charitable trust ii

1) Relief Of Poverty2) Advancement of Education

01/05/23Equity & Trust II

No definition of poverty It does not mean destitution. It means that there is a want, that a person

has ‘to go short’ of something. The trust must be within the spirit and

intendment of the Preamble It must be for the relief of such persons and

not merely their benefit.


Joseph Rowntree Memeorial Trust Housing v A.G [1983] 2 WLR 284 : Peter Gibson J :

“ The words “ aged, impotent and poor must be read disjunctively. It would be absurd to require that the aged must be impotent as it would be require to impotent to be aged or poor to be aged or impotent.”


B) What is essential to the charitable purpose is that it should relieve aged, impotent and poor people. The word ‘relief’ implies that the persons in question have a need attributable to their condition as aged, impotent or poor people . . .”

For g : Aids sufferer, cancer patient etc


Re Lewis ( 1955) Ch 104 : A testator made a bequest : “I leave t o10 blind girls, Tottenham residents if possible the sum of £100 each. I leave “ to each 10 blind boys Tottenham residents if possible the sum of £100 .

Held : A valid charitable bequest


Re Bradbury (1950) 2 All ER 1150 A trust for the maintenance of aged persons

in a nursing home. Held : charitable


C) Poverty is not destitution. Poor is a relative term An individual need not be destitute in order

to qualify as a poor person within the preamble


Re Coulthurst (1951) Ch 661 A fund to b applied for the benefit of the

widows and orphaned children of deceased officers and deceased ex-officers of Coutts and Com

Held : It is a relative term. The court will look at the lifestyle of the people who will benefit


Re Niyazi ‘s Will Trust (1978) 1 WLR 910. £15,000 for the construction of or as a

contribution towards the cost of working mens’hostel, to be created in Famagusta Cyprus

Held : Charitable trust


Re Sander’s Will Trust ( 1954) Ch. 265 A codicil “ to provide or assist in providing

dwellings for the working classes and their families resident in the area of Pembroke Dock . . . Or within a radius 5 miles there from.

Held : Not charitable. “working class” did not indicate poor person.


Trust for the relief of poverty form an exception to the principle that every charitable trust must be for the public benefit.

The exception covers both the poor employer and their families.


However there must be primary intent to relieve poverty amongst a particular class of person. If primary intent is to benefit particular person the trust is a private one and not charitable.


Dingle v Turner (1972) AC 601 Trust to apply income in paying pensions

to poor employees of a company. HOL reaffirmed the Court of Appeal’s

decision that it was charitable If the trust is one to relieve poverty

among named persons it is not charitable


Lee Chick Yet v Chen Siew Kee [1977] 2 MLJ 218.


Preamble 1601 : “the maintenance of schools of learning,

free school and scholars in universities and the education and preferment of orphans.”


Does not limit to poor classroom teaching.

Broad definition : teaching of ethic, research arts etc.

Incorporated Council of Law of Reporting From England and Wales v AG (1972) Ch. 73.

Buckeley LJ : It now extends to improvement of useful branch of human knowledge and public dissemination.”


Now the category has grown to cover a very wide range of educational, eg : schools, universities, nursery, museums, zoos, public libraries and and cultural activities such as drama, literature and fine arts.


Requires more than mere accumulation of knowledge

Sharing or teaching : must show that public will benefit

What about other than scientific or medical research ; Will it be considered as charitable


Re Hopkins (1965) Ch 669 A gift to the Francis Bacon Society : to be

earmarked and applied towards finding the bacon Shakespeare manuscripts.

Valid Charitable trust


Re Shaw ( 1957) 1 WLR 729. Residuary of George Bernard Shaw to be

devoted for the research : Advantages to be gained by substituting the present 26 letter by a new proposed British alphabet of 40 letters.

Held :Gift not charitable


Royal Choral Society v IRC (1943) 2 All ER 613.

Society : To form and maintain a choir in order to promote the practice and performance of choral works by way of concert or choral pageant in the Royal Albert Hall

Charitable society.


Re Delius (1957) Ch 299. Widow of a composer – Frederick Delius

gave her residuary estate for the advancement of Delius’s musical works “.. To apply the royalties income and income form the residual trust fund towards the advancement of musical works of my late husband..”

A valid charitable trust.


London Hospital Medical College v IRC (1976) 1 WLR 613

Students union is considered as charitable – part of educational purpose of college and university.


Trust for political purposes is not charitable Trust for advancement of education must

not be political at all. Eg : Trust for the release of prisoners of

conscience, for alteration of the law relating marriage and also to promote the principles of a political party are not charitable


Bowman v Secular Society [1945] Ch 16

Lord Parker : ‘a trust for the attainment of political object has always been held invalid not because it is illegal . . . but because the court has no means of judging whether a proposed change in law will or will not be for the public benefit


Re Hopkinson ( 1949) 1 All R 346

Vaisey J : ‘political propaganda masquerading . . . As education is not education for the purpose of charity.


Re Scowcroft (1898) Ch 638 The gift of income to be applied for the

furtherance of conservative principles and religious and mental improvement

Charitable Trust


Re Koepller’s Will Trust ( 1986) Ch 423 A gift to further the work of educational

project was held charitable even though the testators express aspiration were not regarded as charitable.

The project involved conferences with political flavour but it did not further the interest of a particular political party


Promotion of sports per se is not regarded as charitable.

Except if the promotion takes place in school and universities.


In Re Marriette (1915) 2 Ch 284 £ 1000 for building a squash court in a

school and £ 100 to provide price money in the school for athletic events.

Held : Charitable


IRC v Mac Mullen (1915) 2 Ch 284 Trust for the furtherance of education in

schools and university in UK and encouraging and facilitating the students playing football and other games and sports at such institution.

Held : A Valid Charitable Trust. Education is not restricted to classroom teaching


Trust of sport outside educational facilities and are not charitable unless they come within the scope of the Recreational Charities Act 1958

Re Duprees Deed Trust (1945) Ch 16 £ 5000 to establish annual chess

tournament for young boys under 21 Held : CT. Purposeful activities for the

young


The Court will not allow the trust if some people to be escaped from tax in order to educate their children.


OPPENHEIM V TOBACCO SECURITIES LTD (1951) AC 297

Trust for the education of children of employee of British American Tobacco Co Ltd and any of its subsidiary

Not charitable: no connection with the public


RE KOETTGEN’S WILL TRUST ( 1954) Ch 252

Trust for the promotion of commercial education for those who could not afford to pay it for themselves, with a preference to be given of up to 75% of the income to the employees of a particular firm.

Charitable
