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 at least in an analogous position. The authorities were In re French Protestant Hospital [1951] Ch 567; Soldiers’, Sailors’ and Airmen’s Families Association v Attorney General [1968] 1 WLR 313; Construction Industry Training Board v Attorney General [1973] Ch 173 and In re Finger’s Will Trusts [1972] Ch 286. In the first two of these cases it seems to me that it was assumed, rather than decided, that a corporate charity was in the position of a trustee of its funds. In the third, the question was what was meant by the words ‘in the exercise of the court’s jurisdiction with respect to charities’ in section 45(1) of the Charities Act 1960. In the course of my judgment in that case I certainly did express the view that the court would exercise its jurisdiction over corporate charities on the basis that their assets were held on charitable trusts and it appears to me that Plowman J, as I understand his very short judgment, agreed with me in that respect. In re Finger’s Will Trusts turned on a question of whether or not a bequest to a charitable corporation, which ceased to exist in the testatrix’s lifetime, demonstrated a general charitable intention capable of permitting a cy-pres application. I do not think that it is a decision which is of assistance for present purposes.’
Buckley LJ
[1980] 1 WLR 468, (1979) 124 SJ 17, [1980] 1 All ER 677, [1979] TR 461, [1980] STC 111
England and Wales
Citing:
Appeal from (Reversed) – Von Ernst and Cie SA v Inland Revenue Commissioners ChD 1979
. .
Cited – In 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 . .
Cited by:
Cited – The 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 . .
Applied – Liverpool 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 . .
Cited – Hope 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. . .
Cited – 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 . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Updated: 25 August 2021; Ref: scu.652991