Dishonest Assistance vs Constructive Notice
26/01/2026
What’s the difference?
1. Dishonest Assistance is a liability concept in equity.
What it means: A person (often a third party) can be held liable if they dishonestly assist a trustee (or fiduciary) to commit a breach of trust.
Key elements: To prove dishonest assistance, you must show:
- A breach of trust/fiduciary duty occurred
- The defendant assisted in that breach
- The assistance was dishonest (objective/subjective test such as in Twinsectra v Yardley, later refined in Ivey v Genting)
Why it matters: It imposes personal liability on the dishonest assistant — even if they received no benefit and were not a trustee.
Example: A lawyer knowingly helps a trustee move trust money into an improper investment. If proven dishonest, the lawyer is liable.
2. Constructive Notice
Constructive notice is a knowledge concept — not a liability in itself.
What it means: The law treats a person as if they knew a fact, even if they did not actually know, because:
- They ought to have known, or
- A reasonable person would have discovered it, or
- The information was available to them with proper due diligence.
Constructive notice is widely used in property, companies, money laundering compliance, and trust law.
Key features:
- No need for dishonesty
- No moral fault required
- It is an imputed knowledge standard
Example: The easiest way to remember
- Dishonest assistance = “You helped them do something wrong, and you knew it.”
- Constructive notice = “You should have known; the law treats you as if you did.”
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As well as owning and publishing Comsure's copyrighted works, Comsure wishes to use the copyright-protected works of others. To do so, Comsure is applying for exemptions in the UK copyright law. There are certain very specific situations where Comsure is permitted to do so without seeking permission from the owner. These exemptions are in the copyright sections of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 (as amended)[www.gov.UK/government/publications/copyright-acts-and-related-laws]. Many situations allow for Comsure to apply for exemptions. These include 1] Non-commercial research and private study, 2] Criticism, review and reporting of current events, 3] the copying of works in any medium as long as the use is to illustrate a point. 4] no posting is for commercial purposes [payment]. (for a full list of exemptions, please read here www.gov.uk/guidance/exceptions-to-copyright]. Concerning the exceptions, Comsure will acknowledge the work of the source author by providing a link to the source material. Comsure claims no ownership of non-Comsure content. The non-Comsure articles posted on the Comsure website are deemed important, relevant, and newsworthy to a Comsure audience (e.g. regulated financial services and professional firms [DNFSBs]). Comsure does not wish to take any credit for the publication, and the publication can be read in full in its original form if you click the articles link that always accompanies the news item. Also, Comsure does not seek any payment for highlighting these important articles. If you want any article removed, Comsure will automatically do so on a reasonable request if you email info@comsuregroup.com.