The Dangerous Dichotomy: Abandoning the ‘Proscriptive’ and ‘Prescriptive’ Classification of Fiduciary Duties and the ‘Proscriptive Limitation’

The ‘proscriptive’ (negative) and ‘prescriptive’ (positive) dichotomy of fiduciary duties has attracted great contemporary interest, as the High Court has held that fiduciary duties are only proscriptive. The ‘dichotomy’ and ‘proscriptive limitation’ have been debated by scholars and judges. This ar...

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Main Author: Nicholas Saady
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Bond University 2018-01-01
Series:Bond Law Review
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.53300/001c.5664
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author Nicholas Saady
author_facet Nicholas Saady
author_sort Nicholas Saady
collection DOAJ
description The ‘proscriptive’ (negative) and ‘prescriptive’ (positive) dichotomy of fiduciary duties has attracted great contemporary interest, as the High Court has held that fiduciary duties are only proscriptive. The ‘dichotomy’ and ‘proscriptive limitation’ have been debated by scholars and judges. This article provides some perspective to the debate. It suggests that the proscriptive limitation is misleading because fiduciary duties are dynamic and unfixed, and because some fiduciary duties are positive. It also suggests that classifying duties within the dichotomy is unnecessary, overly complex, and potentially productive of error because it detracts from the proper focus of the fiduciary inquiry.
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spelling doaj-art-5a1dab7d902c4370960bd33997dec6f32025-08-20T02:50:40ZengBond UniversityBond Law Review1033-45052202-48242018-01-0130210.53300/001c.5664The Dangerous Dichotomy: Abandoning the ‘Proscriptive’ and ‘Prescriptive’ Classification of Fiduciary Duties and the ‘Proscriptive Limitation’Nicholas SaadyThe ‘proscriptive’ (negative) and ‘prescriptive’ (positive) dichotomy of fiduciary duties has attracted great contemporary interest, as the High Court has held that fiduciary duties are only proscriptive. The ‘dichotomy’ and ‘proscriptive limitation’ have been debated by scholars and judges. This article provides some perspective to the debate. It suggests that the proscriptive limitation is misleading because fiduciary duties are dynamic and unfixed, and because some fiduciary duties are positive. It also suggests that classifying duties within the dichotomy is unnecessary, overly complex, and potentially productive of error because it detracts from the proper focus of the fiduciary inquiry.https://doi.org/10.53300/001c.5664
spellingShingle Nicholas Saady
The Dangerous Dichotomy: Abandoning the ‘Proscriptive’ and ‘Prescriptive’ Classification of Fiduciary Duties and the ‘Proscriptive Limitation’
Bond Law Review
title The Dangerous Dichotomy: Abandoning the ‘Proscriptive’ and ‘Prescriptive’ Classification of Fiduciary Duties and the ‘Proscriptive Limitation’
title_full The Dangerous Dichotomy: Abandoning the ‘Proscriptive’ and ‘Prescriptive’ Classification of Fiduciary Duties and the ‘Proscriptive Limitation’
title_fullStr The Dangerous Dichotomy: Abandoning the ‘Proscriptive’ and ‘Prescriptive’ Classification of Fiduciary Duties and the ‘Proscriptive Limitation’
title_full_unstemmed The Dangerous Dichotomy: Abandoning the ‘Proscriptive’ and ‘Prescriptive’ Classification of Fiduciary Duties and the ‘Proscriptive Limitation’
title_short The Dangerous Dichotomy: Abandoning the ‘Proscriptive’ and ‘Prescriptive’ Classification of Fiduciary Duties and the ‘Proscriptive Limitation’
title_sort dangerous dichotomy abandoning the proscriptive and prescriptive classification of fiduciary duties and the proscriptive limitation
url https://doi.org/10.53300/001c.5664
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