rent increases for such accommodation in other Scottish Universities. The question was what bodies were included, either all bodies such . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Trusts
Updated: 29 April 2022; Ref: scu.183031
