Green v Green [2003] UKPC 39
Trusts – Constructive Trusts – Beneficial Interest – Common Intention – Property
Facts
The complainant and defendant met when they were both married to another partner. In 1973, they formed a relationship and later had two children. Although they lived together as man and wife, they did not legally marry until 1984, as their previous divorces had delayed their marriage. The case involved a dispute over their seven properties in Jamaica. The title of five of the properties was solely in the defendant’s name. One property was registered in their joint names with no title produced for the remaining property. The complainant had worked as a full-time supervisor throughout the relationship, while the defendant ran the businesses and dealt with their finances. There was never any express agreement regarding the beneficial interest in the property. In 1987, the couple parted ways and in 1990, the defendant moved to the US.
Issues
The appeal to the Privy Council concerned whether the complainant had beneficial interest in equity to the property. It had been held that the complainant had one third interest in one of the properties in Jamaica, but not in the remaining six properties. There was an appeal to the Privy Council on this issue.
Decision/Outcome
The appeal was allowed and the original judgement was restored, which granted the complainant one third beneficial interest in the all of the properties in Jamaica and two thirds to the defendant. Lord Hope stated that there had to be a detrimental reliance on the common intention in order for there to be an assumption of beneficial interest.
Updated 21 March 2026
This case summary accurately reflects the decision in Green v Green [2003] UKPC 39. The Privy Council’s analysis of constructive trusts and common intention, as described, remains consistent with the broader legal framework governing common intention constructive trusts in English and Commonwealth law. Readers should note, however, that the leading domestic authorities on common intention constructive trusts have developed significantly since 2003, most notably through Stack v Dowden [2007] UKHL 17 and Jones v Kernott [2011] UKSC 53, which refined the approach to inferred and imputed common intention, particularly in the context of cohabiting couples and jointly owned property. Those cases, decided by the UK Supreme Court and House of Lords, represent the current legal position in England and Wales and should be read alongside this Privy Council decision. As a Privy Council case concerning Jamaican property, Green v Green does not bind English courts, though it remains a useful illustration of the detrimental reliance requirement in common intention constructive trust analysis.
