Purpose trusts are used in Mauritius for orphan structures, holding arrangements and long-term philanthropic objectives. What distinguishes them is structural: with no beneficiary in the ordinary sense, the usual mechanism for supervising a trustee is absent. Under section 19 of the Trusts Act 2001, a purpose trust is not even valid unless its instrument provides for the appointment of an enforcer — and for a successor to that enforcer.
The enforcer is the accountability mechanism
Section 21 makes enforcement the enforcer's duty: to hold the trustee to the trust's terms and purposes. The Act also builds in independence — no one may act as both trustee and enforcer of the same trust — and constrains the role itself: an enforcer must not sit in a position that conflicts with that duty, may not profit from the appointment beyond a reasonable fee and expenses, and may not deal on their own account with the trustee or the trust property. The appointment is only meaningful if it is taken as seriously as the trusteeship itself — with an enforcer who understands the purpose and has the practical capacity to act when something is wrong.
Some rights are already in the Act — plan for the rest
An enforcer does not start from nothing. Section 21(6) already entitles them to the trust's annual accounts, a copy of the trust instrument and any deed it refers to, and the legal opinions and advice the trustees have received; and an enforcer already has standing to apply to the Supreme Court, being named in the Act's own definition of a person with an interest in the trust. What is not automatic is everything beyond that baseline — most importantly, being consulted before a material decision is taken. That is worth setting out expressly in the instrument, because the gap is exactly where a passive enforcer becomes a decorative one.
Plan for succession in the role
The Act does not leave succession entirely to the drafting. If a qualified trustee has reason to believe an appointed enforcer is dead, unwilling, unfit or incapable of acting, section 19(4) requires the trustee to inform the Attorney-General, who must then appoint a successor within 90 days — the successor named in the trust if there is one, or otherwise a fit and proper person of the Attorney-General's choosing. That backstop is real, but it hands the choice to the Attorney-General rather than to the settlor's own plan, which is precisely why naming a successor in the instrument still matters.
Monitoring is an ongoing function
In practice the role is continuous rather than reactive: reviewing how the purpose is being pursued, coordinating with trustees and service providers, and keeping a record adequate to demonstrate that oversight was exercised. Structures that treat the appointment as formal tend to discover the gap late.
Sources
- Trusts Act 2001 (Act 14 of 2001), sections 19 and 21 — Laws of Mauritius.
- Financial Services Commission, Trusts Act 2001 (consolidated text).