Scottish Burial Reform and Cremation Society v Glasgow Corporation: HL 26 Jul 1967

The appellants sought partial exemption from rates on its premises. The Corporation challenged their charitable status. The society’s object was to encourage and provide facilities for cremation.
Held: The object was charitable.
Lord Reid said that it was not now necessary to produce evidence so as to show that the object was for the public benefit, and also that, this being so, the public benefit was not subverted because there was or might also be a profit or benefit to individuals involved in the prosecution of the objects: ‘But the appellants must also show that the public benefit is of a kind within the spirit and intendment of the Statute of Elizabeth I. The preamble specifies a number of objects which were then recognised as charitable. But in more recent times a wide variety of other objects have come to be recognised as also being charitable. The courts appear to have proceeded first by seeking some analogy between an object mentioned in the preamble and the object with regard to which they had to reach a decision. And then they appear to have gone further and to have been satisfied if they could find an analogy between an object already held to be charitable and the new object claimed to be charitable. And this gradual extension has proceeded so far that there are few modern reported cases where a bequest or donation was made or an institution was being carried on for a clearly specified object which was for the benefit of the public at large and not of individuals, and yet the object was held not to be within the spirit and intendment of the Statute of Elizabeth I. Counsel in the present case were invited to search for any case having even the remotest resemblance to this case in which an object was held to be for the public benefit but yet not to be within that spirit and intendment. But no such case could be found.’
Lord Upjohn said: ‘Upon the first point it must be remembered that Lord Macnaghten’s classification was taken from Sir Samuel Romilly’s argument in Morice v. Bishop of Durham 162 years ago when the great majority of the inhabitants of the country were living in conditions which to-day would be regarded as of the utmost squalor. The concept of purposes beneficial to the community might then appear to have the qualities of a class and so perhaps, to a lesser extent, in 1891. This so-called fourth class is incapable of further definition and can today hardly be regarded as more than a portmanteau to receive those objects which enlightened opinion would regard as qualifying for consideration under the second heading.’
As to the preamble to the 1601 Act: ‘While it may seem almost incredible to anyone not familiar with this branch of the English law that this should still be taken as the test, it is undoubtedly the accepted test, though only in a very wide and broad sense, well illustrated by the observations of Lord Greene M.R. in In re Strakosch [1949] Ch 529 . .’
He concluded, with some skepticism: ‘My Lords, I conclude by saying that the authorities show that the ‘spirit and intendment’ of the preamble to the Statute of Elizabeth have been stretched almost to breaking point. In the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries this was often due to a desire on the part of the courts to save the intentions of the settlor or testator from failure from some technical rule of law. Now that it is used so frequently to avoid the common man’s liability to rates or taxes, this generous trend of the law may one day require reconsideration.’

Judges:

Lord Reid, Lord Guest, Lord Upjohn, Lord Wilberforce, Lord Pearson

Citations:

[1967] UKHL 3, [1968] AC 138, [1967] 3 All ER 215

Links:

Bailii

Statutes:

Local Government (Financial Provisions etc.) (Scotland) Act 1962, Mortmain and Charitable Uses Act 1888 13

Jurisdiction:

Scotland

Citing:

CitedMorice v The Bishop of Durham CA 26-Mar-1804
Bequest, in trust for such objects of benevolence and liberality as the trustee in his own discretion shall most approve, cannot be supported as a charitable Legacy ; and is therefore a Trust for the next of kin.
Ann Cracherade by her Will, . .

Cited by:

CitedHelena Partnerships Ltd v HM Revenue and Customs CA 9-May-2012
The company had undertaken substantial building works and sought associated tax relief. The court was asked whether, following a change in the company’s memorandum and articles of association, the company, a registered social landlord, remained a . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Charity, Rating

Updated: 09 July 2022; Ref: scu.248565

Inland Revenue Commissioners v Glasgow Police Athletic Association: HL 9 Mar 1953

The House was asked whether the taxpayer association was established for ‘Charitable purposes only’ so as to benefit from tax exemptions. The association promoted sporting activities among members of the Glasgow police.
Held: Though the purposes included charitable objects, they also included objects which were not charitable. Lord Normand: ‘what the Respondents must show in the circumstances of this case is that so viewed objectively the Association is established for a public purpose, and that the private benefits to members are the unsought consequences of the pursuit of the public purpose, and can therefore be disregarded as incidental. That is a view which I cannot take. The private benefits to members are essential. The recreation of the members is an end in itself, and without its attainment the public purpose would never come into view. ‘

If an association has two purposes, one charitable and the other not, and if the two purposes are such and so related that the non-charitable purpose cannot be regarded as incidental to the other, the Association is not a body established for charitable purposes only.

Judges:

Lord Normand, Lord Oaksey, Lord Morton of Henryton, Lord Reid, Lord Cohen

Citations:

[1953] UKHL 1, [1953] AC 380

Links:

Bailii

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Citing:

CitedIn re Goode 1905
Gifts made for the pormotion of the efficiency of armed services were charitable in nature. . .
CitedIn re Gray 1925
Gifts made exclusively for the purpose of promoting the efficiency of the armed forces are good charitable gifts. . .
CitedIncome Tax Special Commissioners v Pemsel HL 20-Jul-1891
Charitable Purposes used with technical meaning
The House was asked whether, in a taxing statute applying to the whole of the United Kingdom and allowing for deductions from and allowances against the income of land vested in trustees for charitable purposes, the words ‘charitable purposes’ . .
CitedGilmour v Coats HL 1949
Prayers Alone did not make Convent Charitable
A trust to apply the income of a fund for all or any of the purposes of a community of Roman Catholic Carmelite nuns living in seclusion and spending their lives in prayer, contemplation and penance, was not charitable because it could not be shown . .
CitedHobourn Aero Components Limited’s Air Raid Distress Fund 1946
Voluntary collections from employees of the munition factories belonging to a certain company were to be used to relieve without a means test the distress suffered by the employees from air raids.
Held: This was not a charity. . .
CitedHobourn Aero Components Limited’s Air Raid Distress Fund CA 2-Jan-1946
The trust sought charitable exemption for sums collected voluntarily from workers in a munitions factory for the benefit of co-workers who had suffered in the Blitz. The judge had found the trusts not to be charitable.
Held: The appeal failed. . .
CitedOppenheim v Tobacco Securities Trust Co Ltd HL 13-Dec-1950
Trustees were directed to apply certain income in providing for ‘the education of children of employees or former employees’ of a British limited company or any of its subsidiary or allied companies. The number of eligible employees was over . .
CitedInland Revenue Commissioners v Yorkshire Agricultural Society 1928
If a substantial part of the objects of a body of persons is to benefit its own members, the body of persons is not established for charitable purposes only. Atkin LJ considered the problems arising from the fact that the Association had more than . .
CitedInstitution of Civil Engineers v Forrest 1890
Lord MacNaughten considered how the purpose of an institution should be considered: ‘It cannot, I think, be doubted that the Institution has raised the standard of the profession, and that to a civil engineer it is of advantage and probably of . .
CitedRoyal College of Surgeons of England v National Provincial Bank Ltd HL 1952
The College was established to promote and encourage the study and practice of the art and science of surgery. The professional protection of members of the College (not a charitable purpose) was held to be ‘an incidental though an important and . .
CitedOxford Group v Inland Revenue Commissioners 1949
If a non-charitable object of an association is itself one of the purposes of the body of persons and is not merely incidental to the charitable purpose, the body of persons is not a body of persons formed for charitable purposes only within the . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Charity

Updated: 09 July 2022; Ref: scu.248516

Baddeley (Trustees of the Newtown Trust) v Inland Revenue Commissioners: HL 17 Feb 1955

Land had been conveyed to trustees for the moral, social and physical well-being of a community. The court considered whether the trust was charitable in nature, where it was said that it confined the benefits to a class of people who do not constitute either the public or a relevant section of the public.
Held: It was not charitable, in particular that it failed for its vagueness and generality.
Lord Simonds distinguished between ‘a form of relief extended to the whole community yet, by its very nature, advantageous only to the few, and a form of relief accorded to a selected few out of a larger number equally willing and able to take advantage of it’, saying ‘Somewhat different considerations arise if the form, which the purporting charity takes, is something of general utility which is, nevertheless, made available not to the whole public but only to a selected body of the public – an important class of the public it may be. For example, a bridge which is available for all the public may undoubtedly be a charity and it is indifferent how many people use it. But confine its use to a selected number of persons, however numerous and important: it is then clearly not a charity. It is not of general public utility, for it does not serve the public purpose which its nature qualifies it to serve.’ and ‘The moral, social and physical well-being of the community, or any part of it, is a laudable object of benevolence and philanthropy, but its ambit is far too wide to include only purposes which the law regards as charitable.’

Judges:

Viscount Simonds, Lord Porter, Lord Reid, Lord Tucker, Lord Somervell of Harrow

Citations:

[1955] UKHL 1, [1955] AC 572, [1955] 1 All ER 525

Links:

Bailii

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Citing:

CitedVerge v Somerville PC 1924
On an appeal from New South Wales, The Board considered the validity of a gift ‘to the trustees’ of the Repatriation Fund or other similar fund for the benefit of New South Wales returned soldiers’.
Held: Trusts for education and religion do . .

Cited by:

CitedGuild v Inland Revenue Commissioners HL 6-May-1992
The will left land for a sports centre to a local authority which no longer existed. If the gift was charitable, the gift would be applied cy pres, but if not it would fail and pass to the family and be subect to Inheritance Tax.
Held: A gift . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Charity, Trusts

Updated: 09 July 2022; Ref: scu.248522

Chichester Diocesan Board of Finance v Simpson: HL 21 Jun 1944

The court was asked whether a gift in a will to the trustees ‘for such charitable institution or institutions or other charitable or benevolent object or objects in England’ as they should select, was valid.
Held: ‘The fundamental principle is that the testator must by the terms of his will himself dispose of the property with which the will proposes to deal. With one single exception, he cannot by his will direct executors or trustees to do the business for him. That exception arises when the testator is minded to make gifts for charitable purposes, and where he directs his executors or trustees, within such limitations as he chooses to lay down, to make the selection of charities to be benefited. This exception from the general principle that the testator has to decide in his will the specific destination of his property is allowed because of the special favour which the English law shows to charities, and the conception of what is charitable for such purposes has been elaborately worked out so that the courts are able to determine whether a particular gift is charitable or not. ‘ In this case the will allowed also for ‘benevolent’ and therefore non-charitable causes.

Citations:

[1944] UKHL 2, [1944] AC 341

Links:

Bailii

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Cited by:

CitedSir Graham Stanley Latimer and others – Trustees for the Crown Forestry Rental Trust v The Commissioner of Inland Revenue PC 25-Feb-2004
PC (New Zealand) The Crown created a charitable trust for certain Maori people. Upon exhaustion of the purpose, the fund was to revert to the Crown. The trustees appealed a finding of liability to income tax.
CitedOffice of Fair Trading (OFT) v Abbey National Plc and Others SC 25-Nov-2009
The banks appealed against a ruling that the OFT could investigate the fairness or otherwise of their systems for charging bank customers for non-agreed items as excessive relative to the services supplied. The banks said that regulation 6(2) could . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Wills and Probate, Charity

Updated: 09 July 2022; Ref: scu.248500

Gibbs v Harding and others: ChD 12 Jan 2007

The testatrix left a will anticipating making another. The court was asked whether a clause leaving her estate to ‘be taken over by the Diocese of Westminster to hold in trust for the Black community of Hackney’ was valid.
Held: The gift was capable of being charitable, subject to the application of the 1976 Act. It therefore took effect as a gift to the Roman Catholic Diocese of Westminster on charitable trusts.

Judges:

Lewison J

Citations:

[2007] EWHC 3 (Ch)

Links:

Bailii

Statutes:

Race Relations Act 1976 34

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Citing:

CitedHarrison v Gibson ChD 21-Dec-2005
The husband owned the family home. In a home-made will, he left it ‘in trust for’ his wife. She died leaving differing proportions to each child. On her death the children sought a declaration from the court as to their respective interests.
CitedMitford v Reynolds 1842
A gift was made to the native inhabitans of Dacca. It was challenged as being void.
Held: As to whether a gift was charitable, the same principles apply when a particular class of inhabitants of a locality are the beneficiaries as when the the . .
CitedIn Re Dominion Students’ Hall Trust 1947
A trust deed imposed a ‘colour bar’.
Held: The court upheld a scheme which removed the bar. However, notionally there could be two complementary charities ‘one for white and one for coloured students’. These notional trusts were not being . .
CitedAttorney General v Webster 1875
A trust expressed to be for the benefit of a fluctuating body of individuals, such as the inhabitants of a locality, can only take effect as a charitable trust, if it has effect at all. . .
CitedGoodman v Mayor of Saltash HL 1882
A gift was made of a right to fish to the freemen of the Borough of Saltash.
Held: The gift was as valid as a charitable gift as would be a gift to the inhabitants of the locality in general. When long and continuous enjoyment is established, . .
CitedRegina v District Auditor No 3 Audit District of West Yorkshire Metropolitan County Council ex parte West Yorkshire Metropolitan County Council 1986
. .
CitedMcPhail v Doulton (on appeal from In re Baden’s Deed Trusts) HL 6-May-1970
The settlor asked whether the test for validity, in point of certainty of objects, is the same for trusts and powers, or whether the test for trusts is more demanding.
Held: The test is the same. The context was a provision, held to be a . .
CitedRe Mellody 1918
A gift to the schoolchildren of Turton was as valid a charitable gift as a gift to the inhabitants of the Borough would be. The gift was a gift ‘for purposes beneficial to a section of the community’; and the schoolchildren themselves were ‘a very . .
CitedIn re Smith 1932
A gift ‘unto my country England’ was construed as a charitable gift for the benefit of the inhabitants of England and, by analogy with the cases on gifts to a parish, town or city, as impressed with a trust that it be applied for charitable purposes . .
CitedIn Re Strakosch 1949
The court may construe a gift as impliedly limited to charitable purposes. Lord Greene MR said: ‘In Williams’ Trustees v Inland Revenue Commissioners the House of Lords has laid down very clearly that in order to come within Lord Macnaghten’s fourth . .
CitedWilliams’ Trustees v Inland Revenue Commisioners HL 1947
A trust was created by the memorandum and articles of association of a company. The overall objects of the company were to promote Welsh interests in London. The principal object of the trust was to create a centre in London ‘for promoting the moral . .
CitedMorice v Bishop of Durham HL 1805
The court was asked whether a gift of residue to be applied ‘to such objects of benevolence and liberality as the Bishop of Durham in his own discretion shall most approve of’ was valid as being confined to purposes that were charitable.
Held: . .
CitedGlazebrook v University of Leeds ChD 1944
The court upheld a charitable gift despite its uncertainty. . .
CitedPeggs and Others v Lamb and Others ChD 20-Apr-1993
Where beneficiaries had dwindled and income increased, the class of beneficiaries was extended. A gift to a class of people would be construed to be charitable unless there was something in the gift to exclude the presumption. It had been submitted . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Wills and Probate, Charity, Discrimination

Updated: 09 July 2022; Ref: scu.247686

National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children v Scottish National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children: HL 1915

A Scotsman left his money to a beneficiary which he called the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children.
Held: The House refused to accept that a gift to the ‘National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children’ should go to the society of that name, which had its head office in Leicester Square. It relied upon the background facts that the testator was ‘a Scotsman living in Scotland’ who had made a ‘Scotch will’ to construe the will as intended to refer to the ‘Scottish National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty of Children’. There was not ‘a rigid rule’ that ‘once a persona is accurately named in a will’ there is not to be ‘any further inquiry or consideration in regard to the person who is to take the benefit.’ The true rule is that ‘the accurate use of a name in a will creates a strong presumption against any rival who is not the possessor of the name.’
Earl Loreburn said: ‘My Lords, I think the true ground upon which to base a decision in this case is that the accurate use of a name in a will creates a strong presumption against any rival who is not the possessor of the name mentioned in the will. It is a very strong presumption and one which cannot be overcome except in exceptional circumstances. I use as a convenient method of expressing one’s thought the term ‘presumption’. What I mean is that what a man has said ought to be acted upon unless it is clearly proved that he meant something different from what he said’.

Judges:

Earl Loreburn, Parmoor, Atkinson, Shaw LL

Citations:

[1915] AC 207

Jurisdiction:

Scotland

Cited by:

CitedMannai Investment Co Ltd v Eagle Star Assurance HL 21-May-1997
Minor Irregularity in Break Notice Not Fatal
Leases contained clauses allowing the tenant to break the lease by serving not less than six months notice to expire on the third anniversary of the commencement date of the term of the lease. The tenant gave notice to determine the leases on 12th . .
CitedSatterthwaite, Re CA 26-Jan-1966
The testatrix, a wealthy widow had left nearly all her fortune to animal charities. The executors now sought directions, being unable to identify several charities from the names in the will.
Held: The terms of the will demonstrated an . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Wills and Probate, Charity

Updated: 04 July 2022; Ref: scu.185093

Regina v National Trust for Places of Historic Interest Or Natural Beauty ex parte Scott, Summerskill and others: Admn 16 Jul 1997

Citations:

[1997] EWHC Admin 694

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Cited by:

See AlsoScott v The National Trust CA 1998
Trustees, in the exercise of their fiduciary discretions, are under constraints which do not apply to adult individuals disposing of their own property. Walker LJ said: ‘Certain points are clear beyond argument. Trustees must act in good faith, . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Charity, Judicial Review

Updated: 04 July 2022; Ref: scu.137639

Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra v Customs and Excise: ChD 21 Jul 2005

The Orchestra claimed exemption from VAT as a voluntary body supplying cultural services. The respondent argued that since the administrator was paid, the body was not voluntary.
Held: The board operated as would a commercial company. All members were voluntary save the managing director who was paid. Where the remuneration of a board member was not linked to the operating profit of the company, the fact that he was paid would not take the company outside the exemption, since he would not have an interest in the profits. However, the tribunal should have continued to consider whether the management of the company remained essentially voluntary. That was a question of fact for each case. In this case the managing director’s substantial responsibility meant the the board was no longer essentially voluntary, and the Board had lost its exemption.

