Contract & Commercial Law vocabulary · Companies & Partnerships

Fiduciary duty

Meaning in contract & commercial law, with examples

/fɪˈdjuːʃəri ˈdjuːti/nounCommon term

In contract & commercial law, fiduciary duty means: A legal duty to act in the best interests of another person or organisation, owed for example by directors to their company or by agents to their principal.

In Turkish: sadakat yükümlülüğü, özen ve bağlılık yükümlülüğü, güvene dayalı yükümlülük

How it is used

It includes duties of loyalty and care, such as avoiding conflicts of interest and not making secret profits. You 'owe', 'breach' or 'discharge' a fiduciary duty. Common in company law, trusts, agency and financial services.

Example sentences

  1. The director breached his fiduciary duty by giving the contract to his brother's company.

  2. Directors owe a fiduciary duty to the company, not to individual shareholders.

Common collocations

  • owe a fiduciary duty
  • breach of fiduciary duty
  • fiduciary relationship
  • act as a fiduciary

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: Companies & Partnerships

Practise with graded reading

Reading at the right level is the fastest way to make new words stick. Pick free English books by level:

This page explains English vocabulary for learners. It is not legal advice.