“Peter’s Pills” è la rubrica online di Legal English curata da Federnotizie, in collaborazione con Confprofessioni e Beprof.
In questa videolezione parliamo di “Legal Ownership, Equitable Ownership, and Beneficial Ownership Compared”. Il termine “proprietà” può riferirsi a diversi tipi di diritti a seconda del contesto giuridico. Tuttavia, è importante fare attenzione: proprietà legale, proprietà equitativa e proprietà effettiva non devono essere usate in modo intercambiabile, poiché svolgono funzioni giuridiche distinte.
La video-lezione è disponibile anche su Federnotizie e sull’app Beprof, scaricabile gratuitamente da App Store e Google Play.
Transcript:
Hello!
In common law, the term “ownership”[1] can refer to different types of rights depending on the legal context but please be careful because legal, equitable, and beneficial ownership should not be used interchangeably, as they serve distinct legal functions.
Legal Ownership
- Refers to ownership recognised at law;
- The legal owner’s name appears on the title or register;
- Has the power to sell, transfer, or mortgage the asset;
- In land law, the legal owner is often the trustee (e.g. under a trust or co- ownership structure).
Equitable Ownership
- A term often used in Trust and Property Law;
- Recognised by courts of equity, but not visible in public registries;
- The equitable owner has a right to enjoy or benefit from the asset;
- Arises most commonly in trusts where the trustee holds legal title, while the beneficiary holds the equitable interest;
- Is a form of property right and is therefore alienable — meaning it may be assigned[2] to another person, sold for value, left by will[3], or transferred into a trust.
Beneficial Ownership
- A term used in financial regulation, anti-money laundering (AML)[4] and Company Law;
- Refers to the natural person who ultimately owns or controls a company, trust, or asset and who is often referred to as the Ultimate Beneficial Owner (UBO)[5];
- May align with equitable ownership but is defined more broadly for regulatory purposes.
Be careful: “beneficial owner” in AML (titolare effettivo) does not necessarily mean “equitable owner” in the traditional legal sense. The term “equitable owner” does not have a direct equivalent in Italian law.
Thank you very much and see you next time for more Peter’s Pills to improve your Legal English!
Note
[1] ownership – proprietà
[2] assigned – ceduta
[3] will – testamento
[4] anti-money laundering – antiriciclaggio
[5] Ultimate Beneficial Owner – titolare effettivo
