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Donovan Waters, Q.C., F.R.S.C.

Dr. Waters is a leading international expert in trust law and the author of several texts including Law of Trusts in Canada.  He has had a distinguished academic career which has included positions at the Universities of Oxford, London, Chicago, Saskatchewan, Montreal and Victoria.  In addition, Dr. Waters has acted as legal counsel in relation to the establishment, operation and regular of a variety of domestic and offshore trust structures created for private and commercial purposes.

His diverse experience includes advising in respect of mutual fund and other pooled investment trusts, land and mortgage syndication trusts, land reclamation trusts, First Nations trust, trusts created for active business and business succession purposes, charitable trusts, pension plans and all manner of estate planning related structures.  Dr. Waters is also called upon regularly to provide legal counsel in the context of litigation involving all manner of fiduciary relationships and equitable remedies.

Education

  • 1962, Ph.D., Law (Equity), University College London
  • 1995, LL.D. (Hon.) Law, University of Victoria
  • 1990, D.C.L., Law, Oxford University
  • 1958, M.A., Law, Oxford University
  • 1953, B.C.L., Law, Oxford University
  • 1952, B.A., Jurisprudence, Oxford University

Previous Positions Held

  • 1993-96, Scholars Professor of Law, University of Victoria, British Columbia
  • 1977-93, Professor of Law, University of Victoria, British Columbia
  • 1974-77, Gale Professor of Law, McGill University, Montreal
  • 1967-74, Professor of Law, McGill University, Montreal
  • 1964-67, Reader in English Law, London University, tenable at University College London
  • 1965-66, Visiting Professor, University of Saskatchewan
  • 1958-1964, Lecturer, University College London
  • 1956-58, Assistant Lecturer, University College London
  • 1956, Visiting Professor, University of Chicago
  • 1954-56, Lecturer in Law, New College, Oxford
  • 1953-54, Bigelow Teaching Fellow, Univerity of Chicago

Professional Memberships & Activities

  • Chair, Trustee Act Modernization Committee, B.C. Law Institute, 1997-
  • President of the International Academy of Estates and Trust Law, 1992-1994
  • Member, International Academy of Estate and Trut Law, 1982-
  • Member, International Academy of Comparative Law, 1992-
  • Fellow, American College of Trusts and Estates Counsel, 1990-
  • Chair, Wills and Trusts Section, Vancouver, B.C. (C.B.A.), 1987-1988
  • Member, Canadian Advisory Committee to the Encyclopedia Britannica, 1986-1998
  • Member, Council of Academy II, Royal Society of Canada, 1986-1988
  • Fellow, Royal Society of Canada, 1982-
  • Canadian Bar Association, 1980-
  • Barrister and Solicitor; Member of the Law Society, British Columbia, 1980-
  • Secretary-Treasurer (1971-72)
  • Canadian Association of Law Teachers, 1967-1996
  • Barristers-at-Law, Lincoln's Inn, England, 1958-
  • Society of Public Teachers of Law, 1954-

Scholarships, Fellowships, Honours, Awards

  • Member of Public Guardian and Trustee Advisory Board, British Columbia, 2000
  • Visiting Lecturer on Estate Planning, Federation of Shiho Shoshi Lawyers Association, Tokyo, Japan, 1999
  • C.P.O. Wisselleerstoel Professor, University of Nijmegan, The Netherlands, 1997-98
  • Simpson Grierson Visiting Professor, University of Auckland, New Zealand, October-November, 1996
  • Georges A. Goyer Memorial Award for Distinguished Service (Canadian Bar Association, B.C. Branch), 1995
  • Appointed Advisor to the Restatement of the Laws, Trusts, 3d, American Law Institute, Philadelphia, U.S.A., 1994
  • Trust Companies of Japan, Visiting Author and Lecturer, 1993
  • D.A. Thompson Visiting Lecturer, University of Manitoba (March), 1988
  • Robinson Cox Visiting Fellow, University of Western Australia (June and July), and lecturer in University of Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur (August), 1987
  • Appointed by Dept. of Justice, Ottawa, senior Canadian delegate to The Hague Conference for P.I.L., for what became the Convention on The Law of Succession, 1988
  • Invitation Lecturer, Forum Internationale, The Hague, The Netherlands, 1984
  • Joseph Trachtman Lecturer, University of Calgary, 1983
  • Appointed by Department of Justice, Ottawa, Canadian delegate to the Hague Conference for Private International Law, for what became the Convention on the International Recognition and Validity of Trusts (attended Special Session, The Hague; June, 1982, March, 1983, and October, 1983.  Plenary Conference, 1984: October, 1984.), 1982-1984
  • Visitor in Distinguished Visitors Program, Faculty of Law, Western Ontario, October 6-12, 1980
  • Lloyd H. Fenerty Memorial Lecturer, University of Calgary, 1980
  • Appointed to Gale Chair of Law, McGill University, 1974
  • Gibbs Law Scholar, Oxford University, 1951
  • Winter Williams Law Scholar, Oxford University, 1950

