Law

=== Equity and trusts ===
{{main|Equity (law)|Trust law}}
[[File:Microcosm of London Plate 022 - Court of Chancery, Lincoln's Inn Hall edited.jpg|thumb|left|The [[Court of Chancery]], London, England, early 19th century]]

Equity is a body of rules that developed in England separately from the "common law". The common law was administered by judges and barristers. The [[Lord Chancellor]] on the other hand, as the King's keeper of conscience, could overrule the judge-made law if he thought it equitable to do so.{{sfn|McGhee|2000|p=7}} This meant equity came to operate more through [[Maxims of equity|principles]] than rigid rules. Whereas neither the common law nor civil law systems allow people to split the ownership from the control of one piece of property, equity allows this through an arrangement known as a trust. Trustees control property whereas the beneficial, or equitable, ownership of trust property is held by people known as beneficiaries. Trustees owe duties to their beneficiaries to take good care of the entrusted property.<ref>{{cite court |litigants=Bristol and West Building Society v Mothew |date=1998}}</ref> Another example of a trustee's duty might be to invest property wisely or sell it.<ref>''[[Nestlé v National Westminster Bank plc]]'' [1993] 1 WLR 1260</ref> This is especially the case for pension funds, the most important form of trust, where investors are trustees for people's savings until retirement. But trusts can also be set up for [[Charitable trust|charitable purposes]].