Essay Examples on Le Moyne College

The Common Law jurisprudence

In the Common Law jurisprudence a trust is the legal relationship between one person having an equitable ownership in property and another person owning the legal title to such property In the context of the Public Trust Doctrine the legal title is vested in the state and the equitable title in the public Thus the state is responsible as trustee to manage the property in the interest of the public The ancient Roman Empire developed this legal theory The Public Trust Doctrine primarily rests on the principle that certain resources like air sea waters and the forests have such a great importance to the people as a whole that it would be wholly unjustified to make them a subject of private ownership The doctrine says that natural resources meant for public use and enjoyment are held by the State as the trustee of the public and can only be disposed of in a manner that is consistent with the nature of such a trust The doctrine was first enunciated in its modern form by US Supreme Court in Illinois Central Railroad Company v People of State of Illinois At that period in time the public trust was used to protect and prohibit interference with three uses of the trust property namely for the purposes of commerce navigation and fishing However contemporary society concerns with environmental protection and resource conservation which extends beyond navigable waters to include far ranging elements of ecosystem

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