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Snell's Equity cover

Law

Law

Snell's Equity

Steven Elliott; John McGhee

The long-established treatise on the principles of equity in England and Wales, edited by practising barristers and cited by the courts. It gives a systematic account of equitable doctrines, trusts and remedies, treating equity as a body of principle that runs through property, contract and commercial law rather than as a list of separate topics.

Prerequisites: A completed undergraduate course in equity and trusts, with some knowledge of contract and land law, is assumed.

Difficulty Level
Advanced
Academic Level
Advanced
equitytrustsfiduciary dutiesequitable remediesengland and walesReference

01 / Reading Guide

Reading Guide

Citation

Elliott, S., & McGhee, J. (Eds.). (2025). Snell's Equity (35th ed.). Sweet & Maxwell.

Chapter Summary

Snell's Equity is a long-established treatise on the law of equity in England and Wales. The 35th edition, published in December 2024 and issued with a first supplement in December 2025, is edited by Steven Elliott KC and John McGhee KC and runs to more than a thousand pages in 45 chapters and six parts. The publisher's description presents it as organised by the topics in which equity is used: it covers the nature of equity and its maxims, dealings with equitable interests, protective jurisdictions, remedies, trusts, and the administration of assets and securities, with attention to the growing use of trusts and fiduciary obligations in commercial settings. The summary below follows the six parts, with the chapter titles as listed.

Part I, Equity and Equities (Chapters 1–4)

The chapters are: The Nature, History and Courts of Equity; Equitable Property; Assignment of Choses in Action; and Priorities. The part opens with the character and history of equity and moves to equitable property, then to dealings with it, namely assignment of choses in action and the ranking of competing interests. The publisher describes this as showing how equity works in practice.

Part II, Maxims and Doctrines (Chapters 5–6)

The chapters are: The Maxims of Equity and The Equitable Doctrines. The maxims are set out as the general principles of equity. The doctrines are, in the publisher's words, five ancient equitable doctrines: conversion, reconversion, election, performance and satisfaction.

Part III, Equitable Protection (Chapters 7–13)

The chapters are: Fiduciaries; Fraud, Undue Influence and Unconscionable Transactions; Breach of Confidence; Powers: General Principles; Specific Powers: Powers of Appointment; Estoppel; and Penalties and Forfeiture. The part gathers the areas in which equity protects those who are vulnerable because of their status or circumstances, from fiduciary relationships and undue influence to estoppel and relief against penalties, together with the equitable law of powers.

Part IV, Equitable Remedies (Chapters 14–20)

The chapters are listed as: Introduction; Rescission; Rectification; Specific Performance; Injunction; Appointment of Receivers by the Court; and Injunction. The part runs from an introduction through the main remedies, covering rescission, rectification, specific performance, injunctions and receivers.

Part V, Trusts (Chapters 21–30)

The chapters are: Definition and Classification of Trusts; Private Express Trusts; Charitable Trusts; Trusts Arising to Enforce an Informally Expressed Intention; Resulting Trusts; Trusts Arising from Wrongs; Appointment, Retirement and Removal of Trustees; Specific Powers: The Administrative Powers of Trustees; The Duties and Discretions of Trustees; and Breach of Trust. This is the core of the trusts material: how trusts are defined and classified, the different ways in which they arise, and then the trustee's appointment, powers, duties and liability.

Part VI, Administration of Assets (Chapters 31–45)

The chapters are: Collection and Realisation of Assets; Payment of Debts; Distribution of Assets; Remedies; Legacies; The Nature and Classification of Securities; Creation and Setting Aside of Mortgages; The Rights and Interest of the Mortgagor; The Rights and Interest of the Mortgagee; Floating Charges; Priorities of Mortgages; Discharge of Mortgages; Pledges; Liens; and Suretyship. The first five chapters concern the administration of assets, including payment of debts and legacies. The remaining ten deal with security, with mortgages at the centre, followed by pledges, liens and suretyship.