Citations:

[2005] EWHC 1566 (Ch), Times 06-Sep-2005

Links:

Bailii

Statutes:

Directive 77/388/EC 813, Value Added Tax Act 1994 SCh9

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Citing:

CitedKennemer Golf and Country Club v Staatssecretaris van Financien, Zoological Society of London v Commissioners of Customs and Excise Case ECJ 21-Mar-2002
The bodies sought exemption from certain elements of VAT as ‘non-profit’ making or ‘voluntary’ bodies. Their activities included trading activities, but they did not set out to make a profit overall.
Held: For certain exemptions, the term . .
Appeal fromBournemouth Symphony Orchestra v Customs and Excise VDT 15-Oct-2004
The Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra (‘BSO’) did not benefit from an exemption from VAT provided by Article 13A(1)(n) of the Sixth Directive and by the Valued Added Tax Act 1994 Schedule 9 Group 13. The BSO was not ‘managed and administered on an . .

Cited by:

Appeal fromBournemouth Symphony Orchestra v Revenue and Customs CA 9-Oct-2006
The Orchestra apealed a finding that it was not entitled to exemption from VAT as a supply by an eligible body of a cultural performance. The taxpayer’s board was voluntary, but the management was employed.
Held: The appeal failed. In order to . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

VAT, Charity

Updated: 01 July 2022; Ref: scu.228965

Longborough Festival Opera v Customs and Excise: VDT 26 May 2005

VDT EXEMPTION – Cultural services – Eligible body- Preclusion from distributing profits – Management and administration on voluntary basis by persons with no financial interest in the body’s activities – Appellant company limited by guarantee having four ‘trustees’- Trustee undertaking to guarantee losses of Appellant – Same trustee making loans to Appellant – Same trustee owning premises in which Appellant stages operatic productions – Same trustee sole director and majority share holder of commercial company which had financial dealings with Appellant – Whether Appellant managed and administered on voluntary basis by person with no financial interest in its activities – No – EC Sixth Dir, Art 13A.2(a) – VATA 1994, Sch 9, Gp 13, Item 2(b), Note (2)

Citations:

[2005] UKVAT V19096

Links:

Bailii

Cited by:

Appeal fromLongborough Festival Opera v HM Revenue and Customs ChD 27-Jan-2006
The charitable company sought tax exemption as an eligible body supplying music of a cultural nature.
Held: the company’s artciles prohibited distribution of profits, and the management as by directors having no financial interest. . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

VAT, Charity

Updated: 01 July 2022; Ref: scu.228548

Inland Revenue v City of Glasgow Police Athletic Association: HL 9 Mar 1953

HL Income Tax – Exemption – Charitable purposes – Police Athletic Association – Finance Act, 1921 (11 and 12 Geo. V, c. 17), Section 30 (1) (c); Finance Act, 1927 (17 and 18 Geo. V, c. 10), Section 24.

Citations:

[1953] UKHL TC – 34 – 76, 34 TC 76

Links:

Bailii

Statutes:

Finance Act 1921 30(1)(c), Finance Act 1927 24

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Income Tax, Charity

Updated: 28 June 2022; Ref: scu.560150

Ulrich v Treasury Solicitor and Others: ChD 28 Jan 2005

A fund was set up before the 1954 Act. Its objects were not entirley charitable, being for the employees of a company. The trustees appealed refusal of a declaration that it was charitable.
Held: The intention was to apply the funds for the benefit of the company’s employees and their dependants who were in difficulties. The trust would be applied exclusively for charitable purposes rather than for the non-charitable ones of benefitting employees of the company generally. Declaration granted. The case of re Wykes was to be preferred to the Gillingham Bus case.

Judges:

Hart J

Citations:

Times 23-Mar-2005

Statutes:

Charitable Trusts (Validation) Act 1954

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Citing:

CitedIn re Wykes, deceased; Riddington v Spencer 1961
When looking a the definition section of a statute, the presumption in law that Parliament would be especially precise and careful in its choice of language, is stronger. . .
CitedIn re Gillingham Bus Disaster Fund 1958
. .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Charity, Trusts

Updated: 27 June 2022; Ref: scu.224375

Morice v Bishop of Durham: HL 1805

The court was asked whether a gift of residue to be applied ‘to such objects of benevolence and liberality as the Bishop of Durham in his own discretion shall most approve of’ was valid as being confined to purposes that were charitable.
Held: For a non-charitable trust to be given effect at law, the beneficiaries of the trust must be identifiable.
Lord Eldon referred to the preamble to the 1601 Statute, saying: ‘where there is a gift to charity, in general, whether it is to be executed by individuals selected by the testator himself or the King as parens patriae is to execute it . . it is the duty of such trustees, on the one hand, and of the Crown, upon the other, to apply the money to charity in the sense, which the determinations have affixed to that word in this court, viz. either such charitable purposes as are expressed in the Statute . . or to purposes having analogy to those. I believe the expression ‘charitable purposes,’ as used in this court, has been applied to many acts described in that Statute, and analogous to those, not because they can with propriety be called charitable, but as that denomination is by the Statute given to all the purposes described.’ and
‘As it is a maxim, that the execution of a trust shall be under the control of the Court, it must be of such a nature, that it can be under that control; so that the administration of it can be reviewed by the Court; or, if the trustee dies, the Court itself can execute the trust; a trust therefore, which, in case of maladministration could be reformed; and a due administration directed; and then, unless the subject and the objects can be ascertained, upon principles, familiar in other cases, it must be decided, that the Court can neither reform maladministration, nor direct a due administration.’

Judges:

Lord Eldon LC, Sir William Grant MR

Citations:

(1805) 10 Ves Jun 522, [1805] EWHC Ch J80, (1805) 10 Ves 522, (1805) 32 ER 947

Links:

Bailii

Statutes:

Statute of Charitable Uses 1601

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Citing:

See AlsoMorice v The Bishop of Durham 1789
. .
See AlsoMorice v The Bishop of Durham 1789
. .
See AlsoMorice v The Bishop of Durham 1789
. .
Appeal fromMorice v The Bishop of Durham CA 26-Mar-1804
Bequest, in trust for such objects of benevolence and liberality as the trustee in his own discretion shall most approve, cannot be supported as a charitable Legacy ; and is therefore a Trust for the next of kin.
Ann Cracherade by her Will, . .

Cited by:

CitedHunt and Another v McLaren and others ChD 4-Oct-2006
Land had been given to a football club under a trust for its exclusive use as such. That land was sold and a new ground acquired and a stadium built, but the land was subject to restrictive covenenats limiting its use to sports, which considerably . .
CitedGibbs v Harding and others ChD 12-Jan-2007
The testatrix left a will anticipating making another. The court was asked whether a clause leaving her estate to ‘be taken over by the Diocese of Westminster to hold in trust for the Black community of Hackney’ was valid.
Held: The gift was . .
CitedMorice v The Bishop of Durham 20-Mar-1805
. .
See AlsoMorice v The Bishop of Durham 21-Jun-1805
. .
CitedHelena Partnerships Ltd v HM Revenue and Customs CA 9-May-2012
The company had undertaken substantial building works and sought associated tax relief. The court was asked whether, following a change in the company’s memorandum and articles of association, the company, a registered social landlord, remained a . .
CitedInland Revenue v Broadway Cottages CA 26-Jul-1954
Two charitable trusts appealed against decisions disallowing their claim to allowance for relief against income tax of certain incomes.
Held: To be valid, a trust must be one which the Court can control and execute. In this case, the . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Trusts, Charity

Updated: 27 June 2022; Ref: scu.220236

H M Attorney General v Hyde and others: ChD 5 Dec 2001

Land had been acquired by the trustees’ predecessors under the 1882 Act. The question was now whether it was subject to charitable trusts. Money having been received from the acquisition of the rights, a meeting had been held to determine the trusts upon which it was to be held. The express trusts were for the land to be held as common land and for part to be used for football and cricket. Much was now occupied by a football club. The people who might benefit from any private property rights could no longer be identified.
Held: The beneficiaries of the trust for use as common land for grazing are the occupiers from time to time. It was open to the Commissioners to approve a resolution for the creation of dual trust, for its use for grazing purposes by the then relevant occupiers from time to time, and for recreation. The trust so created is a charitable trust. The purpose for use as common grazing land is outdated and a cy pres scheme is to be created.

Judges:

Mr Justice Lawrence Collins

Citations:

[2001] EWHC Ch 464

Statutes:

Land Clauses Consolidation Act 1845, Commons Registration Act 1965, Commonable Rights Compensation Act 1882

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Citing:

CitedNash v Coombs 1868
The parties disputed interests in a sum of andpound;3053 paid by the Midland Railway Company for the acquisition in 1866 of common land. The right of common was vested in resident freemen as a result of an award of the Inclosure Commissioners in . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Charity, Land

Updated: 21 June 2022; Ref: scu.166986

Singh and Others v Teeng and Others: ChD 20 May 2013

Five trustees of a Gurdwara challenged the validity of the election of a new committee, saying that the election had not beenconducted properly.
Held: The trust was in fact, and by concession, entirely a charity, and therefore the chosen method of challenge was not available.

Judges:

Purle C HHJ

Citations:

[2014] EWHC 4813 (Ch)

Links:

Bailii

Statutes:

Charities Act 2011 115(2)

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Trusts, Charity

Updated: 17 June 2022; Ref: scu.537772

Khaira and Others v Shergill and Others: CA 17 Jul 2012

The parties disputed the trusteeship and governance of two Gurdwaras (Sikh temples). The defendants now applied for the claim to be struck out on the basis that the differences were as to Sikh doctrines and practice and as such were unjusticiable.
Held: The appeal was allowed. There were no ‘judicial or manageable standards’ by which the issues could be judged, because they turned on the question ‘who is ‘the successor’ of the original founder of the temple trusts’, which was an issue which ‘depends on the religious beliefs and practices of Sikhs generally and the Nirmal Kutia Sikh institution in particular’, and which ‘is not justiciable by the English courts’
The issues were non-justiciable: ‘non-justiciability is a salutary principle of judicial self-restraint. It ensures that judges do not overreach themselves and that they abstain from deciding questions that are neither appropriate for, nor capable of decision by, judicial method. Judges are not capable of understanding and deciding everything and it is not their function to do so. Judges are not omniscient. The courts they sit in are courts of law. There are matters on which a court is not competent to speak with authority, because of the limitations inherent in the nature of the judicial process, and therefore should not speak. That is so where the questions are not matters of law at all, such as subjective inward matters incapable of proof by direct evidence or by inference . . The deeds are silent on the criteria to be applied by another person who is asked to decide the question. It is not just a legal exercise in the construction of English trust deeds. It will be necessary to investigate the doctrines and practices of Sikhism in order to determine the criteria relevant to the claim of the 9th claimant to be successor of the First Holy Saint. In my view, the question of succession is essentially a matter of professed subjective belief and faith on which secular municipal courts cannot possibly reach a decision, either as a matter of law or fact.’

Judges:

Mummery, Hooper, Pitchford LJJ

Citations:

[2012] EWCA Civ 983, [2012] WLR(D) 214, [2012] PTSR 1697

Links:

Bailii

Statutes:

Charities Act 1993 33

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Citing:

CitedGeneral Assembly of Free Church of Scotland v Overtoun HL 1904
Craigdallie stated settled law: ‘My Lords, I disclaim altogether any right in this or any other civil court of this realm to discuss the truth or reasonableness of any of the doctrines of this or any other religious association, or to say whether . .
CitedButtes Gas and Oil Co v Hammer (No 3) HL 1981
In a defamation action, issues arose as to two conflicting oil concessions which neighbouring states in the Arabian Gulf had granted over their territorial and offshore waters. The foreign relations of the United Kingdom and Iran were also involved . .
CitedRegina v Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of Great Britain and the Commonwealth, Ex parte Wachmann 1992
A local rabbi sought judicial review of the declaration of the Chief Rabbi, following an investigation into allegations of adultery with members of his congregation, that he was religiously and morally unfit to occupy his position.
Held: Simon . .
CitedRegina v The Imam of Bury Park Mosque, Luton and others ex parte Sualiman Ali CA 12-May-1993
The court had been asked to intervene in an internal dispute as to the role of an Imam in a mosque community.
Held: The request was denied. The case was not one of public law: ‘ the particular function which the Imam was performing affected . .
CitedRegina v Dean and Chapter of St Paul’s Cathedral and Church In Wales ex parte Williamson Admn 22-Aug-1997
The claimant, subject to a vexatious litigant order under the 1981 Act, sought leave to bring judicial review proceedings of a decision by the respondents to appoint a woman to the position of Minor Canon in the cathedral.
Held: Permission was . .
CitedVarsani and others v Jesani, Patel and Her Majesty’s Attorney-General CA 3-Apr-1998
A Hindu religious sect, constituted as a charity, had split into two factions.
Held: The court had jurisdiction to order that the assets of the sect should be divided under the powers in the Act, and held upon separate trusts for the two . .
CitedRegina v Provincial Court of Church In Wales ex parte Reverend Williams Admn 23-Oct-1998
No judicial review was available of the decision of a court of the disestablished Church in Wales removing a minister for misconduct. . .
CitedBlake v Associated Newspapers Ltd QBD 31-Jul-2003
The claimant, a former Anglican priest, sued in defamation. The defendant argued that the claim was non-justiciable since it would require the court to adjudicate on matters of faith and religious doctrine.
Held: The claim could not be heard. . .
CitedHH Sant Baba Jeet Singh Ji Maharaj v Eastern Media Group and Another QBD 17-May-2010
The claimant, a Sikh religious leader complained of defamation in a Sikh journal in England. The defendant said the claim was non-justiciable since it required the court to pronouce on a matter of religious doctrine.
Held: The plea of . .
CitedShergill v Purewal and Another QBD 15-Dec-2010
The court was asked to rule that the action in defamation was non-justiciable depending for its outcome on matters of intepretation of the Sikh faith.
Held: the action was stayed. . .
CitedShergill v Purewal and Another CA 22-Jun-2011
The claimant’s defamation action had been stayed as unjusticiable. The second defendant now appealed against an order for costs against it.
Held: The appeal against the costs order was allowed. . .
CitedAttorney-General v Pearson 1817
No Alteration to Charty’s Objects
A protestant dissenters’ meeting house in Wolverhampton which was declared by a trust deed to be held for ‘the worship and service of God’ was the subject of a dispute between the schismatic congregation. The issue was the nature of the worship . .
CitedPercy v Church of Scotland Board of National Mission HL 15-Dec-2005
The claimant appealed after her claim for sex discrimination had failed. She had been dismissed from her position an associate minister of the church. The court had found that it had no jurisdiction, saying that her appointment was not an . .

Cited by:

Appeal fromShergill and Others v Khaira and Others SC 11-Jun-2014
The parties disputed the trusts upon which three Gurdwaras (Sikh Temples) were held. The Court of Appeal had held that the issues underlying the dispute were to be found in matters of the faith of the Sikh parties, and had ordered a permanent stay. . .
Main JudgmentShergill v Khaira and Others CA 2-Oct-2012
. .
CA CostsShergill and Others v Khaira and Others SC 11-Jun-2014
The parties disputed the trusts upon which three Gurdwaras (Sikh Temples) were held. The Court of Appeal had held that the issues underlying the dispute were to be found in matters of the faith of the Sikh parties, and had ordered a permanent stay. . .
CitedBelhaj and Another v Straw and Others SC 17-Jan-2017
The claimant alleged complicity by the defendant, (now former) Foreign Secretary, in his mistreatment by the US while held in Libya. He also alleged involvement in his unlawful abduction and removal to Libya, from which had had fled for political . .
See AlsoKhaira and Others v Shergill and Others ChD 23-Mar-2016
. .
See AlsoShergill and Others v Khaira and Others ChD 3-Mar-2017
The court considered the identification of one of the ancient Sikh gurus in order to ascertain the rights of current gurdwaras . .
See AlsoKhaira and Others v Shergill and Others CA 27-Oct-2017
‘This appeal raises technical but important issues on the entitlement of a party who is awarded the costs of an interlocutory appeal to an immediate assessment of those costs. Two issues of general application arise. First, is the party entitled to . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Charity, Ecclesiastical, Trusts

Updated: 14 June 2022; Ref: scu.462895

In re Sir Robert Peel’s School at Tamworth: CA 1868

Income under a trust was, until exercise of a power of revocation, if valid, subject to a mandatory trust for expenditure on the maintenance of a school.
Held: Unless and until the power of revocation was exercised, the trust was a valid charitable trust. Any revocation would not be retrospective, and pending revocation the income was to be devoted to exclusively charitable purposes. The judge had therefore, been wrong to conclude that the fact that the capital of the trust is held in trust for a non-charitable purpose (the ‘stakeholder function’) deprived the Trust of charitable status quoad the income of the Trust.

