Charity Law Association

Charity Law Association
Name	Charity Law Association
Type	Professional association
Founded	20th century
Headquarters	London
Region served	International
Membership	Legal professionals, trustees, advisers
Leader title	President

Charity Law Association is a professional association focused on the intersection of charity governance, nonprofit regulation, and legal practice. It connects solicitors, barristers, in-house counsel, trustees, advisers, and academics across jurisdictions such as the United Kingdom, United States, Australia, Canada, and the European Union. The Association engages with statutory regulators, judicial bodies, philanthropic foundations, and public inquiries to shape doctrine, compliance, and transactional practice.

History

The Association emerged in the later 20th century amid reforms sparked by cases and statutes including Royal Commission on the Civil Service, Charities Act 1960, Charities Act 1993, Charities Act 2011, Charity Commission for England and Wales reforms, and cross-border matters involving decisions from the House of Lords, Supreme Court of the United Kingdom, and the Court of Appeal of England and Wales. Early convenings referenced leading firms and chambers such as Allen & Overy, Linklaters, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Matrix Chambers, and professional bodies including the Law Society of England and Wales and the Bar Council. The Association’s development ran parallel to statutory innovations in jurisdictions like the Internal Revenue Service rulings, the Canada Revenue Agency charity guidance, and Australian judgments from the High Court of Australia.

Structure and Membership

The Association is typically governed by an elected council, executive committee, and advisory panels drawing members from institutions such as Oxford University, Cambridge University, London School of Economics, Harvard Law School, Yale Law School, University of Toronto, and major practitioners from New York County Lawyers' Association and corporate firms like Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom. Membership categories include solicitors admitted in jurisdictions like England and Wales, barristers called to the Inner Temple, Middle Temple, and in-house counsel accredited by bodies such as the Association of Corporate Counsel. The Association convenes working groups with representatives from the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland, Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator, Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport, and international regulators including the Charities Directorate (Canada).

Functions and Activities

The Association organizes conferences, seminars, and training aligned with case law developments from the European Court of Justice, European Court of Human Rights, and national appellate courts. It publishes guidance, model documents, and briefing notes referencing landmark decisions like Independent Schools Council v Charity Commission and doctrinal treatments from journals tied to The Law Society Gazette, The Times Law Reports, and academic reviews at Cambridge Legal Studies. It offers continuing professional development accredited by the Solicitors Regulation Authority and collaborates with think tanks and foundations including the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, Carnegie Corporation of New York, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and policy units linked to the Institute for Government.

Legal and Regulatory Role

Acting as a representative body, the Association submits consultation responses to authorities such as the Charity Commission for England and Wales, HM Treasury, United States Department of the Treasury, and the European Commission. It intervenes in litigation by filing amici curiae briefs in courts like the High Court of Justice (England and Wales), Court of Appeal of England and Wales, and the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, often citing statutes including the Charities Act 2006 and regulatory frameworks from the Financial Conduct Authority. The Association’s policy work engages with tax law regimes administered by the HM Revenue and Customs, Internal Revenue Service, and drafting of model governance frameworks informed by precedents from Re Shaw style charity cases and trust law authorities such as Trusts of Land and Appointment of Trustees Act 1996.

Notable Cases and Advocacy

The Association has been visible in high-profile matters concerning charities and public benefit, intervening in disputes tied to cases comparable to Commissioners for Special Purposes of Income Tax v Pemsel, Oppenheim v Tobacco Securities Trust Co Ltd-style trust disputes, and controversies resembling R (on the application of Independent Schools Council) v Charity Commission for England and Wales. It has advocated on matters of trustee duties in litigation analogous to Re Baden's Deed Trusts (No 2), conflicts of interest reminiscent of Regal (Hastings) Ltd v Gulliver, and regulatory enforcement actions paralleling inquiries led by the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee. The Association’s campaigns have addressed charity mergers, asset protection, and safeguarding reforms influenced by inquiries like the Moorhouse Inquiry and high-profile public inquiries.

International Collaboration and Influence

The Association maintains formal and informal links with international organizations including the International Charity Regulators Network, European Foundation Centre, Council on Foundations, Charities Aid Foundation, and regional bodies such as the Asia-Pacific Philanthropy Consortium. It contributes to comparative law projects alongside academics at University of Melbourne, National University of Singapore, McGill University, and practitioners from jurisdictions that reference comparative jurisprudence from the Privy Council and the International Court of Justice on cross-border charitable trusts and asset movement. Through memoranda, joint conferences, and capacity-building, the Association shapes reforms in tax-exempt status, regulatory supervision, and transnational charitable activity debated in forums like the OECD, United Nations Economic and Social Council, and regional development banks.

Category:Legal organisations Category:Charity regulation