In Investec v Glenalla [2018] UKPC 7, the Privy Council divided 3-2 on whether a Guernsey court should apply a provision of Jersey trusts law to limit the liability (under contracts governed by English law) of two Guernsey companies, former trustees of a Jersey trust. The majority’s reasoning rests on a newly-discovered rule of common law. This article suggests that there is no such rule. There is a rule that English law will recognise not only the existence of a foreign legal person but also its essential attributes; however, that rule applies only (i) to “entities” which qualify as legal persons within the legal system that constituted them, and (ii) to “essential” as opposed to merely contingent attributes of the entity. The fact that an entity’s liabilities to third parties may be limited by a provision of its domestic law does not qualify as an essential attribute for these purposes.

中文翻译：

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国际私法中法人的身份和地位

在Investec诉Glenalla [2018] UKPC 7一案中，枢密院对格恩西岛法院是否应适用泽西岛信托法的规定以限制两家根格西公司（前英格兰受托人）的责任（根据英国法律管辖的合同）进行了三分之二。泽西岛信托。大多数人的推理基于新发现的普通法规则。本文建议没有这样的规则。有一条规则，即英国法律不仅要承认外国法人的存在，而且要承认其本质。但是，该规则仅适用于（i）构成实体的法律体系中具有法人资格的“实体”，以及（ii）与实体的或有属性相反的“基本”实体。