Citations:

(1868) 3 Ch App 543

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Cited by:

CitedSir Graham Stanley Latimer and others – Trustees for the Crown Forestry Rental Trust v The Commissioner of Inland Revenue PC 25-Feb-2004
PC (New Zealand) The Crown created a charitable trust for certain Maori people. Upon exhaustion of the purpose, the fund was to revert to the Crown. The trustees appealed a finding of liability to income tax.
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Charity

Updated: 14 June 2022; Ref: scu.194630

Sir Graham Stanley Latimer and others – Trustees for the Crown Forestry Rental Trust v The Commissioner of Inland Revenue: PC 25 Feb 2004

PC (New Zealand) The Crown created a charitable trust for certain Maori people. Upon exhaustion of the purpose, the fund was to revert to the Crown. The trustees appealed a finding of liability to income tax.
Held: A charitable trust could co-exist with a non-charitable trust. ‘The distinction is between ends, means and consequences. The ends must be exclusively charitable. But if the non-charitable benefits are merely the means or the incidental consequences of carrying out the charitable purposes and are not ends in themselves, charitable status is not lost.’ The fact that some residue might revert to a non-charitable purpose on the trust coming to an end need not defeat the charitable nature of the trust. The trust was exempt.

Judges:

Lord Nicholls of Birkenhead, Lord Millett, Lord Walker of Gestingthorpe, Sir Martin Nourse, Sir Kenneth Keith

Citations:

[2004] UKPC 13, Times 19-Mar-2004

Links:

PC, Bailii, PC

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Citing:

CitedRoyal College of Surgeons of England v National Provincial Bank Ltd HL 1952
The College was established to promote and encourage the study and practice of the art and science of surgery. The professional protection of members of the College (not a charitable purpose) was held to be ‘an incidental though an important and . .
CitedIn re Sir Robert Peel’s School at Tamworth CA 1868
Income under a trust was, until exercise of a power of revocation, if valid, subject to a mandatory trust for expenditure on the maintenance of a school.
Held: Unless and until the power of revocation was exercised, the trust was a valid . .
CitedChichester Diocesan Board of Finance v Simpson HL 21-Jun-1944
The court was asked whether a gift in a will to the trustees ‘for such charitable institution or institutions or other charitable or benevolent object or objects in England’ as they should select, was valid.
Held: ‘The fundamental principle is . .
CitedThellusson v Woodford 1799
A gift over to the Crown was held to be impressed with a charitable trust for the relief of the national debt and so charitable. . .
CitedNewland v Attorney-General 1809
Charitable purpose implied . .
CitedTwinsectra Ltd v Yardley and Others HL 21-Mar-2002
Solicitors acted in a loan, giving an undertaking as to its application. In breach of that undertaking they released it to the borrower. The appellants appealed a finding of liability as contributors to the breach.
Held: ‘Money in a . .
CitedNightingale v Goulbourn 1847
A testamentary gift to the Chancellor of the Exchequer was expressly impressed with a trust for Great Britain. . .
CitedBarclays Bank Ltd v Quistclose Investments Ltd; etc HL 31-Oct-1968
R Ltd were in serious financial difficulties. The company’s overdraft with the appellant bank was almost twice its permitted limit. The company sought a loan of 1 million pounds from a financier, who was willing to lend the company that sum provided . .
CitedAshton v Langdale 1851
Inference of charitable purposes. . .
CitedIn re Smith 1932
A gift ‘unto my country England’ was construed as a charitable gift for the benefit of the inhabitants of England and, by analogy with the cases on gifts to a parish, town or city, as impressed with a trust that it be applied for charitable purposes . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Income Tax, Charity

Updated: 10 June 2022; Ref: scu.193880

Peter Martin Southwood, David Ronald Parson v Attorney-General: ChD 11 Nov 1998

A trust set up to educate on the topic of ‘militarism and disarmament’ was primarily set up for political purposes and so was not eligible for charitable status. Ambiguity in stated purposes could be resolved by looking at surrounding activities.

Citations:

Times 26-Oct-1998, Gazette 11-Nov-1998, [1998] EWHC Ch 297

Links:

Bailii

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Charity

Updated: 04 June 2022; Ref: scu.89439

Helena Partnerships Limited v HM Revenue and Customs: UTTC 6 Apr 2011

UTTC Registered Social Landlord – objects for ‘benefit of the community’ – whether charity – no – availability of relief under s 505 Taxes Act – no

Judges:

Warren J

Citations:

[2011] UKUT B12 (TCC), [2011] UKUT 271 (TCC)

Links:

Bailii

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Cited by:

Appeal FromHelena Partnerships Ltd v HM Revenue and Customs CA 9-May-2012
The company had undertaken substantial building works and sought associated tax relief. The court was asked whether, following a change in the company’s memorandum and articles of association, the company, a registered social landlord, remained a . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Taxes – Other, Charity

Updated: 03 June 2022; Ref: scu.440819

Sheppard and Another v Inland Revenue Commissioners, Inland Revenue Commissioners v Sheppard: ChD 23 Feb 1993

A Charity Tax avoidance plan was lawful. A company made payments to a charity which then employed them as charity trustees. Since the result was clearly to benefit the charity, and its purposes. The obtaining of a relief from tax, and the making use of an exemption are different for this purpose. The claiming of a tax credit is not a claiming of a relief.

Citations:

Ind Summary 05-Apr-1993, Times 23-Feb-1993, Gazette 07-Apr-1993

Statutes:

Income and Corporation Taxes Act 1988 703 709, Income and Corporation Taxes Act 1970 460(3)

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Charity, Corporation Tax

Updated: 02 June 2022; Ref: scu.89221

Peggs and Others v Lamb and Others: ChD 20 Apr 1993

Where beneficiaries had dwindled and income increased, the class of beneficiaries was extended. A gift to a class of people would be construed to be charitable unless there was something in the gift to exclude the presumption. It had been submitted that: ‘the trust was one for the benefit of the community in a particular area without the specification of any particular purpose with the consequence that the permitted purposes are limited to those within the spirit and intendment of the preamble.’ Morritt J held this was not an oxymoron.

Judges:

Morritt J

Citations:

Independent 20-Apr-1993, [1994] Ch 172

Statutes:

Charities Act 1960 13(1)(d)

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Cited by:

CitedHitchin Cow Commoners Trust, Re ChD 5-Dec-2001
Land was registered as a common. Rights had been created over the land under the 1882 Act after the Inclosure Acts. Were these rights in the nature of charitable trusts? No use of the land as a cow common had taken place with living memory, and most . .
CitedGibbs v Harding and others ChD 12-Jan-2007
The testatrix left a will anticipating making another. The court was asked whether a clause leaving her estate to ‘be taken over by the Diocese of Westminster to hold in trust for the Black community of Hackney’ was valid.
Held: The gift was . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Charity

Updated: 02 June 2022; Ref: scu.84641

Attorney General of the Caymen Islands and others v Even Wahr-Hansen: PC 26 Jun 2000

(Caymen Islands) A memorandum of agreement that proceeds of a trust fund should be paid to ‘any one or more religious, charitable or educational institutions . . or . . operating for the public good’ was not charitable since it the objects were not exclusively charitable, and was also void for perpetuity. It would be wrong to extend the rule allowing trusts for small localities to be extended to make charitable general gifts. The absence of time limits to the vesting of interests and exercise of the powers were fatal.

Judges:

Lord Browne-Wilkinson, Lord Simonds

Citations:

Times 27-Jul-2000, [2000] UKPC 26, [2001] 1 AC 75, [2000] 3 All ER 642

Links:

Bailii, PC, PC

Cited by:

CitedDrummond v Regina CACD 7-Mar-2002
The appellant had been convicted of causing death by careless driving with excess alcohol. He said that he had taken alcohol after stopping driving but before being tested. He challenged the weight of the burden of proof ascribed by the statute. The . .
CitedHelena Partnerships Ltd v HM Revenue and Customs CA 9-May-2012
The company had undertaken substantial building works and sought associated tax relief. The court was asked whether, following a change in the company’s memorandum and articles of association, the company, a registered social landlord, remained a . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Charity, Trusts, Commonwealth

Updated: 01 June 2022; Ref: scu.159414

In the Matter of the Will of 23rd July 1987 of Clara Broadbent Dec’d: CA 17 May 2001

A will left a charitable bequest to a particular church at a particular pace. Before the testator’s death the church was demolished, and the land sold for residential development.
Held: As a matter of construction, that the closure of the church did not lead to a failure of the church charity, in this particular case. The destiny of gifts to named charitable institutions located at specific premises, which had gone before the gift took effect, raised difficult questions, but in this case the gift did not fail.

Citations:

Times 27-Jun-2001, Gazette 12-Jul-2001, [2001] EWCA Civ 714

Links:

Bailii

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Wills and Probate, Charity

Updated: 31 May 2022; Ref: scu.147550

John Weth and Others v Her Majesty’s Attorney General and Others: CA 23 Feb 2001

A charitable trust had been established. Protracted disputes had taken place, and the burden of the costs required to be apportioned. The financial practices of the charity had been informal leading to confusion, and dissension. An intervention by the Charity Commission had been opposed. The judge had refused an order that the trustees who had been removed should be indemnified from the fund.
Held: The order made was within the discretion available to the judge. He had obtained all the necessary information about the matter. The appeals entered into by the applicants had no possible benefit for the charity. It was pointless, and there was no reason for the applicants to be indemnified in costs.

Judges:

Lord Justice Mummery Lord Justice Rix and Mr Justice Holman

Citations:

[2001] EWCA Civ 263

Links:

Bailii

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Citing:

CitedMarley and 11 Others v Mutual Security Merchant Bank and Trust Co Ltd Co PC 15-Oct-1990
BANKING – EQUITY, TRUSTS, PROBATE ADMINISTRATOR’S POWERS OF INVESTMENT Bank as sole administrator cannot invest estate funds in its own deposits in the absence of express sanction in the trust instrument.
Lord Oliver of Aylmerton said: ‘A . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Charity, Costs

Updated: 31 May 2022; Ref: scu.147450

Bayoumi v Women’s Total Abstinence Union Ltd and Another: CA 5 Nov 2003

A charity entered into a contract for the sale of land. It failed to comply with the requirements under the Act. The purchaser assigned the benefit of the contract, to the claimant who sought to enforce the contract.
Held: The section only allowed a completed transaction to be rescued. An uncompleted contract was not itself a sale or transaction to which 36(1) could apply. The section did not f make the transaction void, but in the absence of an order of the court or the Charity Commission a transfer made following the contract would be void. Because the purchaser had become aware of the failure before completion, he could not compel completion. Directors of a charitable company would be acting ultra vires in entering into such a contract, and therefore the transaction could not either be saved under sections 35, 35A of the 1985 Act. The transaction could not be rescued.

Judges:

Chadwick, Rix LJJ

Citations:

Times 05-Nov-2003

Statutes:

Charities Act 1993 36(1) 37(4), Companies Act 1985 35 35A

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Citing:

DisapprovedMilner v Staffordshire Congregational Union (Inc) ChD 1956
The plaintiff had contracted to buy land from a charity. The consent of the Charity Commissioners had not been obtained, but the contract was not conditional on such consent. When the charity trustess realised that consent was required they told the . .
Appeal fromBayoumi v Women’s Total Abstinence Union Ltd and Another ChD 21-Jan-2003
The claimant sought specific performance of a contract to purchase land from the defendant charity. The defendant had not complied with its obligations under the Act. The cliamant sought to say at the transaction came within s36(3) (that it was . .
CitedAttorney General v South Sea Co 1841
Subject to the terms upon which the land had been conveyed to them, charitable corporations and charity trustees had the power to sell, lease or mortgage charity land. But any such transaction might be set aside in equity unless it was shown to be . .
CitedIn re Clergy Orphan Corporation CA 1894
The court considered the extent of the prohibition on restrictions on the sale of land by a charity to land forming part of the endowment of the charity.
Held: Davey LJ said: ‘All property of every description belonging to or held in trust for . .
CitedManchester Diocesan Council for Education v Commercial and General Investments Ltd 1969
The school governors were required to obtain consent before selling land formerly used as a school.
Held: The court rejected a submission that that consent was a necessary pre-requisite for a contract could be made at all: ‘Reliance is placed . .
CitedMichael Richards Properties Ltd v Corporation of Wardens of St Saviour’s Parish Southwark 1975
Property was offered for sale by tender. The tender documents contained all the detailed terms upon which the contract was to be based. The successful tender was accepted by letter, but by mistake the secretary who typed it typed in the words . .
CitedHaslemere Estates Ltd v Baker 1982
A contract for the sale of land by a charity was expressed to be subject to and conditional upon the grant of a consent before 31 March 1982 and if consent was not granted before that date then the contract was to be ‘null and void and of no further . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Charity, Land, Company

Updated: 29 May 2022; Ref: scu.187941

Regina (on the Application of Elizabeth Heather; Martin Ward; Hilary Callin) v The Leonard Cheshire Foundation and H M Attorney General: Admn 15 Jun 2001

The applicants sought review of the decision of the respondent to close the residential home in which they lived.
Held: The Foundation, though a charity, was not a public body, and its decisions were not properly subject to an application for judicial review.

Citations:

[2001] EWHC Admin 429

Links:

Bailii

Citing:

Appealed ToRegina (Heather and Another) v Leonard Cheshire Foundation CA 21-Mar-2002
The appellants appealed rejection of their application for judicial review. They were long term residents in a nursing home, which the respondents had decided to close.
Held: Though the respondent did exercise some public functions, and its . .

Cited by:

Appeal fromRegina (Heather and Another) v Leonard Cheshire Foundation CA 21-Mar-2002
The appellants appealed rejection of their application for judicial review. They were long term residents in a nursing home, which the respondents had decided to close.
Held: Though the respondent did exercise some public functions, and its . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Judicial Review, Charity

Updated: 29 May 2022; Ref: scu.140337

Southwood and Another v Attorney-General: CA 28 Jun 2000

An organisation set up to educate others as to the ways of ‘militarism and disarmament and related fields’ was not charitable. Whilst peace is to be recognised as worthy of promotion, the organisation was set up to persuade others of the views of those behind it. Pacifism as such was not necessarily in the public interest, and unless an organisation could demonstrate that its purposes were for the public benefit it was not entitled to charitable status, and it was not for the court to seek to express a view on the topic.

Citations:

Gazette 20-Jul-2000, [2000] EWCA Civ 204

Links:

Bailii

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Charity

Updated: 20 May 2022; Ref: scu.89440

Oldham Borough Council v Attorney General: CA 28 Jul 1992

The cy-pres doctrine could be allowed to be applied to allow the sale of land if such an action would remain within the purpose of the original charitable gift.

Judges:

Dillon, Russell, Farquharson LJJ

Citations:

Gazette 28-Oct-1992, [1992] EWCA Civ 21, [1993] Ch 210, [1993] 2 WLR 224, [1993] 2 All ER 432

Links:

Bailii

Statutes:

Charities Act 1960 13

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Charity, Land

Updated: 19 May 2022; Ref: scu.84438

Guild v Inland Revenue Commissioners: HL 6 May 1992

The will left land for a sports centre to a local authority which no longer existed. If the gift was charitable, the gift would be applied cy pres, but if not it would fail and pass to the family and be subect to Inheritance Tax.
Held: A gift to a local authority of land on which to construct a sports centre, was in its nature charitable, and the gift is exempt therefore from Inheritance Tax.

Judges:

Lord Keith of Kinkel, Lord Roskill, Lord Griffiths, Lord Jauncey of Tullichettle, Lord Lowry

Citations:

Gazette 06-May-1992, [1990] UKHL 10, [1992] 2 AC 310, [1992] UKHL 16, [1993] Imm AR 112, [1992] 1 WLR 1052, [1992] 4 All ER 673

Links:

Bailii, Bailii

Statutes:

Finance Act 1975 Sch 6 para 10, Income and Corporation Taxes Act 1970 360(3), Recreational Charities Act 1958 1

Citing:

CitedRussell’s Executor v Balden 1989
. .
CitedInland Revenue Commissioners v McMullen ChD 1978
The Football Association set up a trust to promote football and other sports in schools and universities. The parties disputed whether a valid charitable trust had been created.
Held: The trust was not valid as one for the advancement of . .
CitedInland Revenue Commissioners v McMullen HL 6-Mar-1980
HL Charity – Promotion of sport – Trust created ‘to organise or provide or assist in the organisation and provision of facilities which will enable and encourage pupils of schools and universities in any part of . .
CitedBaddeley (Trustees of the Newtown Trust) v Inland Revenue Commissioners HL 17-Feb-1955
Land had been conveyed to trustees for the moral, social and physical well-being of a community. The court considered whether the trust was charitable in nature, where it was said that it confined the benefits to a class of people who do not . .
CitedIncome Tax Special Commissioners v Pemsel HL 20-Jul-1891
Charitable Purposes used with technical meaning
The House was asked whether, in a taxing statute applying to the whole of the United Kingdom and allowing for deductions from and allowances against the income of land vested in trustees for charitable purposes, the words ‘charitable purposes’ . .
CitedInland Revenue Commissioners v McMullen CA 1979
The Football Association had set up a trust to promote football in universities and schools, claiming this was charitable under the 1958 Act.
Held: The trust was not charitable whether as being for the advancement of education, or in the . .
CitedWeir v Crum-Brown HL 6-Feb-1908
If a bequest in a will to a class of persons is capable of application by the trustees, or failing them, the court, the gift is not void for uncertainty. Lord Macnaghten said: ‘The testator has taken pains to provide competent judges. It is for the . .
CitedCommissioner of Valuation for Northern Ireland v Lurgan Borough Council CANI 1968
The respondent local authority owned an indoor swimming pool. It claimed exemption from rates under section 2 of the 1854 Act saying that it was used exclusively for the purposes of a recreational charity under the Act of 1958.
Held: (By a . .
CitedNational Deposit Friendly Society Trustees v Skegness Urban District Council HL 1959
The House considered the meaning of the phrase ‘the advancement of . . social welfare’ in the 1955 Act. Lord Denning said: ‘A person is commonly said to be engaged in ‘social welfare’ when he is engaged in doing good for others who are in need – in . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Inheritance Tax, Charity, Scotland

Updated: 19 May 2022; Ref: scu.81079

Bath and Wells Diocesan Board of Finance and Another v Jenkinson and Others: ChD 6 Sep 2000

Where there was a gift of land on charitable trusts, but where the gift was first expressed to be unlimited in time, but later in the deed provided powers for revocation, and conditions for defeasance, it must remain a matter of construction of the particular deed to decide whether the gift was in perpetuity. In the current cases the reversionary provisions were void for remoteness, and the trustees had acquire a possessory title for charity on the trusts of the original deeds.