Key Concepts

Parts I–II

  • Equitable property and priorities: how equitable interests are held, assigned and ranked against competing claims.
  • Maxims of equity: the general principles through which equity operates.
  • Equitable doctrines: conversion, reconversion, election, performance and satisfaction.

Part III

  • Fiduciaries: those who owe duties of loyalty in equity, and the consequences of breach.
  • Undue influence and unconscionable transactions: equitable relief for transactions obtained unfairly.
  • Estoppel and breach of confidence: equitable protection of reliance and of confidential information.
  • Powers: the equitable law governing powers of appointment.

Part IV

  • Rescission, rectification and specific performance: the principal equitable remedies against contracts and for their performance.
  • Injunctions and receivers: remedies directed at conduct and at property.

Parts V–VI

  • Express, resulting and constructive trusts: the different ways in which a trust arises.
  • Trustees' duties and breach of trust: the standards imposed on trustees and the liability that follows breach.
  • Mortgages, charges and suretyship: the equitable treatment of security.

Critical Analysis

Strengths

  • Breadth under one organising idea. The publisher describes the book as dealing with equitable principles and remedies and their application in trusts, probate and mortgages, and the contents bear this out: one volume runs from equitable doctrines and fiduciaries to remedies, trusts and security.
  • Standing. Trade descriptions of the book call it comprehensive and frequently cited in court, which makes it a natural place to look for authority on a point of equity.
  • Commercial dimension. The description highlights the growing use of trusts and fiduciary obligations in commercial contexts, and the fiduciary, floating charge and suretyship chapters reflect it.
  • Currency. The 35th edition has been supplemented, and the supplement of December 2025 takes account of recent Supreme Court decisions on fiduciary accountability, dishonest assistance, undue influence and the formalities for transferring shares.
  • Clear structure for reference. Six parts with numbered chapters make it easy to jump straight to a topic such as rectification or estoppel.

Limitations

  • Treatise, not textbook. It is a work of reference for practitioners and advanced students, not a course book with exercises or self-test material.
  • Size. Over a thousand pages, with 45 chapters, means it is better consulted than read straight through.
  • Narrower on theory. The contents are organised by topic and doctrine; readers seeking a conceptual account of why trusts take the shape they do will find that more explicitly pursued in shorter, argument-led books.
  • Supplement needed. Because the 2025 case law is in a separate supplement, the main volume has to be read together with it.

Where It Fits in the Course

Snell sits at the reference end of the equity and trusts list. Gary Watt's Equity & Trusts Law Directions is an introductory textbook for readers meeting the subject for the first time, and Penner's The Law of Trusts is a concise core text that pays sustained attention to conceptual controversies. Alastair Hudson's Equity and Trusts and Graham Virgo's The Principles of Equity and Trusts are full single-author textbooks that state the law and then examine its policy and theory. Hanbury & Martin: Modern Equity is the other long academic treatise, giving a detailed account of trusts law and the wider equitable jurisdiction with attention to academic debate. Snell differs in running beyond trusts into doctrines, protective jurisdictions, remedies and security.

How to Use This Book

It suits advanced undergraduates, postgraduate students and practitioners who have already completed a course in equity and trusts and need a detailed, authoritative statement of the law on a particular point.

A practical way to use it:

  • Look up by topic. Use the part structure to find the relevant chapter: Part III for fiduciaries, undue influence and estoppel, Part IV for remedies, Part V for trusts.
  • Read for depth. Pair a chapter of a shorter textbook with the matching Snell chapter when an essay or problem question needs authority.
  • Core for a trusts course: Chapters 21–30 on trusts and Chapter 7 on fiduciaries.
  • Selective: the administration-of-assets and security chapters (31–45) are needed mainly for estates and property-security courses.
  • Alongside: check the latest supplement and recent cases before relying on a statement of the law.