Abstract:

There are two typical regulation patterns of trustee’s liability in comparative law. The America’s duty of prudent administration entrusts broad discretionary powers to trustee to decide whether or not to delegate an agent to deal with trust affairs，and regulates that the trustee is applied to fault liability if he or she breaches personal duty of administration，and encourages an agent to deal with trust affairs. In contrast，the regulation pattern of power of delegation in Japan entrusts limited discretionary powers to the trustee for delegating an agent to deal with trust affairs，and regulates that the trustee is liable for strict liability if he or she breaches personal duty of administration，which shows that Japan restricts the powers of trustee to delegate an agent to deal with trust affairs. The America’s duty of prudent administration is in the maximum interests of the beneficiaries and in compliance with the essence of personal administration of the trustee. However，China’s trust law strictly restricts the agent in deal with trust affairs，which is inappropriate. It is advisable for China to improve the principle of personal administration of the trustee by learning from America’s duty of prudent administration.

Key words: trustee, duty of personal administration, prudent duty, power of delegation, regulation pattern