Citations:

Times 06-Sep-2000, Gazette 05-Oct-2000

Land, Charity, Trusts

Updated: 18 May 2022; Ref: scu.78288

Glen v Gregg: 1882

Citations:

(1882) 21 ChD 513

Cited by:

CitedPark v Cho and Others ChD 24-Jan-2014
The parties disputed the chairmanship of a charity. The claimant succeeded, but a third party later intervened saying that permission had not first been obtained from the Charity Commission as required. The defendant now appealed against the lifting . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Charity

Updated: 18 May 2022; Ref: scu.567258

In Re Estlin: 1903

A home of rest was to be provided for lady teachers.
Held: This was a valid charitable bequest.

Judges:

Kekewich J

Citations:

(1903) 72 LJ Ch 687

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Cited by:

CitedHelena Partnerships Ltd v HM Revenue and Customs CA 9-May-2012
The company had undertaken substantial building works and sought associated tax relief. The court was asked whether, following a change in the company’s memorandum and articles of association, the company, a registered social landlord, remained a . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Charity

Updated: 18 May 2022; Ref: scu.464222

In re Ford’s Charity: 6 Jul 1855

A new scheme for the development of a new school which had not previously been considered by the court did not amount to a matter pending, even though another scheme in respect of the same charity funds had been so considered. He held that it was therefore necessary for the Charity Commissioners’ sanction to be obtained in respect of the application to the court. A matter pending, for the purposes of the Act, meant a continuation of something directed by the court.

Judges:

Sir Richard Kindersley V-C

Citations:

[1855] EngR 661 (A), (1855) 3 Drew 324

Links:

Commonlii

Statutes:

Charitable Trusts Act 1853 17

Cited by:

CitedPark v Cho and Others ChD 24-Jan-2014
The parties disputed the chairmanship of a charity. The claimant succeeded, but a third party later intervened saying that permission had not first been obtained from the Charity Commission as required. The defendant now appealed against the lifting . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Charity

Updated: 18 May 2022; Ref: scu.292583

The Attorney-General, At The Relation Of Joseph Greenhill v Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge; Trinity College, Oxford, And Frederick Greenhill: 4 May 1865

Lord Chelmsford LC said, of an argument by that college that the leave of the Charity Commissioners ought to have been obtained to the plaintiff’s proceedings but had not been, that: ‘The objection if persisted in must prevail, but in that case [he] would give leave to apply to the commissioners, and he would suspend the decree for that purpose.’

Citations:

[1865] EngR 431, (1865) 34 Beav 654, (1865) 55 ER 788

Links:

Commonlii

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Cited by:

CitedPark v Cho and Others ChD 24-Jan-2014
The parties disputed the chairmanship of a charity. The claimant succeeded, but a third party later intervened saying that permission had not first been obtained from the Charity Commission as required. The defendant now appealed against the lifting . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Charity, Litigation Practice

Updated: 18 May 2022; Ref: scu.281343

Morelle Ltd v Waterworth: CA 1955

The court was asked (1) Was the assurance to the Plaintiff Company of the unexpired residue of a term of years in house property in London an assurance of land in mortmain within the terms of section 1 of the Mortmain and Charitable Uses Act, 1888? (2) If so, was the term so assured automatically forfeited to the Crown by virtue of the same subsection?
Held: Both questions were answered affirmatively.

Citations:

[1955] 1 QB 1

Statutes:

Mortmain and Charitable Uses Act 1888

Cited by:

Per incuriamMorelle Ltd v Wakeling CA 1955
The plaintiff asserted ownership of leasehold land. A similar situation had arisen in an earlier case befoe the Court of appeal, and the court was asked to decide that that case had been decided per incuriam.
Held: The per incuriam principle . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Landlord and Tenant, Charity

Updated: 18 May 2022; Ref: scu.272569

Affleck and Others v Newcastle Mind and Others: EAT 10 Mar 1999

EAT Employees of an unincorporated charitable association are employed by the management committee or other similar body within the association, and not by the members of the association at large. The employees have continuity of employment despite any change in the constitution of the committee. In practice such actions should be brought against a representative member or members of the committee. The case was remitted to the ET to hold a case management hearing to determine who should be the correct respondents.

Judges:

Morison J

Citations:

Gazette 11-Aug-1999, (1999) IRLR 405, [1999] UKEAT 537 – 98 – 1003, [1999] ICR 852

Links:

Bailii

Statutes:

Charities Act 1993 97(1), Employment Rights Act 1996 218(2)

Employment, Company, Charity

Updated: 17 May 2022; Ref: scu.77664

Re Snowden: ChD 1970

Two summonses came before the court arising form wills of a Mr Snowden and a Mrs Henderson. Norman Snowden, had made sales adeeming bequests but, in consequence, pecuniary legacies and bequests of shares of residue were greater than contemplated. The pecuniary and residuary legatees were six charities who agreed, if the Attorney-General had no objection, that various sums should be paid to the specific legatees. In Mrs Henderson’s case a manuscript but unattested addition to the will was omitted from probate. The proved will gave the residue after payment of various pecuniary legacies was left to charity generally. The administrators sought the approval of the Court, if the Attorney-General consented, to give effect to the manuscript alteration. The A-G argued: ‘It has been a long established view that the Attorney-General has no power to authorise the application of the funds of a charity for non-charitable purposes. This precise problem has been put to counsel for the Attorney-General for over 40 to 50 years. Each counsel has treated it as clear law. In the present case the point of moral obligation has been raised.’
Held: The court would not dissent from that view unless satisfied that it was wrong. He was so satisfied: ‘In the result I am satisfied that the court and the Attorney-General have power to give authority to charity trustees to make ex gratia payments out of funds held on charitable trusts. It is however a power which is not to be exercised lightly or on slender grounds but only in cases where it can fairly be said that if the charity were an individual it would be morally wrong of him to refuse to make the payment.’ There were four reasons for that conclusion: (1) As charity depends for its continued existence on the recognition by others of moral obligations to give it would be odd if a charity could not likewise give effect to its own moral obligations. (2) Analogous powers exist in other cases, such as the management of the property of mental patients and what is for the benefit of an infant. (3) In sanctioning compromises on behalf of charities the Court does pay regard to moral obligations. (4) The Attorney-General has power to relieve trustees from their strict legal obligations to make full restitution for breaches of trust committed by them. The Court or the Attorney-General may authorise: ‘a payment…out of charity funds which is motivated simply and solely by the belief of the trustees or other persons administering the funds that the charity is under a moral obligation to make the payment’,

Judges:

Cross J

Citations:

[1970] Ch 700

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Cited by:

CitedAttorney General v British Museum ChD 27-May-2005
The trustees brought a claim against the Attorney-General seeking clarification of their duties and powers to return objects which were part of the collection in law, but where a moral duty might exist to return it to a former owner. Here drawings . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Charity

Updated: 17 May 2022; Ref: scu.225528

Re Colonial Bishoprics Fund 1841: 1935

The court was asked to make a order with respect to the Fund, a trust established in England for the endowment of Bishoprics in the Colonies.
Held: The court had jurisdiction to make a cy-pres order. Since the trustees of the fund were in this country and the trusts were established here, he could direct the scheme, even though the objects of bounty were located abroad. It was not properly described as a foreign charity.

Judges:

Luxmoore J

Citations:

[1935] Ch 148

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Cited by:

CitedGaudiya Mission and others v Brahmachary CA 30-Jul-1997
The High Court had found the plaintiff to be a charity, and ordered the Attorney-General to be joined in. The A-G appealed that order saying that the plaintiff was not a charity within the 1993 Act. The charity sought to spread the Vaishnava . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Charity

Updated: 16 May 2022; Ref: scu.200674

Re Lepton’s Charity: 1972

Citations:

[1972] Ch 276

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Citing:

CitedRe Camden’s Charity 1881
. .

Cited by:

CitedVarsani and others v Jesani, Patel and Her Majesty’s Attorney-General CA 3-Apr-1998
A Hindu religious sect, constituted as a charity, had split into two factions.
Held: The court had jurisdiction to order that the assets of the sect should be divided under the powers in the Act, and held upon separate trusts for the two . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Charity

Updated: 16 May 2022; Ref: scu.187520

In re Lacy; Royal General Theatrical Fund Association v Kydd: 1899

Equity prevents trustees from raising limitation against their beneficiaries.
An executor, qua executor, is not an express trustee.

Judges:

Stirling J

Citations:

[1899] 2 Ch 149

Statutes:

Mortmain Act 1736

Cited by:

CitedWilliams v Central Bank of Nigeria SC 19-Feb-2014
Bank not liable for fraud of customer
The appellant sought to make the bank liable for a fraud committed by the Bank’s customer, the appellant saying that the Bank knew or ought to have known of the fraud. The court was asked whether a party liable only as a dishonest assistant was a . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Trusts, Charity

Updated: 15 May 2022; Ref: scu.537362

Inland Revenue Commissioners v McMullen: CA 1979

The Football Association had set up a trust to promote football in universities and schools, claiming this was charitable under the 1958 Act.
Held: The trust was not charitable whether as being for the advancement of education, or in the fourth head of charity, or under the Recreational Charities Act 1958.
Bridge LJ (dissenting) said: ‘I turn therefore to consider whether the object defined by clause 3(a) is charitable under the express terms of section 1 of the Recreational Charities Act 1958. Are the facilities for recreation contemplated in this clause to be ‘provided in the interests of social welfare’ under section 1(1)? If this phrase stood without further statutory elaboration, I should not hesitate to decide that sporting facilities for persons undergoing any formal process of education are provided in the interests of social welfare. Save in the sense that the interest of social welfare can only be served by the meeting of some social need, I cannot accept the judge’s view that the interests of social welfare can only be served in relation to some ‘deprived’ class. The judge found this view reinforced by the requirement of subsection (2)(a) of section 1 that the facilities must be provided ‘with the object of improving the conditions of life for the persons for whom the facilities are primarily intended;’ Here again I can see no reason to conclude that only the deprived can have their conditions of life improved. Hyde Park improves the conditions of life for residents in Mayfair and Belgravia as much as for those in Pimlico or the Portobello Road, and the village hall may improve the conditions of life for the squire and his family as well as for the cottagers. The persons for whom the facilities here are primarily intended are pupils of schools and universities, as defined in the trust deed, and these facilities are in my judgment unquestionably to be provided with the object of improving their conditions of life. Accordingly the ultimate question on which the application of the statute to this trust depends, is whether the requirements of section l(2)(b)(i) are satisfied on the ground that such pupils as a class have need of facilities for games or sports which will promote their physical education and development by reason either of their youth or of their social and economic circumstances, or both. The overwhelming majority of pupils within the definition are young persons and the tiny minority of mature students can be ignored as de minimis. There cannot surely be any doubt that young persons as part of their education do need facilities for organised games and sports both by reason of their youth and by reason of their social and economic circumstances. They cannot provide such facilities for themselves but are dependent on what is provided for them.’

Judges:

Stamp, Orr, Bridge LJJ

Citations:

[1979] 1 WLR 130

Statutes:

Recreational Charities Act 1958 1

Citing:

Appeal fromInland Revenue Commissioners v McMullen ChD 1978
The Football Association set up a trust to promote football and other sports in schools and universities. The parties disputed whether a valid charitable trust had been created.
Held: The trust was not valid as one for the advancement of . .

Cited by:

Appeal fromInland Revenue Commissioners v McMullen HL 6-Mar-1980
HL Charity – Promotion of sport – Trust created ‘to organise or provide or assist in the organisation and provision of facilities which will enable and encourage pupils of schools and universities in any part of . .
CitedGuild v Inland Revenue Commissioners HL 6-May-1992
The will left land for a sports centre to a local authority which no longer existed. If the gift was charitable, the gift would be applied cy pres, but if not it would fail and pass to the family and be subect to Inheritance Tax.
Held: A gift . .
CitedHelena Partnerships Ltd v HM Revenue and Customs CA 9-May-2012
The company had undertaken substantial building works and sought associated tax relief. The court was asked whether, following a change in the company’s memorandum and articles of association, the company, a registered social landlord, remained a . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Charity

Updated: 15 May 2022; Ref: scu.273192

In re Goode: 1905

Gifts made for the pormotion of the efficiency of armed services were charitable in nature.

Citations:

[1905] 2 Ch 60

Cited by:

CitedInland Revenue Commissioners v Glasgow Police Athletic Association HL 9-Mar-1953
The House was asked whether the taxpayer association was established for ‘Charitable purposes only’ so as to benefit from tax exemptions. The association promoted sporting activities among members of the Glasgow police.
Held: Though the . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Charity

Updated: 14 May 2022; Ref: scu.251600

Inland Revenue Commissioners v Yorkshire Agricultural Society: 1928

If a substantial part of the objects of a body of persons is to benefit its own members, the body of persons is not established for charitable purposes only. Atkin LJ considered the problems arising from the fact that the Association had more than one purpose: ‘First of all it is said: No, this Society was in fact formed for the purpose of giving benefit to its members; it is nothing but a club for the mutual advantage of the members of the club. If that were so, I agree that the claim of the Society would fail, both because it could not be said that the Society was established for a charitable purpose and because it certainly could not be said that it was established for a charitable purpose only. There can be no doubt that a society formed for the purpose merely of benefiting its own members, though it may be to the public advantage that its members should be benefited by being educated or having their aesthetic tastes improved or whatever the object may be, would not be for a charitable purpose, and if it were a substantial part of the object that it should benefit its members I should think that it would not be established for a charitable purpose only. But, on the other hand, if the benefit given to its members is only given to them with a view of giving encouragement and carrying out the main purpose, which is a charitable purpose, then I think the mere fact that the members are benefited in the course of promoting the charitable purpose would not prevent the society being established for charitable purposes only.’

Judges:

Atkin, LJ

Citations:

[1928] 1 KB 611

Cited by:

CitedInland Revenue Commissioners v Glasgow Police Athletic Association HL 9-Mar-1953
The House was asked whether the taxpayer association was established for ‘Charitable purposes only’ so as to benefit from tax exemptions. The association promoted sporting activities among members of the Glasgow police.
Held: Though the . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Charity

Updated: 14 May 2022; Ref: scu.251604

Oxford Group v Inland Revenue Commissioners: 1949

If a non-charitable object of an association is itself one of the purposes of the body of persons and is not merely incidental to the charitable purpose, the body of persons is not a body of persons formed for charitable purposes only within the meaning of the Income Tax Acts.

Citations:

[1949] 2 All ER 537

Cited by:

CitedInland Revenue Commissioners v Glasgow Police Athletic Association HL 9-Mar-1953
The House was asked whether the taxpayer association was established for ‘Charitable purposes only’ so as to benefit from tax exemptions. The association promoted sporting activities among members of the Glasgow police.
Held: Though the . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Charity

Updated: 14 May 2022; Ref: scu.251606

Re Mellody: 1918

A gift to the schoolchildren of Turton was as valid a charitable gift as a gift to the inhabitants of the Borough would be. The gift was a gift ‘for purposes beneficial to a section of the community’; and the schoolchildren themselves were ‘a very important section of the community’.

Judges:

Eve J

Citations:

[1918] 1 Ch 228

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Cited by:

CitedGibbs v Harding and others ChD 12-Jan-2007
The testatrix left a will anticipating making another. The court was asked whether a clause leaving her estate to ‘be taken over by the Diocese of Westminster to hold in trust for the Black community of Hackney’ was valid.
Held: The gift was . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Charity

Updated: 14 May 2022; Ref: scu.247693

In Re Strakosch: 1949

The court may construe a gift as impliedly limited to charitable purposes. Lord Greene MR said: ‘In Williams’ Trustees v Inland Revenue Commissioners the House of Lords has laid down very clearly that in order to come within Lord Macnaghten’s fourth class, the gift must be not only for the benefit of the community but beneficial in a way which the law regards as charitable. In order to satisfy the latter it must be within the ‘spirit and intendment’ of the preamble of the Statute of Elizabeth. That preamble set out what were then regarded as purposes which should be treated as charitable in law. It is obvious that as time passed and conditions changed common opinion as to what was properly covered by the word charitable also changed. This has been recognized by the courts as the most cursory examination of the cases shows. In order to be within the spirit and intendment of the preamble we take it that one must find something charitable in the same sense as the recited purposes are charitable. Lord Macnaghten’s fourth class is represented in the preamble by the repair of bridges, etc., and possibly by the maintenance of Houses of Correction. This negatives any suggestion that charitable must be confined to the poor (Verge v. Somerville).
We have come to the conclusion that though undoubtedly of benefit to the community the purpose under consideration is not ‘charitable’ in the sense in which the benefits to the community instanced in the preamble are charitable. The benefit, as we understand it, does not have to be in any way ejusdem generis with the recited purposes but it has to be charitable in the same sense.’