Publications

Books

  • The Constructive Trust: The Case for a New Approach in English Law. xxiii and 364 pp. Athlone Press. Published May, 1964.
  • The Law of Trusts in Canada. xcii and 1070 pp. Carswell, Toronto. Published December, 1974.
  • Law of Trusts in Canada, 2nd ed., 1984 (1145 pp.) Carswell, Toronto.
  • Regime du Trust en Droit Francais, Themexpress, Editions Francis Lefebvre, Paris, France.  2000 (84 pp.) (A contributor)
  • Selected Writings - I, translated into Japanese by Professor Doctor Makoto Arai. 186 pp, Tokyo, 2000
  • Law of Trusts in Canada, 3rd ed., 2005  Carswell, Toronto.

Articles

  • "Some Problems of Proof under the Anglo-American System of Litigation (Morgan): an extended review". (1957) 24 University of Chicago Law Rev. 405. (8 pp.)
  • "The New Power of Advancement". (1958) 22 The Conveyancer and Property Lawyer 413. (22 pp.)
  • "Public Rights of Entry". Current Legal Problems, 1958 (Stevens) (19 pp.)
  • "The Concept of Market in the Sale of Goods". (1958) 36 Canadian Bar Review 360 (27 pp.)
  • "Public Prosecutions in England, 1854-79; an essay in English legislative history". With P.B. Kurland, Professor of Law, University of Chicago. (1959) Duke Law Journal 493. (70 pp.)
  • "The Creation of Sub-Trusts under a Power of Advancement". (1959) 23 The Conveyancer and Property Lawyer 27. (15 pp.)
  • "Sale: Surreptitious Market (Mouat v. Betts Motors Ltd.)". (1959) 37 Canadian Bar Review 362. (9 pp.)
  • "Social Welfare". (1959) 23 The Conveyancer and Property Lawyer 365. (17 pp.)
  • "Re Pilkingtons Will Trusts: Comment". (1959), 23 The Conveyancer and Property Lawyer 423. (6 pp.)
  • "The Rating of Charitable and Similar Organisations". Current Legal Problems, 1959. (30 pp)
  • "The Rating of Charitable and similar Organisations (The Pritchard Report)". (1960), 23 Modern Law Review 68. (30 pp.)
  • "The Main Objects if a Charitable Organisation". (1960) The Solicitor Quarterly 73. (8 pp.)
  • "The Variation of Trusts". Current Legal Problems, 1960. (24 pp.)
  • "Constructive Trust: Vendor and Purchaser". Current Legal Problems, 1961. (24 pp.)
  • "Constructive Trust: Mortgagor and Mortgagee". Current Legal Problems, 1962. (18 pp.)
  • "Judge Learned Hand: An Appreciation". (1962) The Solicitor Quarterly 30. (10 pp.)
  • "Restitution: The Need for Reform". Current Legal Problems, 1964. (19 pp.)
  • "The English Constructive Trust: A Look into the Future". (1966) 19 Vanderbilt Law Review 1215. (A Symposium on Restitution). (40 pp.)
  • "The Nature of the Trust Beneficiary's Interest". (1967), 45 Canadian Bar Review 219-283. (65 pp.)
  • "Law Reform and the English Law Commission: A Model for Saskatchewan?"(1967), 32 Sask. Law Rev. 1. (30 pp.)
  • "The Elizabethan Court of Chancery (W.J. Jones): an extended review". (1968), 14 McGill L.J. 350 (76 pp.)
  • "The Doctrine of Resulting Trusts in Common Law Canada". (1970), 16 McGill L.J. 187. (76 pp.)
  • "Charity - cy-pres - supervising impossibility: Re Hunter, 34 D.L.R. (3d) 602 (a comment)". (1974) 52 Canadian Bar Review 598. (6 pp.)
  • "Recent Developments in the Law of Trusts". Studies in Current Law. Canadian Bar Association: National Committee on Continuing Education. Four O'Clock Series. 1975 ed. Booklet. (23 pp.)
  • "Matrimonial Property Disputes - Resulting and Constructive Trusts - Restitution: Fielder v. Fielder, Alta. C.A., 24 Feb., 1975 (a comment)"(1975) 53 Can. Bar Rev. 366. (16 pp.)
  • "Glennon v. Fed. Comm. of Taxation (1972), 127 Commonwealth L.R. 503 (Australia): a cautionary tale". (1975), 2 Estates and Trusts Quarterly 307. (6 pp.)
  • "Matrimonial Property Entitlements and the Quebec Conflict of Laws". (1976), 22 McGill Law Journal 315. (6 pp.)
  • "What is charity" Recreational community centres". (1976), 54 Canadian Bar Review 784. (12 pp.)
