Coke, Collusion, and Conveyances: Unearthing the Roots of Twyne's Case

Abstract

Twyne's Case, a leading case of Anglo-American fraudulent conveyances law, decided in 1602 by the Court of Star Chamber, states six marks et ensigns de fraud: if for instance a debtor conveys the entirety of his assets or conveys them to a closely connected person, this transfer of property is presumed to be fraudulent with regard to his creditors. This – at first glance – English concept of facilitating the evidence of fraud by the means of six presumptions stems from the ius commune and is rooted in the writings of the glossators of the thirteenth century, who developed this doctrine based on Roman legal sources from the Corpus Iuris Civilis. If not the members of the Star Chamber themselves in their judgment, at least Sir Edward Coke, when reporting their decision, incorporated this continental doctrine of praesumptiones fraudis into the law of fraudulent conveyances, where it still plays a prominent role in Anglo-American law.