Judges:

Lord Greene MR

Citations:

[1949] 1 Ch 529

Statutes:

Income Tax Act 1918 37(1)(a)

Citing:

CitedVerge v Somerville PC 1924
On an appeal from New South Wales, The Board considered the validity of a gift ‘to the trustees’ of the Repatriation Fund or other similar fund for the benefit of New South Wales returned soldiers’.
Held: Trusts for education and religion do . .
CitedWilliams’ Trustees v Inland Revenue Commisioners HL 1947
A trust was created by the memorandum and articles of association of a company. The overall objects of the company were to promote Welsh interests in London. The principal object of the trust was to create a centre in London ‘for promoting the moral . .

Cited by:

CitedGibbs v Harding and others ChD 12-Jan-2007
The testatrix left a will anticipating making another. The court was asked whether a clause leaving her estate to ‘be taken over by the Diocese of Westminster to hold in trust for the Black community of Hackney’ was valid.
Held: The gift was . .
CitedHelena Partnerships Ltd v HM Revenue and Customs CA 9-May-2012
The company had undertaken substantial building works and sought associated tax relief. The court was asked whether, following a change in the company’s memorandum and articles of association, the company, a registered social landlord, remained a . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Charity

Updated: 14 May 2022; Ref: scu.247694

Re Walker: 1901

Citations:

[1901] 1 Ch 897

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Cited by:

CitedX v A and others ChD 29-Nov-2005
The wife sought confirmation that the trustees of a discretionary marriage settlement created by her husband could release sums which she intended to pay out for charitable purposes.
Held: The trust required money to be released for the . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Trusts, Charity

Updated: 14 May 2022; Ref: scu.237755

National Society v School Board of London: 1874

The National Society raised large sums by subscription and made grants in favour of schools in which children were to be instructed (in addition to reading, writing and arithmetic) in holy scripture and in the liturgy and catechism of the established church. Former owners of land conveyed under the 1841 Act had only the remedy of complaint to the Educational Board.

Citations:

(1874) 18 Eq 608

Statutes:

School Sites Act 1841

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Cited by:

CitedFraser and Another v Canterbury Diocesan Board of Finance and others HL 27-Oct-2005
Land had been acquired by a deed under the 1841 Act, but had in 1995 ceased to be used as a school ‘for the education of children and adults of the labouring manufacturing and other poorer classes . . And for no other purpose ‘. Under the Act, the . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Land, Charity

Updated: 14 May 2022; Ref: scu.231638

In re Gillingham Bus Disaster Fund: 1958

Judges:

Harman J

Citations:

[1958] Ch 300

Statutes:

Charitable Trusts (Validation) Act 1954

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Cited by:

CitedUlrich v Treasury Solicitor and Others ChD 28-Jan-2005
A fund was set up before the 1954 Act. Its objects were not entirley charitable, being for the employees of a company. The trustees appealed refusal of a declaration that it was charitable.
Held: The intention was to apply the funds for the . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Charity

Updated: 13 May 2022; Ref: scu.224377

Scarisbrick’s Will Trusts, In re: ChD 1950

The court considered whether a trust was charitable.
Held: The distinction lay in whether the gift took the form of a trust under which capital was retained and the income only applied for the benefit of the objects, in which case the gift was charitable, or whether the gift was one under which the capital was immediately distributable among the objects, in which case the gift was not a charity.

Judges:

Roxburgh J

Citations:

[1950] 1 All ER 143, [1950] Ch 226

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Citing:

CitedThe Attorney General v Price 26-Nov-1810
Devise to A and his heirs; with a direction, that yearly he and his heirs shall for ever divide and distribute according to his and their discretion amongst the testator’s poor kinsmen and kinswomen, and amongst their offspring and issue dwelling . .

Cited by:

Appeal fromIn re Scarisbrick’s Will Trusts, Cockshott v Public Trustee CA 1951
Possible Charity for poor persons within an area
The court was asked whether a trusts for poor persons within a restricted category, the testator’s descendants, not meeting the usual requirement that the benefits be available to a wider section of the community, may be held charitable.
Held: . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Wills and Probate, Charity

Updated: 12 May 2022; Ref: scu.181256

Glasgow Corporation v Johnstone and Others (orse Johnstons): HL 1965

A house lived in by a church officer was occupied for rating purposes by the church’s congregational board which employed him, and so was not liable for full rates. Lord Hodson said: ‘The distinction is usually shortly stated in this way: if the servant is given the privilege of residing in the house of the master as part of his emoluments the occupation is that of the servant. He is treated for occupation purposes as being in the same position as that of a tenant. If, on the other hand, the servant is genuinely obliged by his Master for the purposes of his master’s business or if it is necessary for the servant to reside in the house for the performance of his services the occupation will be that of the master.’

Judges:

Lord Reid, Lord Hodson

Citations:

[1965] 2 WLR 657, [1965] AC 609

Jurisdiction:

Scotland

Citing:

AppliedFox v Dalby 1874
A militia sergeant occupied a house built expressly for accommodation of persons looking after the stores and which had been assigned to him by his commanding officer.
Held: The sergeant did not occupy the house as a tenant. Brett J said: . .

Cited by:

AppliedWragg and others v Surrey County Council CA 1-Feb-2008
The Council appealed against declarations given that the respondent tenants (wildlife rangers) were entitled to purchase the freehold of their homes under right-to-buy. The Council said that the tenancies were occupied in connection with their . .
CitedKenya Aid Programme v Sheffield City Council Admn 22-Jan-2013
The claimant challenged a decision that it was liable for non domestic rates in respect of some commercial units, on the basis that the use by the charity was not itself charitable.
Held: ‘there is no reason for limiting the ambit of the . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Rating, Housing, Charity

Updated: 11 May 2022; Ref: scu.536772

Institution of Civil Engineers v Forrest: 1890

Lord MacNaughten considered how the purpose of an institution should be considered: ‘It cannot, I think, be doubted that the Institution has raised the standard of the profession, and that to a civil engineer it is of advantage and probably of pecuniary advantage to be a member. But is that result the purpose of the Society, or is it an incidental, though an important and perhaps a necessary, consequence of the way in which the Institution does its work in the pursuit of science?’

Judges:

Lord Macnaghten

Citations:

[1890] 15 AC 334

Cited by:

CitedInland Revenue Commissioners v Glasgow Police Athletic Association HL 9-Mar-1953
The House was asked whether the taxpayer association was established for ‘Charitable purposes only’ so as to benefit from tax exemptions. The association promoted sporting activities among members of the Glasgow police.
Held: Though the . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Charity

Updated: 10 May 2022; Ref: scu.251605

Goodman v Mayor of Saltash: HL 1882

A gift was made of a right to fish to the freemen of the Borough of Saltash.
Held: The gift was as valid as a charitable gift as would be a gift to the inhabitants of the locality in general. When long and continuous enjoyment is established, a lawful origin will be presumed if it is reasonably possible.
A profit a prendre by prescription cannot be claimed by an undefined and fluctuating body of persons, not incorporated for the purpose of taking the grant.

Citations:

(1882) 7 App Cas 633

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Cited by:

CitedGibbs v Harding and others ChD 12-Jan-2007
The testatrix left a will anticipating making another. The court was asked whether a clause leaving her estate to ‘be taken over by the Diocese of Westminster to hold in trust for the Black community of Hackney’ was valid.
Held: The gift was . .
CitedRoberts v Crown Estate Commissioners CA 20-Feb-2008
The commissioners sought to claim title to a foreshore by adverse possession. The claimant asserted that he had acquired title in his capacity of Lord Marcher of Magor which had owned the bed of the estuary since the Norman Conquest, and that the . .
CitedBarton v The Church Commissioners for England ChD 15-Dec-2008
The commissioners claimed a right by prescription to all fish to be taken in a stretch of the River Wye. The claimant was to moor a barge on the river.
Held: The court explained the nature and legal status of fisheries in the law going back to . .
CitedLord Chesterfield v Harris HL 17-Jul-1911
The House considered the nature and ownership of fishing rights on the River Wye. Freeholders in adjoining parishes had been fishing a non-tidal portion of the river for centuries, not by stealth or indulgence, but openly, continuously, as of right . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Charity, Land

Updated: 10 May 2022; Ref: scu.247692

Re Clore’s Settlement Trusts: ChD 1966

A 21 year old beneficiary of a substantial trust fund requested the trustees to apply for his benefit a sum (equal to about one-seventh of the fund) to a family charitable foundation. He would be entitled to the capital of the fund on attaining 30, in default of which the capital went to his issue if any and subject thereto to his sister and her family in trust.
Held: It was open to the trustees to make the advance: i) the improvement of the material situation of the beneficiary is not confined to his direct financial situation but could include the discharge of certain moral or social obligations particularly in relation to provision for family and dependants. And ii) the court has always recognized that a wealthy person has a moral obligation to make appropriate charitable donations and that: ‘a beneficiary under a settlement may indeed in many cases be reasonably entitled to regard himself as under a moral obligation to make donations towards charity. The nature and amount of those donations must depend upon all the circumstances, including the position in life of the beneficiary, the amount of the fund and the amount of his other resources. Once that proposition is accepted, it seems to me that it must lie within the scope of a power such as that contained in clause 8 of this settlement for the trustees to raise capital for the purpose of relieving the beneficiary of his moral obligation towards whatever charity he may have in mind. If the obligation is not to be met out of the capital of the trust fund, he would have to meet it out of his own pocket, if at all. Accordingly, the discharge of the obligation out of the capital of the trust fund does improve his material situation. The precise amount which the trustees can in any given case apply for this purpose must depend, I think, on the particular circumstances, and in this respect quantum is a necessary ingredient in the proper exercise of the power. It is difficult, for example, to see how the trustees under a power such as that in clause 8 could validly pay over the whole authorized two-thirds to charitable purposes. On the other hand, it is certainly not for the court to say precisely where the line is to be drawn.’ iii) rejecting the argument that direct material advantage could only be shown if, for example, the beneficiary was under such pressure, public or otherwise, that it would be detrimental to his material position if the donation were not made, that that was: ‘too narrow a view of what represents a benefit in a material sense to the beneficiary. Once the beneficiary regards the payment as a moral obligation, then it may be for his benefit to be relieved of it.’ Earlier he said: ‘Once he recognises this obligation the trustees may properly regard it as improving his material situation to discharge the obligation out of the trust fund, and as I have said, the proportion they propose to apply for this purpose is not excessive.’

Judges:

Pennycuick J

Citations:

[1966] 1 WLR 955, [1966] 2 All ER 272

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Cited by:

CitedX v A and others ChD 29-Nov-2005
The wife sought confirmation that the trustees of a discretionary marriage settlement created by her husband could release sums which she intended to pay out for charitable purposes.
Held: The trust required money to be released for the . .
CitedJones and others v Firkin-Flood ChD 17-Oct-2008
The trustees had contracted to sell shares in a private company held within the estate. A family member now claimed that they were held in trust after a settlement of a possible challenge to the will based in lack of testamentary capacity and undue . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Trusts, Charity

Updated: 10 May 2022; Ref: scu.237752

Haslemere Estates Ltd v Baker: 1982

A contract for the sale of land by a charity was expressed to be subject to and conditional upon the grant of a consent before 31 March 1982 and if consent was not granted before that date then the contract was to be ‘null and void and of no further effect’. The plaintiffs registered an estate contract. The defendants, charity trustees, sought on a motion to have the registration vacated. It had been argued: ‘On that footing [that there was no unconditional contract], the question is whether the contract is a conditional contract which is registrable as an estate contract. [Counsel] contended that it was not, for a variety of reasons. First, the contract was void, or at least ineffective, because it had been made without the approval of the Charity Commissioners. Second, even if initially it was valid, it had come to an end because the Charity Commissioners had refused to approve it. Third, even if it continued to exist as a valid conditional contract, such contracts were not registrable as estate contracts.’
Held: The motion was refused. In addressing the submissions, the court reviewed the authorities and: ‘In the present case, the effect of the exchange of letters in March 1980 was that clause 2.1 of the contract operated to make all the provisions of the contract, apart from the opening words, clause 1, and clause 2.1 itself, ‘subject to and conditional upon’ the Charity Commissioners making an order under section 29 of the Charities Act 1960, authorising the governors to enter into and complete both the contract and the leases. There is a curious element of circularity here: the parties enter into an agreement that nearly all the agreement is subject to an order being made authorising the governors to do what they have done, namely, enter into the agreement. But looking at the substance, it seems plain to me that it is the Michael Richards case [1975] 3 All ER 416 that applies rather than the Milner case [1956] Ch 275, so that I do not think that the contract is invalidated by section 29(1) of the Charities Act 1960.’

Judges:

Sir Robert Megarry V-C

Citations:

[1982] 3 All ER 525, [1982] 1 WLR 1109

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Citing:

CitedMilner v Staffordshire Congregational Union (Inc) ChD 1956
The plaintiff had contracted to buy land from a charity. The consent of the Charity Commissioners had not been obtained, but the contract was not conditional on such consent. When the charity trustess realised that consent was required they told the . .
CitedManchester Diocesan Council for Education v Commercial and General Investments Ltd 1969
The school governors were required to obtain consent before selling land formerly used as a school.
Held: The court rejected a submission that that consent was a necessary pre-requisite for a contract could be made at all: ‘Reliance is placed . .
CitedMichael Richards Properties Ltd v Corporation of Wardens of St Saviour’s Parish Southwark 1975
Property was offered for sale by tender. The tender documents contained all the detailed terms upon which the contract was to be based. The successful tender was accepted by letter, but by mistake the secretary who typed it typed in the words . .

Cited by:

CitedBayoumi v Women’s Total Abstinence Union Ltd and Another CA 5-Nov-2003
A charity entered into a contract for the sale of land. It failed to comply with the requirements under the Act. The purchaser assigned the benefit of the contract, to the claimant who sought to enforce the contract.
Held: The section only . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Land, Charity

Updated: 10 May 2022; Ref: scu.235722

In re South Place Ethical Society: 1980

The court considered the meaning and nature of religious belief, and whether a trust for this purpose could be charitable.
Held: Dillon J referred to Russell LJ as having taken the view that the court could hold that there are purposes ‘so beneficial or of such utility’ to the community that they ought prima facie to be accepted as charitable, but he observed that this approach was difficult to adopt in view of Lord Simonds’ comments in Williams’ Trustees. Religion requires ‘faith in a god and worship of that god’.

Judges:

Dillon J

Citations:

[1980] 1 WLR 1565, [1980] 3 All ER 918

Cited by:

CitedRegina v Secretary of State for Education and Employment and others ex parte Williamson and others HL 24-Feb-2005
The appellants were teachers in Christian schools who said that the blanket ban on corporal punishment interfered with their religious freedom. They saw moderate physical discipline as an essential part of educating children in a Christian manner. . .
CitedHelena Partnerships Ltd v HM Revenue and Customs CA 9-May-2012
The company had undertaken substantial building works and sought associated tax relief. The court was asked whether, following a change in the company’s memorandum and articles of association, the company, a registered social landlord, remained a . .
CitedHodkin and Another, Regina (on The Application of) v Registrar-General of Births, Deaths and Marriages SC 11-Dec-2013
The appellants sought to be married in their regular church in London. The minister would be pleased to perform the ceremony, but church to which they belonged was part of the Church of Scientology, and had been refused registration under the 1855 . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Ecclesiastical, Charity

Updated: 09 May 2022; Ref: scu.223024

Oxfam v Birmingham City District Council: HL 1976

The appellant charity had the relief of poverty as its main object, a recognised ‘charitable purpose’. It operated gift shops used for sorting and selling donated articles of clothing as well as selling products made in the developing world. All of the profits of such shops were devoted to the charity’s purposes.
Held: The appeal failed. The premises were not being ‘used for charitable purposes’. Not every lawful activity of a charity is necessarily charitable. The ‘charitable purposes’ of a charity are its objects.
Lord Cross of Chelsea said that a court must: ‘[draw] the line so as to exclude from relief user for the purpose of getting in, raising or earning money for the charity, as opposed to user for purposes directly related to the achievement of the objects of the charity’.
Lord Reid said that Oxfam, therefore, was entitled to rating relief in respect of premises which it occupies and which are not being used for the actual relief of poverty of distress, if the use which it makes of them is ‘wholly ancillary to’ or ‘directly facilitates’ the carrying out of its charitable object – the relief of poverty or distress. The nub of the problem was: ‘For my part, I agree with counsel on both sides that one cannot well draw a distinction between using premises to get in money by managing existing trust property and using them to raise fresh money.’