  • "A cause celebre: Fales, Wohlleben v. Canadian Permanent Trust Co. (1977) 70 D.L.R. (3d) (Supreme Court of Canada)". (1977) 55 Canadian Bar Review 342. (29 pp.) - republished in (1977), 4 Estates and Trusts Quarterly 134-166.
  • "Re Wright - A sequel to Fales, Wohlleben". 56 Canadian Bar Review 128. (18 pp.) - republished in (1978) 4 Estates and Trusts Quarterly 212-235.
  • "The Law of Trusts in the 80s."The Lloyd H. Fenerty Memorial Lecture, 1980. Delivered at the U. of Calgary. Published under separate cover, and in (1980), 7 Estates and Trusts Reports 27-61. (35 pp.)
  • "Trusts and Tax Law: A Growing Conflict". (1981), 19 U. of W. Ont. L.R. 111. (22 pp.)
  • "The Future of the Supreme Court of Canada as the Final Appellate Tribunal: Perspectives of a Property and Trusts Lawyer". (1982-83) 7 Can. Bus. L.J. 389-409. (21 pp.)
  • "The Trust in the Setting of Business, Commerce and Bankruptcy". The 1983 Weir Memorial Lecture. Delivered at the U. of Alberta, Edmonton. (1983) 21 Alta. L.R. 395-435. (41 pp.)
  • "The Common Law Trust in the Modern World". The Forum Internationale
  • Lecture. Delivered in The Hague, The Netherlands, in October, 1984 (24 pp.)
  • "Re Laidlaw Foundation (Ontario Supreme Court - Divisional Court) - A Comment". (1985), 6 The Philanthropist 46. Reproduced in (1985), 18 E.T.R. 120. (22 pp.)
  • Legal Opinion prepared for the Sub-Committee on Canadian National Railways' Pension System, Report, Appendix A. (21 pp.). Report published by the House of Commons Standing Committee on Transport; May, 1986.
  • "Banks, Fiduciary Obligations and Unconscionable Transactions". (1986), 65 Canadian Bar Review 37 (Special Banking Issue). (36 pp.)
  • 1987 Joseph Trachtman Lecture: "The Trust as a Picture of the Family: Yesterday and Today - and Tomorrow?". Delivered in Maui, Hawaii, in February, 1987. Published as a monograph by the American College of Probate Counsel, Vol. 13 (1987) Trachtman Lectures. (121 pp.)
  • "Where is Equity going?" "Fiduciary Relationships" "Equitable Liens" "Constructive Trust; The Intermeddling Stranger".  Four lectures delivered at U. of Western Australia, 1987. Published in (1988) 18 U. of W. Aust. Law Review 3. (87 pp.)
  • "Learning the Law: Trusts in Business & Commerce". Delivered at the University of Malaysia, August, 1987. (1987) U. of Malaysia J. of Comparative Law. (39 pp.)
  • The Rapporteurs Report: Convention on the Law of Succession.  The Hague Conference on Private International Law, Netherlands, 1988.  Published by the Conference in The Hague. (86 pp.)
  • "The Use of Surpluses in Pension Plans Operating in Ontario."Commissioned for the Report of the Task Force (The Freedland Commission) on Inflation Protection for Employment Pension Plans, 1988, Ontario. Research Studies, Vol. 2, at p. 133. (23 pp.)
  • "Voting Trust Agreements and the Zeidler Case", (1988) 9 Estates and Trusts Journal 51. (25 pp.)
  • Equity, Fiduciaries and Trusts, T.G. Youdan (ed.), Carswell, Toronto, 1988. Papers delivered by an international group of speakers, Victoria, B.C., February, 1987, including "New Directions in the Employment of Equitable Doctrines: The Canadian Experience", by D.W.M. Waters. (23 pp.)
  • "Lac Minerals v. International Corona Resources Inc. - A Comment". (1990), 69 Canadian Bar Review 455. (27 pp.)
  • "Case Comment: Re Centenary Hospital Association". (1990), 9 The Philanthropist 3. (31 pp.)
  • "The Constructive Trust: Substantive and Remedial." Delivered in Jerusalem, June, 1990, in the First International Equity Seminar, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel; Equity and Contemporary Legal Developments, S. Goldstein (ed.)., Hebrew University of Jerusalem Press, 1992. Republished in (1991) 10 Estates and Trusts J. 334 (51 pp.)
  • "Unification or Harmonization? Experience with the Trust Concept. "Published in Conflicts and Harmonization: Mélanges en l'Honneur d'Alfred E. Von Overbeck, W.A. Stoffel and P. Volken (eds.), Fribourg University Press, Switzerland, 1990. (19 pp.)
