DIFC Law No. 4/2018 also known as the DIFC Trust Law, is essentially the 2005 Law modelled on Uniform Trust Code (US) with additions and some amendments.

The DIFC proceeded in this way rather than by amendment of the 2005 Law as it enabled clean numbering and a formatted version of the Law.

There are 25 articles of the 2005 Law amended. There are two articles omitted (1 replaced) and 18 new articles included.

Schedule 1 provides trust is a right, enforceable solely in equity, to the beneficial enjoyment of property to which another person holds the legal title and includes a charitable trust, a purpose trust and a foreign trust.

There have been some key changes with the new law. These include:

• provision for correction of mistakes in establishing a trust and its administration (this is sometimes referred to as the Hastings-Bass jurisdiction);

• ADR mechanisms with compulsory arbitration possible;

• formal exclusion of English Statute Law;

• enhancement of the private international law provisions;

• enabling exclusion of challenging beneficiaries;

• the court's power to vary, and rectify, trust instruments enhanced;

• trust asset management powers clarified (cf. VISTA trusts); and