Judges:

Lord Reid, Lord Cross of Chelsea, Lord Morris of Borth-y-Gest

Citations:

[1976] AC 126

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Cited by:

CitedKenya Aid Programme v Sheffield City Council Admn 22-Jan-2013
The claimant challenged a decision that it was liable for non domestic rates in respect of some commercial units, on the basis that the use by the charity was not itself charitable.
Held: ‘there is no reason for limiting the ambit of the . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Rating, Charity

Updated: 08 May 2022; Ref: scu.567240

In re Koeppler’s Will Trusts, Re; Barclays Bank Trust Co plc v Slack and Others: CA 1986

A trust was established, claiming charitable status as an education trust. T (i) the conferences sought to improve the minds of the participants, not necessarily by adding to their factual knowledge but by expanding their wisdom and capacity to understand; (ii) the subjects discussed at conferences were recognised academic subjects in higher education; (iii) the conferences operated by a process of discussion designed to elicit an exchange of views in a manner familiar in places of higher education; (iv) the conferences were designed to capitalise on the expertise of participants who were there both to learn and to instruct.’
Held: The appeal was successful, and the gift was charitable.
Slade LJ said: ‘We were referred to a decision of my own in McGovern v Attorney-General [1982] Ch 321, where I held, inter alia, that though certain trusts, declared in a trust deed, for research into the observance of human rights and the dissemination of the results of such research would have been charitable if they had stood alone, they were mere adjuncts to political purposes declared by earlier provisions of the deed.
However, in the present case, as I have already mentioned, the activities of Wilton Park are not of a party political nature. Nor, so far as the evidence shows, are they designed to procure changes in the laws or governmental policy of this or any other country: even when they touch on political matters, they constitute, so far as I can see, no more than genuine attempts in an objective manner to ascertain and disseminate the truth. In these circumstances I think that no objections to the trust arise on a political score, similar to those which arose in the McGovern case. The trust is, in my opinion, entitled to what is sometimes called ‘benignant construction’, in the sense that the court is entitled to presume that the trustees will act only in a lawful and proper manner appropriate to the trustees of a charity and not, for example, by the propagation of tendentious political opinions, any more than those running the Wilton Park project so acted in the 33 years preceding the testator’s death: compare McGovern v Attorney-General, at p.353E-F.’

Judges:

Slade, Robert Goff, O’Connor LJJ

Citations:

[ 1986] Ch 423

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Charity

Updated: 08 May 2022; Ref: scu.556778

In Re Bushnell (Deceased); Lloyds Bank Ltd and others v Murray and others: 1975

The court considered the charitable status of a trust established for the teaching of Socialised Medicine included demonstrating that ‘the full advantage of Socialised Medicine can only be enjoyed in a Socialist State’.
Held: A charitable purpose must not be propagandist. The public must be presented with neutral information so that they can choose for themselves. Goulding J said: ‘I am quite unable to avoid the conclusion that the main or dominant or essential object is a political one. The testator never for a moment, as I read his language, desired to educate the public so that they could choose for themselves, starting with neutral information, to support or oppose what he called ‘socialised medicine’. I think he was trying to promote his own theory of education, if you will by propaganda, but I do not attach any importance to that word.’

Judges:

Goulding J

Citations:

[1975] 1 WLR 1596, [1975] 1 All ER 721

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Charity

Updated: 08 May 2022; Ref: scu.556772

In re Wykes, deceased; Riddington v Spencer: 1961

When looking a the definition section of a statute, the presumption in law that Parliament would be especially precise and careful in its choice of language, is stronger.

Judges:

Buckley J

Citations:

[1961] Ch 229, [1961] 1 All ER 471

Statutes:

Charitable Trusts (Validation) Act 1954

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Cited by:

CitedUlrich v Treasury Solicitor and Others ChD 28-Jan-2005
A fund was set up before the 1954 Act. Its objects were not entirley charitable, being for the employees of a company. The trustees appealed refusal of a declaration that it was charitable.
Held: The intention was to apply the funds for the . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Charity

Updated: 06 May 2022; Ref: scu.224376

In re Koeppler’s Will Trusts, Re; Barclays Bank Trust Co plc v Slack and Others: ChD 1985

The gift was for purposes which could be described as ‘the Wilton Park project’. Where an organisation’s purposes are said to be educational, practical matters that can be relevant include the degree of objectivity involved. Here, the trust fostered the input of participants.
Held: the gift was charitable.

Judges:

Peter Gibson J

Citations:

[1985] 2 All ER 869, [1985] 3 WLR 765, [1986] Ch 423

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Charity

Updated: 06 May 2022; Ref: scu.556777

Joseph Rowntree Memorial Trust Housing Association Ltd v Attorney-General: 1983

Housing associations wished to build self-contained dwellings for sale to the elderly. The court was asked whether such activity would be charitable in nature.
Held: The proposed schemes were charitable. They were for the relief of the aged, and remained charitable even though individuals would benefit.
Peter Gibson J discussed the compatibility of gifts benefitting individuals with the trust being charitable: ‘The third objection was that the schemes were for the benefit of private individuals and not for a charitable class. I cannot accept that. The schemes are for the benefit of a charitable class, that is to say the aged having certain needs requiring relief therefrom. The fact that, once the association and the trust have selected individuals to benefit from the housing, those individuals are identified private individuals does not seem to me to make the purpose in providing the housing a non-charitable one any more than a trust for the relief of poverty ceases to be a charitable purpose when individual poor recipients of bounty are selected.’

Judges:

Peter Gibson J

Citations:

[1983] Ch 159, [1983] 1 All ER 288

Cited by:

CitedHelena Partnerships Ltd v HM Revenue and Customs CA 9-May-2012
The company had undertaken substantial building works and sought associated tax relief. The court was asked whether, following a change in the company’s memorandum and articles of association, the company, a registered social landlord, remained a . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Charity, Housing

Updated: 06 May 2022; Ref: scu.464224

Re Sanders: 1954

A legacy to provide dwellings for the working classes and their families resident in the area of Pembroke Dock or within a radius of five miles, with preference for dockworkers and their families, was not a charitable bequest, because the class of beneficiaries was not limited to those who in terms of the law of charity were poor.

Judges:

Harman J

Citations:

[1954] Ch 265

Cited by:

CitedHelena Partnerships Ltd v HM Revenue and Customs CA 9-May-2012
The company had undertaken substantial building works and sought associated tax relief. The court was asked whether, following a change in the company’s memorandum and articles of association, the company, a registered social landlord, remained a . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Charity

Updated: 06 May 2022; Ref: scu.464223

The Attorney General v Price: 26 Nov 1810

Devise to A and his heirs; with a direction, that yearly he and his heirs shall for ever divide and distribute according to his and their discretion amongst the testator’s poor kinsmen and kinswomen, and amongst their offspring and issue dwelling within the County of B. andpound;20 by the year. This is in the nature of a charitable bequest ; and, the Will being made in 1581, was sustained; and inquiries directed as to the poor relations dwelling within the county of B.

Citations:

[1810] EngR 575, (1810) 17 Ves Jun 371, (1810) 34 ER 143

Links:

Commonlii

Cited by:

CitedScarisbrick’s Will Trusts, In re ChD 1950
The court considered whether a trust was charitable.
Held: The distinction lay in whether the gift took the form of a trust under which capital was retained and the income only applied for the benefit of the objects, in which case the gift was . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Charity, Wills and Probate

Updated: 05 May 2022; Ref: scu.335760

The Attorney-General v St Cross Hospital: 24 Feb 1854

The Attorney-General attends the settlement of a scheme of a charity to protect the interests of all, and the Court refused to allow a member of a corporation, consisting of a master and thirteen brethren, to attend the settlement of a scheme of the chanty, even at his own expense.

Citations:

[1854] EngR 303, (1854) 18 Beav 475, (1854) 52 ER 187

Links:

Commonlii

Charity

Updated: 05 May 2022; Ref: scu.293160

Hobourn Aero Components Limited’s Air Raid Distress Fund: 1946

Voluntary collections from employees of the munition factories belonging to a certain company were to be used to relieve without a means test the distress suffered by the employees from air raids.
Held: This was not a charity.

Judges:

Cohen J

Citations:

[1946] 1 Ch 87

Cited by:

Appeal fromHobourn Aero Components Limited’s Air Raid Distress Fund CA 2-Jan-1946
The trust sought charitable exemption for sums collected voluntarily from workers in a munitions factory for the benefit of co-workers who had suffered in the Blitz. The judge had found the trusts not to be charitable.
Held: The appeal failed. . .
CitedInland Revenue Commissioners v Glasgow Police Athletic Association HL 9-Mar-1953
The House was asked whether the taxpayer association was established for ‘Charitable purposes only’ so as to benefit from tax exemptions. The association promoted sporting activities among members of the Glasgow police.
Held: Though the . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Charity

Updated: 04 May 2022; Ref: scu.251602

In Re Dominion Students’ Hall Trust: 1947

A trust deed imposed a ‘colour bar’.
Held: The court upheld a scheme which removed the bar. However, notionally there could be two complementary charities ‘one for white and one for coloured students’. These notional trusts were not being incompatible with charitable objects.

Judges:

Evershed J

Citations:

[1947] Ch 183

Cited by:

CitedGibbs v Harding and others ChD 12-Jan-2007
The testatrix left a will anticipating making another. The court was asked whether a clause leaving her estate to ‘be taken over by the Diocese of Westminster to hold in trust for the Black community of Hackney’ was valid.
Held: The gift was . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Charity, Discrimination

Updated: 04 May 2022; Ref: scu.247697

In re Orphan Working School and Alexandra Orphanage’s Contract: 1912

An established trust had collected subscriptions over many years, ptting those subscriptions wth other funds derived from the sale of one school property for the purchase of another. That property in turn came to be sold, and questions arose as to the need for permission of the Charity Commissioners under the 1835 Act.
Held: Inter alia, that the Trustees of the charity had implied the authority of the donors to select the trusts for the charity, and that the land sale was derived from a donation to a mixed charity and could be applied as income, and as such was exempt from control by the Commissioners.

Judges:

Parker J

Citations:

[1912] 2 Ch 167, [1912] 81 LJ Ch 627, (1912) 107 LT 254

Statutes:

Charititable Trusts Act 1835

Citing:

ConsideredAttorney-General v Mathieson CA 1907
The Rev John Wilkinson, ran charities in Stoke Newington in London, including ‘the Mildmay Mission to the Jews’. He was given received andpound;1350 from ‘a lady’ locally who suggested that the money be used for a convalescent home. He pointed out . .

Cited by:

CitedShergill and Others v Khaira and Others SC 11-Jun-2014
The parties disputed the trusts upon which three Gurdwaras (Sikh Temples) were held. The Court of Appeal had held that the issues underlying the dispute were to be found in matters of the faith of the Sikh parties, and had ordered a permanent stay. . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Charity, Trusts

Updated: 04 May 2022; Ref: scu.543043

Church of the New Faith v Commissioner of Pay-Roll Tax: 1983

(Victoria) Under the Victoria Pay-roll Tax Act 1971, there was an exemption from tax payable under the Act for wages paid by a religious institution. The question considered by the High Court was ‘whether the beliefs, practices and observances which were established by the affidavits and oral evidence as the set of beliefs, practices and observances accepted by Scientologists, are properly to be described as a religion.’
Held: They were. The area of conduct is excluded from the area of legal immunity marked out by the concept of religion if it offends against the ordinary laws: that is, if it offends against laws which do not discriminate against religion generally, or against particular religions or against conduct of a kind which is characteristic only of a religion.
‘We would therefore hold that, for the purposes of the law, the criteria of religion are twofold: first, belief in a supernatural Being, Thing or Principle; and second, the acceptance of canons of conduct in order to give effect to that belief, though canons of conduct which offend against the ordinary laws are outside the area of any immunity, privilege or right conferred on the grounds of religion.’

Judges:

Brennan J, Acting Chief Justice Mason

Citations:

(1983) 154 CLR 136

Jurisdiction:

Australia

Cited by:

CitedHodkin and Another, Regina (on The Application of) v Registrar-General of Births, Deaths and Marriages SC 11-Dec-2013
The appellants sought to be married in their regular church in London. The minister would be pleased to perform the ceremony, but church to which they belonged was part of the Church of Scientology, and had been refused registration under the 1855 . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Charity, Ecclesiastical

Updated: 04 May 2022; Ref: scu.540528

Hampshire County Council v Attorney General: ChD 1994

The Council wished to dispose of two plots of land. In each case the land had been provided many years ago to build schools on. In the first case, the land had been conveyed to a school board ‘upon trust for the purposes of a public elementary school’. In the second, it was conveyed to a school board ‘by way of free gift for the purposes of a site for an elementary school’. The council argued that the trusts were not charitable.
Held: Each plot was held on charitable trusts. The first conveyance had been at an undervalue, and so constituted a bounty. Though no express charitable trust had been created, this was exactly the situation where a donor might have insisted on a charitable trust, and the presumption of regularity should be used to remedy any defect. The second conveyance was a gift and so a good reason for a charitable trust was created.

Judges:

Millett J

Citations:

[1994] NPC 62

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Charity, Land

Updated: 04 May 2022; Ref: scu.517443

In Re James: 1932

A legacy for the setting up and operation of a home of rest for the sisters of a religious community was a valid charitable bequest, on the basis that it was to be provided for persons in need of such a facility or amenity.

Judges:

Farwell J

Citations:

[1932] 2 Ch 25

Cited by:

CitedHelena Partnerships Ltd v HM Revenue and Customs CA 9-May-2012
The company had undertaken substantial building works and sought associated tax relief. The court was asked whether, following a change in the company’s memorandum and articles of association, the company, a registered social landlord, remained a . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Charity

Updated: 04 May 2022; Ref: scu.464221

Lehtimaki and Others v Cooper: SC 29 Jul 2020

Charitable Company- Directors’ Status and Duties

A married couple set up a charitable foundation to assist children in developing countries. When the marriage failed an attempt was made to establish a second foundation with funds from the first, as part of W leaving the Trust. Court approval was obtained, but the court ordered the remaining non-interested director to vote in favour of the transaction. He appealed successfully against that order, and W now herself appealed.
Held: The appeal raised several issues.
Lady Arden discussed whether L was a fiduciary when acting as a member of CIFF. The defining characteristic of a fiduciary is that he has a single duty to his trustor. A member of a charitable company has that duty, the company itself being in a position of trustee. The position of the member was as under a trust given shape by statute and the company’s own constitution.
The application having been made to the court to approve such an arrangement, the Court’s answer governed the decision on what was in the charity’s best interests, and therefore the member no longer retained discretion to vote against it, and had to work to implement it. If the member disagreed, his remedy was to appeal.
Lady Arden, dissenting, saying that the fiduciary duty was in its nature subjective, and could not be ousted in favour of an objective direction.
Lady Arden confirmed the capacity of the Court to direct a member’s vote under section 217 of the 2006 Act.
Otherwise: Children’s Investment Fund (UK) v Attorney General

Judges:

Lord Reed, President, Lord Wilson, Lord Briggs, Lady Arden, Lord Kitchin

Citations:

[2020] UKSC 33, [2020] 2 BCLC 463, [2020] 3 WLR 461, [2020] WTLR 967, 23 ITELR 273, [2021] 1 All ER (Comm) 757, [2021] 1 All ER 809, [2022] AC 155

Links:

Bailii, Press Summary, Issues and Facts

Statutes:

Companies Act 2006 217, Charities Act 2011 201

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Citing:

CitedIn re The French Protestant Hospital ChD 1951
The charity was an incorporated body created by a Royal Charter granted in 1718. The governor and directors sought to exercise a power conferred on them by the charter to amend the byelaws to enable the directors’ professional firms to be . .
CitedVon Ernst and Cie SA v Inland Revenue Commissioners CA 1979
The assets of a corporate charity were held on charitable trusts: ‘We were referred to certain authorities which give support to the view that a company incorporated for exclusively charitable purposes is in the position of a trustee of its funds or . .
CitedLiverpool and District Hospital for Diseases of the Heart v Attorney-General ChD 1981
Charitable Company is Trustee of Assets
The court was asked as to the distribution of surplus assets of a charitable company which was in winding up, and the question whether or not s 257 et seq. Companies Act 1948 applied, including s 265 which made provision for the distribution of . .
CitedThe Attorney-General, at The Relation of W Izard v Brown, And Forty-Seven Others 3-Apr-1818
The Crown has a role as parens patriae or protector of charities.
Lord Eldon LC said: ‘It is the duty of the King, as parens patriae, to protect property devoted to charitable uses; and that duty is executed by the officer who represents the . .
CitedJohn Shaw and Sons (Salford) Ltd v Shaw 1935
The members of a company cannot interfere with the decisions of the trustees and directors unless they amend the articles to enable them to do so. . .
CitedRe Egerton Trust Retirement Benefit Scheme ChD 2000
(No Date) Robert Walker J identified four categories of case in which the court has to consider actions taken or to be taken by trustees, as follows:-
‘ . . it seems to me that, when the court has to adjudicate on a course of action proposed . .
CitedPublic Trustee v Cooper 2001
The court looked at the circumstances required when a court was asked to approve a proposed exercise by trustees of a discretion vested in them. The second category of circumstances was (quoting Robert Walker J): ‘Where the issue was whether the . .
At First InstanceThe Children’s Investment Fund Foundation (UK) v Attorney General and Others ChD 9-Jun-2017
The court considered the propriety of a payment made by a charitable company to a director for her loss of office. The charity was to transfer a substantial sum to a new charity headed by the departing director.
Held: The court approved the . .
Appeal from (CA)Lehtimaki v The Children’s Investment Fund Foundation (UK) and Others CA 6-Jul-2018
A charity established by H and W wanted to transfer part of its fund to a new charity headed by W in return for her resignation from the first charity on the breakdown of the marriage. Court approval was sought for a transfer, but the remaining . .
CitedHope Community Church (Wymondham) v Phelan and Others ChD 22-May-2020
The Church, a private company limited by guarantee, sought a declaration that it had the right to enfranchise its church premises under the 1920 Act. . .
CitedPender v Lushington CA 1877
After stating that the Court would not restrain the exercise of certain votes by members of a company merely because the holder of the votes had a motive for voting them which the Court might not approve, his Lordship said: ‘I am confirmed in that . .
CitedThe North-West Transportation Company and James Hughes Beatty v Henry Beatty and Others PC 21-Jul-1887
(Canada) . .
CitedAllan v Gold Reefs of West Africa Ltd CA 19-Feb-1900
The company had altered its articles so as to give itself a lien on paid up shares in respect of the failure of the shareholder to pay calls on other shares which had not been fully paid up. The effect of the amendment was to alter the contractual . .
CitedArbuthnott v Bonnyman and Others CA 20-May-2015
Appeal from refusal of unfair prejudice petition.
After listing cases: ‘I would extract from them the following principles:
(1) The limitations on the exercise of the power to amend a company’s articles arise because, as in the case of . .
CitedNorthern Counties Securities Ltd v Jackson and Steeple Ltd ChD 1974
Walton J reiterated that, when a shareholder is voting for or against a particular resolution, he is voting as a person owing no fiduciary duty to the company and who is exercising his own right of property to vote as he thinks fit. . .
CitedLetterstedt v Broers PC 22-Mar-1884
(Supreme Court of the Cape of Good Hope) Lack of harmony may be of itself a good reason for a trustee to resign or be dismissed. Lord Blackburn approved a passage in Story’s Equity Jurisprudence, s 1289: ‘But in cases of positive misconduct, courts . .
CitedBolton v Madden QBD 25-Nov-1873
The Court of Queen’s Bench on appeal from the Lord Mayor’s Court held that they could ‘find no legal principle to justify us in holding that the subscriber to a charity may not give his votes as he pleases’. Blackburn J said that ‘The general rule . .
CitedSEC v Chenery Corporation 1-Feb-1943
(United States Supreme Court) Frankfurter J held: ‘to say that a man is a fiduciary only begins analysis; it gives direction to further inquiry. To whom is he a fiduciary? What obligations does he owe as a fiduciary?’ . .
CitedGoldcorp Exchange Ltd and others v Liggett and others PC 25-May-1994
(New Zealand) The non allocated claimants purchased gold bullion from a company for future delivery on a non allocated basis. The company stored and insured the metal, but the claimants had a right to call for delivery of their part within 7-days. . .
CitedBolton v Madden QBD 25-Nov-1873
The Court of Queen’s Bench on appeal from the Lord Mayor’s Court held that they could ‘find no legal principle to justify us in holding that the subscriber to a charity may not give his votes as he pleases’. Blackburn J said that ‘The general rule . .
CitedMothew (T/a Stapley and Co) v Bristol and West Building Society CA 24-Jul-1996
The solicitor, acting in a land purchase transaction for his lay client and the plaintiff, had unwittingly misled the claimant by telling the claimant that the purchasers were providing the balance of the purchase price themselves without recourse . .
CitedF and C Alternative Investments (Holdings) Ltd v Barthelemy and Another (No 2) ChD 14-Jul-2011
The court was asked as to the fiduciary obligations owed by members of the board of a limited liability company.
Held: Sales J said that: ‘there is nothing in the Act to qualify the usual fiduciary obligations which an agent owes his principal . .
CitedGrimaldi v Chameleon Mining NL (No 2) 21-Feb-2012
Federal Court of Australia
CORPORATIONS – Corporations Act 2001 (Cth), s 9 – ‘director’ – ‘officer’ – de facto director – no single test for determining whether a person is such – assuming or performing the functions of a director of the . .
CitedChinachem Charitable Foundation Ltd v The Secretary for Justice 18-May-2015
(Court of Final Appeal of Hong Kong) Lord Walker of Gestingthorpe NPJ referred to a proposed scheme as ‘a written instrument approved by the court to regulate, in whole or in part, the future management and administration of the trust’ . .
CitedIncome Tax Special Commissioners v Pemsel HL 20-Jul-1891
Charitable Purposes used with technical meaning
The House was asked whether, in a taxing statute applying to the whole of the United Kingdom and allowing for deductions from and allowances against the income of land vested in trustees for charitable purposes, the words ‘charitable purposes’ . .
CitedNational Anti-Vivisection League v Inland Revenue Commissioners HL 2-Jul-1947
The main object of the Society was political viz, the repeal of the Cruelty to Animals Act 1876, and for that reason the Society was not established for charitable purposes only and was not entitled to exemption from tax. An organisation whose aims . .
CitedConstruction Industry Training Board v Attorney-General CA 1973
The principal issue was whether a body set up by statute and subject to the control of a minister of the Crown was a ‘charity’ within the meaning of section 45(1) of the Charities Act 1960, for which purpose it had to be subject to ‘the control of . .
CitedArmitage v Nurse; etc CA 19-Mar-1997
A clause in a trust deed may validly excuse trustees from personal liability for even gross negligence. The trustee was exempted from liability for loss or damage ‘unless such loss or damage shall be caused by his own actual fraud’.
Held: The . .
CitedGaudiya Mission and others v Brahmachary CA 30-Jul-1997
The High Court had found the plaintiff to be a charity, and ordered the Attorney-General to be joined in. The A-G appealed that order saying that the plaintiff was not a charity within the 1993 Act. The charity sought to spread the Vaishnava . .
CitedEx Parte Lacey 5-Feb-1802
Trustee Not To purchase Property of Trust
Lord Eldon held that equity imposed stringent duties on persons who were appointed trustees of trusts and that these duties were imposed with ‘relentless jealousy’ in order to ensure that trustees fulfilled their duties, and that trustees had to be . .
CitedCitibank Na and Another v QVT Financial Lp CA 22-Jan-2007
Securitisation of Channel Tunnel debts.
The controlling noteholder of a series of notes issued by the company and secured by a trust deed argued that its extensive powers, while its notes remained outstanding, to direct the trustee of the . .
CitedStanway v Attorney-General CA 5-Apr-2000
Sir Richard Scott V-C said: ‘Charities operate within a framework of public law, not private law. The Crown is parens patriae of the charity and the judges of the courts represent the Crown in supervising what the charity is doing and in giving . .
CitedArklow Investments Ltd and Another v Maclean and Others PC 1-Dec-1999
PC (New Zealand) Land was offered for sale. A potential buyer, the appellant was approached by a merchant bank with a proposal for finance. When he sought finance elsewhere, a company associated with the bank . .
CitedAssenagon Asset Management Sa v Irish Bank Resolution Corporation Ltd ChD 27-Jul-2012
The court considered the right of a company member to vote as he wishes. Briggs J said: ‘The basis for the application of that principle in relation to powers conferred on majorities to bind minorities is traditionally described as arising from . .
CitedThe Attorney-General v The Dean and Canons of Christ Church CA 28-Mar-1822
Devise to the Dean and Canons of Christ Church in trust to constitute and support a grammar school at P, to appoint a master and usher, and pay them certain salaries; and the Dean and Canons to direct the management of the school.
Held: 1 That . .
CitedAttorney-General v The Bishop Of Worcester 8-Nov-1851
If a scheme for the regulation of a charity, settled by a decree, does not operate beneficially for the charity, and the attorney-general considers that the interests of the charity would, consistently with the foundation, usage and law, be promoted . .
CitedGirls Public Day School Trust v Minister of Community and Country Planning ChD 1951
A company was formed for the purpose of establishing in England, public day schools for the education of girls. The position on the day appointed by the minister of Town and Country planning under the 1947 Act, section 119, namely July 18th 1948, . .
CitedChapman v Chapman HL 25-Mar-1954
It was suggested to the House that: ‘A judge of the Chancery Division of the High Court of Justice has an inherent jurisdiction, in the execution of the trusts of a settlement, to sanction, on behalf of infant beneficiaries and unborn persons, a . .
CitedRe Royal Society’s Charitable Trusts 1956
The Society, a charitable company regulated by statute, requested that it be permitted inter alia, to consolidate various different trust funds of which it was trustee for investment and accounting purposes.
Held: The application did not come . .
CitedIn re J W Laing Trust ChD 1984
The trust was first created in 1922 with a gift of 15,000 shares worth pounds 15,000 ‘the proceeds of which and the dividends thereon from time to time declared and paid … to be devoted to charitable purposes, it being understood that the capital . .
CitedIn re Steed CA 26-Jan-1960
The court considered an application under the 1968 Act to vary a trust. The testator had shown in the terms of his will a particular purpose in creating a protective trust; that was to protect the life tenant from improvident dealings with property . .
CitedRe Ashton Charity CA 3-May-1856
The Court of Chancery has jurisdiction to alien the real estate of a charity, and it can do so upon an application under Sir Samuel Romilly’s Act: ‘upon an information, the Court of Chancery has a general jurisdiction, as incident to the . .
CitedThe Attorney-General v The Governors Of The Free Grammar School Of Queen Elizabeth In Dedham The Attorney-General v Ellis The Attorney-General v Grignon In The Matters Of The 52 Geo 3, C 101, The Charitable Trusts Act, 1853, And Of The Several Speci 30-Jan-1857
The jurisdiction of the court was not ousted where the charity obtained a charter subsequent to its founding . .
CitedEx Parte The Governors Of Christ’s Hospital 10-Dec-1864
. .
CitedAttorney General v British Museum ChD 27-May-2005
The trustees brought a claim against the Attorney-General seeking clarification of their duties and powers to return objects which were part of the collection in law, but where a moral duty might exist to return it to a former owner. Here drawings . .
CitedClephane and Others v Magistrates of Edinburgh SCS 30-Oct-1869
This case came before the Court on a petition by the defenders, dated 21st May 1869, to apply the judgment of the House of Lords. The Kirk-session lodged a minute, asserting their interest in the matter, and craving to be sisted as parties to the . .
CitedAndrews v McGuffog 1886
Applications to court – partial decree not granted – directions where scheme of founder cannot be carried out – commingling of different funds
Pursuers in an actio popularis in re a public trust have no right to demand a partial decree which . .
CitedHampden v Buckinghamshire (Earl of) ChD 24-Apr-1893
(ChD and CA) By sect. 11 of the Settled Land Act, 1890 (which Act and the Settled Land Act, 1882, are to be read and construed together as one Act): ‘Where money is required for the purpose of discharging an incumbrance on the settled land or part . .
CitedAttorney-General v Governors of Christ’s Hospital 3-Mar-1896
The Attorney-General proposed a scheme to except certain endowments from the 1869 Act. They would be made over to another governing body in augmentation of the endowments held by them subject to the provisions of that Act.
Held: The court . .
CitedRoyal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals v Attorney-General and others ChD 26-Jan-2001
The right to freedom of association could be exercised by a society choosing to remove from its membership individuals who held views which it saw as inimical to its purposes. Such a removal did not infringe the members’ rights of freedom of speech. . .
CitedIn re Steed CA 26-Jan-1960
The court considered an application under the 1968 Act to vary a trust. The testator had shown in the terms of his will a particular purpose in creating a protective trust; that was to protect the life tenant from improvident dealings with property . .
CitedIn re S (an infant) CA 1965
A boy was received into the care of the local authority in 1954, when he was 5 weeks old. The local authority entrusted him to foster parents, who signed an agreement that the boy could be removed from them when required by an authorised person. In . .
CitedAttorney General v Haberdashers’ Company 7-May-1791
Where a surplus to be distributed is an uncertain sum, the Master ought to report the shares in aliquot parts, not in money. The only way of administering a charity is under general direction to trustees; in case of misbehaviour there must be a new . .
CitedAttorney-General, At The Relaion Of Barrett And Hayman v The Mayor, Bailiffs, And Commonalty Of The City Of Exeter, Defendants 10-Mar-1826
Semble. It is not a general rule of a court of equity, that a charitable gift for the benefits of the poor is to be confined to such poor as do not receive parish relief. Where trustees of a charity, under an instrument of doubtful construction, . .
CitedRandell, In re; Randell v Dixon ChD 10-Feb-1888
A testatrix bequeathed pounds 14,000 on trust to pay the income to the incumbent of the church at H. for the time being so long as he permitted the sittings to be occupied free : in case payment for sittings was ever demanded, she directed the . .
CitedGarnham v PC and Others 13-Mar-2012
(Royal Court – Samedi) . .
CitedCowan v Scargill and Others ChD 13-Apr-1984
Trustee’s duties in relation to investments
Within the National Coal Board Pension scheme, the trustees appointed by the NCB were concerned at the activities of the trustees of the miners, and sought directions from the court. The defendants refused to allow any funds to be invested abroad. . .
CitedMcPhail v Doulton (on appeal from In re Baden’s Deed Trusts) HL 6-May-1970
The settlor asked whether the test for validity, in point of certainty of objects, is the same for trusts and powers, or whether the test for trusts is more demanding.
Held: The test is the same. The context was a provision, held to be a . .

Cited by:

CitedButler-Sloss and Others v The Charity Commission for England and Wales and Another ChD 29-Apr-2022
Principles allowing Ethical Investment by Trustees
Should charities, whose principal purposes are environmental protection and improvement and the relief of poverty, be able to adopt an investment policy that excludes many potential investments because the trustees consider that they conflict with . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Charity, Company

Updated: 04 May 2022; Ref: scu.652834

Gaudiya Mission and others v Brahmachary: CA 30 Jul 1997

The High Court had found the plaintiff to be a charity, and ordered the Attorney-General to be joined in. The A-G appealed that order saying that the plaintiff was not a charity within the 1993 Act. The charity sought to spread the Vaishnava religion in London.
Held: Charities Act jurisdiction is restricted to charities registered in the UK, with no control over charities established and administered abroad. The Mission was not a charity within the meaning of the 1993 Act.
Mummery LJ observed that: ‘Under English law charity has always received special treatment. It often takes the form of a trust; but it is a public trust for the promotion of purposes beneficial to the community, not a trust for private individuals. It is therefore subject to special rules governing registration, administration, taxation and duration. Although not a state institution, a charity is subject to the constitutional protection of the Crown as parens patriae, acting through the Attorney-General, to the state supervision of the Charity Commissioners, and to the judicial supervision of the High Court. This regime applies whether the charity takes the form of a trust or of an incorporated body’.

Judges:

Lord Justice Leggatt Lord Justice Morritt Lord Justice Mummery

Citations:

Times 24-Sep-1997, [1998] Ch 341, [1997] EWCA Civ 2239

Links:

Bailii

Statutes:

Charities Act 1993 33 96(1)

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Citing:

Appeal fromGaudiya Mission and Others v Kamalaksha Das Brahmachary ChD 14-Mar-1997
There was a dispute as to the management and ownership of the London Temple of the plaintiff, a Vaishnava religious sect in India.
Held: The proceedings were charity proceedings within section 33(8), because they are proceedings brought under . .
CitedMayor of Lyons v East India Co PC 12-Dec-1836
Lord Brougham said: ‘The objection, in the ordinary case, to administering a foreign charity under the superintendence of the Court, is this: those who are engaged in the actual execution of it, are beyond the Court’s control, and those who are . .
CitedClark (Inspector of Taxes) v Oceanic Contractors Inc HL 16-Dec-1982
HL Income tax, Schedule E – Non-resident employer – Employees working in U.K. sector of North Sea – Whether employer liable to deduct tax from emoluments – Income Tax (Employments) Regulations 1973 – Income and . .
DistinguishedConstruction Industry Training Board v Attorney-General CA 1973
The principal issue was whether a body set up by statute and subject to the control of a minister of the Crown was a ‘charity’ within the meaning of section 45(1) of the Charities Act 1960, for which purpose it had to be subject to ‘the control of . .
CitedProvost of Edinburgh v Aubery 1754
The English court declined the jurisdiction for the distribution of a fund of 3,500 pounds bequeathed by the testator to the Provost of Edinburgh to be applied for the maintenance of poor labourers residing in Edinburgh and towns adjacent. He said . .
CitedRe Marr’s Will Trusts 1936
. .
CitedAttorney-General v Lepine 1818
The testator left part of his residuary estate for the benefit of a school for the poor in the parish of Dollar in Scotland.
Held: The English court declined jurisdiction. ‘I have always understood that, where a charity is to be administered . .
CitedIn Re Robinson; Besant v German Reich ChD 1931
The claim concerned a gift which had been made to the German government for the benefit of disabled German soldiers.
Held: The English court had no jurisdiction: ‘if the trustee is abroad there is no power in the Court to direct a scheme to be . .
CitedEmery v Hill 14-Feb-1826
The Court was asked to make an order with respect to a bequest to the treasurer of a society established in Scotland for the propagation of Christian knowledge.
Held: The English court had no jurisdiction over a Scottish charity. . .
CitedForbes v Forbes 3-Mar-1854
General Forbes died. It became necessary to decide what was his domicile at the date of death. He had been born in Scotland, but then served for 35 years in India, before retirng to live in London.
Held: The domicile in India was a domicile of . .
CitedAttorney-General v Sturge 4-Nov-1854
The testatrix had left funds to support a school in Genoa.
Held: The courts have no authority to make a scheme where the trustees would not be within the jurisdiction of the English courts. . .
CitedRe Colonial Bishoprics Fund 1841 1935
The court was asked to make a order with respect to the Fund, a trust established in England for the endowment of Bishoprics in the Colonies.
Held: The court had jurisdiction to make a cy-pres order. Since the trustees of the fund were in this . .
CitedAttorney-General v City of London 1790
A trust had been established in England for the advancement of Christianity among ‘infidels in America’. Acting on information that after the American War of Independence, there were no longer any infidels within the areas designated, and that the . .
CitedCamille and Henry Dreyfus Foundation Inc v Inland Revenue Commissioners HL 1956
The company was a foreign corporation constituted according to the laws of the state of New York for objects which were exclusively charitable according to the law of the United Kingdom.
Held: The term ‘charity’ does not include an institution . .
CitedCamille and Henry Dreyfus Foundation Inc v Inland Revenue Commissioners CA 1954
The Court considered whether it had jurisdiction to make an order with respect to a company registered in New York for objects which were charitable according to the laws of England.
Held: The Revenue’s appeal against a finding that the . .
DoubtedRe Duncan CA 1867
The court was asked whether the consent of the Charity Commissioners was necessary to petition the Court to appoint a new trustee of a charity established in England to promote Christian education in Jamaica.
Held: In the 1853 Act, ‘Charity’ . .