  • "The Use of the Trust in Canada Today". Delivered in English (translated into Japanese by Makoto Arai), Shintaku No. 173, Trust Companies Association of Japan, Tokyo, February, 1993. (14 pp.)
  • "Invading the Succession on behalf of the Family - Europe and Common Law Canada and Quebec." Published in Mélanges Germain Brière, E. Caparros (ed.), Wilson et Lafleur Ltée, Montreal, 1993. (36 pp.)
  • Equity, Fiduciaries and Trusts 1993, D.W.M. Waters (ed.), Carswell, Toronto, 1993.  Papers delivered by an international group of speakers, Victoria, B.C., January, 1993, including "The Role of the Trust in Environmental Protection Law", by D.W.M. Waters. (38 pp.)
  • "The Role of the Trust Treatise in the 1990s", included in A Tribute to William F. Fratcher, (1994) 59 Missouri Law Rev. 121. (36 pp.)
  • "The Remedial Constructive Trust" Delivered at Oxford, England, December, 1993, in the Oxford University seminar series (S.P.T.L.), The Frontiers of Liability; series published by Oxford University Press, 1994.
  • "Proprietary Relief: Two Privy Council Decisions - A Canadian Perspective", (1995) 25 Canadian Business L.J. 90. (20 pp.)
  • "The Institution of the Trust in Civil and Common Law". Lectures delivered to the 1995 Private International Law Session, The Hague Academy of International Law, July, 1995.  Published in Recueil des cours, Vol. 252 (1995), Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, 1995. (328 pp.)
  • "The Protector: New Wine in Old Bottles?" Delivered at U. of Cambridge, England, in January, 1996. Published in a collection of papers, Trusts in Contemporary Trust Law, ed. A.J. Oakley, O.U.P., 1996. (56 pp.)
  • "A Canadian looks at the Investment Product and Adviser Disclosure Law (New Zealand) 1996". Delivered at the U. of Auckland in November, 1996. (1997) 3 New Zealand Business Law Quarterly. 160. (27 pp.)
  • "Convergence and Divergence: Civil Law and Common Law". Delivered in January, 1998, as the Inaugural Lecture for the CPO Wisselleerstoel Professorship, 1997-1998, University of Nijmegen, The Netherlands. Published by Centrum Voor Postdoctoraal Onderwijs, Catholic University of Nijmegen, 1998. (63 pp.)
  • "The Concept called 'The Trust'". Delivered at Capricorn, Queensland, Australia, July, 1998, at a conference on the taxation of trusts.  1999, 53 Bulletin for International Fiscal Documentation 118 (IBFD, The Netherlands). (13 pp.)
  • "The Use of the Trust in Canada Today" and "The Revision and Modernisation of Trustee Acts in Canada".  Lectures delivered in Tokyo, Japan, 1992, as the first of the Amakasu Lectures.  Published in Modern International Developments in Trust Law, 3d. D.J. Hayton, Kluwer Law International, 1999.  (16 pp. and 22 pp.)
  • "Case Note: The Trust - A Single Concept Variously Applied", the trust in personal property security law. (1999) 57 The Advocate 863. (4 pp.)
  • "The Trust in Civil Law Jurisdictions - The Dutch Experience".  Delivered as The Nottingham Lecture, IBC Conferences on Estate Planning, at Coral Gables, Florida, U.S.A., in October, 1998. (1999) 7 Journal of International Trust and  Corporate Planning 131. (26 pp.)
  • "The Development of Fiduciary Obligations". Delivered at the U. of New Brunswick, Canada, September, 1998, at a Symposium to mark the career of Mr. Justice La Forest on his retirement from the Court.  Published in Gerard v. La Forest at the Supreme Court of Canada, 1985-1997, Vol. 2, Judges of the Supreme Court of Canada, U. of Manitoba Press, 2000
  • "The Reception of Equity by the Court (1875-2000)". Delivered in Ottawa in September, 2000, at an invitation Symposium arranged by the Supreme Court of Canada to mark the 125th Anniversary of the Court, under the title, "The Supreme Court: Its Legacy and Its Challenges". To be published in a special Symposium edition by the Canadian Bar Review.

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