One of the most pressing problems now facing commercial lawyers is to explain the principles which determine when a remedy is proprietary and when it is not. This book provides a broad overview of the subject. It examines representative business transactions which commonly give rise to legal or equitable interests in personal property. Its aim is to distil the fundamental principles understanding the relevant legal analyses. The result is to provide a more theoretically rigorous analytical framework for proprietary interests in personal property. The practical advantages of this are potentially twofold: new commercial transactions can be more effectively structured; in addtion, disputes between contracting parties can be more reliably resolved. Two features of the analysis are significant. The first is the elastic nature of proprietary interests in personal property. Although proprietary interests can be broadly classified as ownership or security interests, these are relative concepts which may be affected significantly by impinging contractual arrangements. The second feature is the necessary and intimate integration of law and equity. Equitable proprietary interests are remarkabldy prevalent; this prevalence is directly related to the apparent ease with which equity is able to convert particular personal obligations into proprietary interests.

'refreshing and stimulating to find a book which focuses on a problem and analyses it by reference to different legal principles...Sarah Worthington's impeccably researched and clearly written book is a valuable addition to any lawyer's library...As one would expect with any volume amanating from Clarendon Press, the book is clearly laid out and well-indexes' * Commercial Lawyer *
a relatively slender though intensely and carefully detailed 245 pages of text ... her text offers the reader as carefully documented and accurate a review of the current English common law doctrine as one might want * Catherine Walsh, Canadian Business Law Journal, Vol 32 *
'The exposition of case law is deftly handled...Dr Worthington gives concise accounts of competing interpretations and draws them together at the end of each relevant section to demonstrate a certain coherence between topics..the work can be recommended as an introductory text...the work is a great source-book since it is comprehensively footnoted...Dr Worthington's project...is vital in such a complex area as personal property law...'Proprietary Interests in Commercial Transactions' should be examined by anyone wishing to know more about this area of the law: it is accessible, thorough and thought-provoking.'