Cited by:

CitedLehtimaki and Others v Cooper SC 29-Jul-2020
Charitable Company- Directors’ Status and Duties
A married couple set up a charitable foundation to assist children in developing countries. When the marriage failed an attempt was made to establish a second foundation with funds from the first, as part of W leaving the Trust. Court approval was . .
CitedButler-Sloss and Others v The Charity Commission for England and Wales and Another ChD 29-Apr-2022
Principles allowing Ethical Investment by Trustees
Should charities, whose principal purposes are environmental protection and improvement and the relief of poverty, be able to adopt an investment policy that excludes many potential investments because the trustees consider that they conflict with . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Charity

Updated: 04 May 2022; Ref: scu.142636

Morice v The Bishop of Durham: 1789

Citations:

[1789] EngR 1593, (1789-1817) 2 Ves Jun Supp 177, (1789) 34 ER 1046 (F)

Links:

Commonlii

Statutes:

Statute of Charitable Uses 1601

Cited by:

See AlsoMorice v The Bishop of Durham 1789
. .
See AlsoMorice v The Bishop of Durham 1789
. .
See AlsoMorice v The Bishop of Durham CA 26-Mar-1804
Bequest, in trust for such objects of benevolence and liberality as the trustee in his own discretion shall most approve, cannot be supported as a charitable Legacy ; and is therefore a Trust for the next of kin.
Ann Cracherade by her Will, . .
See AlsoMorice v Bishop of Durham HL 1805
The court was asked whether a gift of residue to be applied ‘to such objects of benevolence and liberality as the Bishop of Durham in his own discretion shall most approve of’ was valid as being confined to purposes that were charitable.
Held: . .
See AlsoMorice v The Bishop of Durham 20-Mar-1805
. .
See AlsoMorice v The Bishop of Durham 21-Jun-1805
. .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Charity

Updated: 02 May 2022; Ref: scu.367224

Attorney-General v The Painter-Stainers Company: 31 Oct 1788

On further directions – Where an intention appears in a testator to give the whole of a fund to a charity, the objects whereof are not sufficient to exhaust the whole, the Court will apply the residue as nearly to the testator’s designation as it can. But such defects will not be supplied without some such intention appearing to guide the Court, which cannot go so far as to dispose of a fund merely on seeing a general intention in the testator to die testate as to the whole

Citations:

[1788] EngR 210, (1788) 2 Cox 51, (1788) 30 ER 24 (B)

Links:

Commonlii

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Wills and Probate, Charity

Updated: 02 May 2022; Ref: scu.368510

Attorney-General v The Ironmongers’ Company: 18 Nov 1834

A testator gave the residue of his estate to trustees, positively forbidding them to diminish the capital thereof, or that the interest and profit arising be applied to any other use or uses than thereinafter directed ; and he proceeded to direct one moiety of the income to be applied to a charitable purpose which failed; and the other moiety to be applied to other specified charitable purposes. Held, upon appeal, that the Court had jurisdiction to apply cypres the income of the moiety devoted to the charitable purpose which failed.

Citations:

[1834] EngR 1042, (1833-1834) 2 My and K 576, (1834) 39 ER 1064

Links:

Commonlii

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Cited by:

See AlsoAttorney-General v Ironmongers’ Company 3-Jun-1837
Scheme for application of a charity fund left for loans to young freemen of a company and of the interest. . .
See AlsoAttorney-General v The Ironmongers’ Company Betton’s Charity 14-Feb-1840
Bequest of residue to a company, to apply the interest of a moiety ‘unto the redemption of British slaves in Turkey or Barbary,’ one-fourth to charity schools in London and its suburbs; and in consideration of the care and pains of the company, the . .
See AlsoThe Attorney-General v The Ironmongers’ Company 23-Jan-1841
Under a, reference to approve a scheme for the application of charity funds, the Master has no authority to allow, still less to invite, any person to intervene in the inquiry, who is not a party to the cause. If any such person is desirous of . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Charity

Updated: 02 May 2022; Ref: scu.317718

Attorney-General v Ironmongers’ Company: 3 Jun 1837

Scheme for application of a charity fund left for loans to young freemen of a company and of the interest.

Citations:

[1837] EngR 790, (1837) CP Coop 283, (1837) 47 ER 506

Links:

Commonlii

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Citing:

See AlsoAttorney-General v The Ironmongers’ Company 18-Nov-1834
A testator gave the residue of his estate to trustees, positively forbidding them to diminish the capital thereof, or that the interest and profit arising be applied to any other use or uses than thereinafter directed ; and he proceeded to direct . .

Cited by:

See AlsoAttorney-General v The Ironmongers’ Company Betton’s Charity 14-Feb-1840
Bequest of residue to a company, to apply the interest of a moiety ‘unto the redemption of British slaves in Turkey or Barbary,’ one-fourth to charity schools in London and its suburbs; and in consideration of the care and pains of the company, the . .
See AlsoThe Attorney-General v The Ironmongers’ Company 23-Jan-1841
Under a, reference to approve a scheme for the application of charity funds, the Master has no authority to allow, still less to invite, any person to intervene in the inquiry, who is not a party to the cause. If any such person is desirous of . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Charity

Updated: 02 May 2022; Ref: scu.313907

Attorney-General v The Ironmongers’ Company Betton’s Charity: 14 Feb 1840

Bequest of residue to a company, to apply the interest of a moiety ‘unto the redemption of British slaves in Turkey or Barbary,’ one-fourth to charity schools in London and its suburbs; and in consideration of the care and pains of the company, the remaining one-fourth towards necessitated decayed freemen of the company. There were no such British slaves to redeem, and a reference was made to the Master to approve of a scheme for the application of the fund thus unapplied, having regard to all the charitable bequests in the will. Held, that the application of the fund to the education of the British emancipated apprenticed negroes was iiot a cy-pres application ; secondly, that the gift to the freemen of the company was a charitable bequest ; and, thirdly, there being no direct objects to which the income could be applied, regard being had to the bequest touching British captives, that the application of the fund to the second and third purposes was as near as could be to the intention of the testator, having regard to all the charitable bequests in the will.
Lord Langdale MR said that: ‘ He did not recognise the relator as distinct from the Attorney-General. That the suit was the suit of the Attorney-General, though at the relation of another person upon whom he relied and who was answerable for costs; and that he could only recognise the counsel for the relator as the counsel for the Attorney-General, and could hear them only by his permission ; that the suit was so entirely under the control of the Attorney-General that he might desire the Court to
‘ dismiss the information, and that if he stated that he did not sanction any proceeding, it would be instantly stopped ‘.

Judges:

Lord Langdale MR

Citations:

[1840] EngR 425, (1840) 2 Beav 313, (1840) 48 ER 1201

Links:

Commonlii

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Citing:

See AlsoAttorney-General v The Ironmongers’ Company 18-Nov-1834
A testator gave the residue of his estate to trustees, positively forbidding them to diminish the capital thereof, or that the interest and profit arising be applied to any other use or uses than thereinafter directed ; and he proceeded to direct . .
See AlsoAttorney-General v Ironmongers’ Company 3-Jun-1837
Scheme for application of a charity fund left for loans to young freemen of a company and of the interest. . .

Cited by:

See AlsoThe Attorney-General v The Ironmongers’ Company 23-Jan-1841
Under a, reference to approve a scheme for the application of charity funds, the Master has no authority to allow, still less to invite, any person to intervene in the inquiry, who is not a party to the cause. If any such person is desirous of . .
CitedGouriet v Union of Post Office Workers HL 26-Jul-1977
The claimant sought an injunction to prevent the respondent Trades Union calling on its members to boycott mail to South Africa. The respondents challenged the ability of the court to make such an order.
Held: The wide wording of the statute . .
CitedGouriet v Union of Post Office Workers HL 26-Jul-1977
The claimant sought an injunction to prevent the respondent Trades Union calling on its members to boycott mail to South Africa. The respondents challenged the ability of the court to make such an order.
Held: The wide wording of the statute . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Charity, Constitutional

Updated: 02 May 2022; Ref: scu.309851

The Attorney-General v The Ironmongers’ Company: 26 Jan 1847

A charity scheme was directed. The relator, without the sanction of the Master, advertised and incurred expense in obtaining information. The Court refused to allow the ordinary costs, but, on the ground of its having proved useful to the charity, allowed the money out of pocket bona fide expended.

Citations:

[1847] EngR 161 (B), (1847) 10 Beav 194

Links:

Commonlii

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Costs, Charity

Updated: 02 May 2022; Ref: scu.300777

Commissioner of Valuation for Northern Ireland v Lurgan Borough Council: CANI 1968

The respondent local authority owned an indoor swimming pool. It claimed exemption from rates under section 2 of the 1854 Act saying that it was used exclusively for the purposes of a recreational charity under the Act of 1958.
Held: (By a majority) The ground of exemption was established. Lord MacDermott said: ‘Here, I think, there can be no doubt that in the construction, equipment and running of this hereditament the Council has provided facilities for recreation. The big question is – have these facilities been provided ‘in the interests of social welfare’? ‘Social welfare’ is a somewhat vague and uncertain expression. Taken by itself I still incline to the view I expressed in National Deposit Friendly Society Trustees v. Skegness Urban District Council, that it signifies something more than ‘social well-being’. In the present context, however, I do not think it necessary to speculate as to the precise distinction to be drawn between these two expressions as subsection (2) of section 1, though not exactly a definition, provides in effect, in my opinion, the essential elements which must be present if a state of social well-being is to amount to ‘social welfare’ as that expression is used in the section. These elements are to be drawn from paragraphs (a) and (b) of subsection (2). By (a) the facilities must be provided with the object of improving the conditions of life for the persons for whom the facilities are primarily intended. To my mind the provision of the hereditament satisfies that requirement. The primary object, even if confined to the phraseology of the preamble to the Act of 1846, was clearly to improve the conditions of life of the inhabitants of the Borough of Lurgan and if, as I have held, this was done in a manner which enured for the benefit of the public at large, paragraph (a) would still be complied with. It is clear from the terms of the case stated that the hereditament was not only provided to improve the conditions of life for those for whom it was primarily intended, but that in fact it has done so. The full use which has been made of the hereditament since its inauguration is, I think, cogent evidence that it has filled a need in the life of the community and has added to the enjoyment of its members.
The second requirement to be satisfied is one or other of the subparagraphs of paragraph (b). Of these alternatives I am of opinion that subparagraph (i) does not apply so as to support the Council’s case. There is nothing in the case stated that I can see which shows that those benefited have need of the facilities provided by reason of any of the specific factors mentioned, ie. youth, age, infirmity or disablement, poverty or social and economic circumstances. But subparagraph (ii), on the views I have already expressed, is applicable for the facilities of the hereditament are available to the public at large.’

Judges:

Lord MacDermott LCJ

Citations:

[1968] NI 104

Statutes:

Valuation (Ireland) Amendment Act 1854 82

Jurisdiction:

Northern Ireland

Cited by:

CitedGuild v Inland Revenue Commissioners HL 6-May-1992
The will left land for a sports centre to a local authority which no longer existed. If the gift was charitable, the gift would be applied cy pres, but if not it would fail and pass to the family and be subect to Inheritance Tax.
Held: A gift . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Rating, Charity

Updated: 01 May 2022; Ref: scu.273194

Verge v Somerville: PC 1924

On an appeal from New South Wales, The Board considered the validity of a gift ‘to the trustees’ of the Repatriation Fund or other similar fund for the benefit of New South Wales returned soldiers’.
Held: Trusts for education and religion do not require any qualification of poverty to be introduced to give them validity and generally poverty is not a necessary qualification in trusts beneficial to the community. However, Lord Wrenbury said: ‘To ascertain whether a gift constitutes a valid charitable trust so as to escape being void on the ground of perpetuity, a first enquiry must be whether it is public-whether it is for the benefit of the community or of an appreciably important class of the community. The inhabitants of a parish or town, or any particular class of such inhabitants, may, for instance, be the objects of such a gift, but private individuals, or a fluctuating body of private individuals, cannot.’

Judges:

Lord Wrenbury

Citations:

[1924] AC 496

Jurisdiction:

Australia

Cited by:

CitedBaddeley (Trustees of the Newtown Trust) v Inland Revenue Commissioners HL 17-Feb-1955
Land had been conveyed to trustees for the moral, social and physical well-being of a community. The court considered whether the trust was charitable in nature, where it was said that it confined the benefits to a class of people who do not . .
CitedIn Re Strakosch 1949
The court may construe a gift as impliedly limited to charitable purposes. Lord Greene MR said: ‘In Williams’ Trustees v Inland Revenue Commissioners the House of Lords has laid down very clearly that in order to come within Lord Macnaghten’s fourth . .
CitedRe Resch’s Will Trusts; Vera Caroline Le Crasv Perpetual Trustee Company Limited PC 19-Oct-1967
(New South Wales) The testator left a series of testamentary provisions including gifts which worked cumulatively. Lord Wilberforce discussed the breadth of evidence admissible in the probate court: ‘The principles which ought to be applied on such . .
CitedOppenheim v Tobacco Securities Trust Co Ltd HL 13-Dec-1950
Trustees were directed to apply certain income in providing for ‘the education of children of employees or former employees’ of a British limited company or any of its subsidiary or allied companies. The number of eligible employees was over . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Charity, Commonwealth

Updated: 01 May 2022; Ref: scu.264008

Meisels v Lichtman and Another: QBD 9 Apr 2008

The court considered gifts to charity: ‘Where there is a dispute it seems to me that it is the intentions of the donor nor that will be crucial, rather than the more familiar exercise of ascertaining the intentions of both parties in construing the agreement’.

Judges:

Blake J

Citations:

[2008] EWHC 661 (QB)

Links:

Bailii

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Citing:

CitedDewar v Dewar ChD 1975
The court was asked whether a payment of pounds 500 by their mother to one of two brothers who were the litigants was to be treated as a gift or as a loan. The evidence showed that the mother always intended it to be a gift, that the son wanted to . .

Cited by:

CitedScott v Bridge and Others ChD 25-Nov-2020
Claim to recover money and property said to have been transferred by the claimant to the defendants or one or more of them. The money concerned came from a bank account belonging to the claimant. The property concerned consisted of two . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Contract, Charity

Updated: 01 May 2022; Ref: scu.266532

In re Gray: 1925

Gifts made exclusively for the purpose of promoting the efficiency of the armed forces are good charitable gifts.

Citations:

[1925] 1 Ch 362

Cited by:

CitedInland Revenue Commissioners v Glasgow Police Athletic Association HL 9-Mar-1953
The House was asked whether the taxpayer association was established for ‘Charitable purposes only’ so as to benefit from tax exemptions. The association promoted sporting activities among members of the Glasgow police.
Held: Though the . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Charity

Updated: 01 May 2022; Ref: scu.251601

Attorney General v Webster: 1875

A trust expressed to be for the benefit of a fluctuating body of individuals, such as the inhabitants of a locality, can only take effect as a charitable trust, if it has effect at all.

Citations:

(1875) LR 20 Eq 483

Cited by:

CitedGibbs v Harding and others ChD 12-Jan-2007
The testatrix left a will anticipating making another. The court was asked whether a clause leaving her estate to ‘be taken over by the Diocese of Westminster to hold in trust for the Black community of Hackney’ was valid.
Held: The gift was . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Charity, Trusts

Updated: 01 May 2022; Ref: scu.247689

Mitford v Reynolds: 1842

A gift was made to the native inhabitans of Dacca. It was challenged as being void.
Held: As to whether a gift was charitable, the same principles apply when a particular class of inhabitants of a locality are the beneficiaries as when the the inhabitants as a whole are beneficiaries.
Lyndhurst LC said: ‘the term ‘the native inhabitants of Dacca’ is used in contradistinction to the European inhabitants or the descendants of European inhabitants.’

Citations:

(1842) 1 Ph 185

Cited by:

CitedGibbs v Harding and others ChD 12-Jan-2007
The testatrix left a will anticipating making another. The court was asked whether a clause leaving her estate to ‘be taken over by the Diocese of Westminster to hold in trust for the Black community of Hackney’ was valid.
Held: The gift was . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Charity

Updated: 01 May 2022; Ref: scu.247691

In re Lysaght (deceased): 1966

A general charitable purpose (or intention) should be recognised and given effect to, even though some particular directions given by the charity’s founder are (or become) impracticable.

Judges:

Buckley J

Citations:

[1966] Ch 191

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Cited by:

CitedFraser and Another v Canterbury Diocesan Board of Finance and others HL 27-Oct-2005
Land had been acquired by a deed under the 1841 Act, but had in 1995 ceased to be used as a school ‘for the education of children and adults of the labouring manufacturing and other poorer classes . . And for no other purpose ‘. Under the Act, the . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Trusts, Charity

Updated: 30 April 2022; Ref: scu.231639