About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline
LOG IN
LOG IN

13 K.C.L.J. 1 (2002)

handle is hein.journals/kingsclj13 and id is 1 raw text is: (2002) 13 KCLJ 1 GRAHAM MOFFAT* CHARITY, POLITICS, AND THE HUMAN RIGHTS ACT 1998: MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING? 1. INTRODUCTION HIS ARTICLE is primarily concerned with the implications of the Human Rights Act (HRA) 1998 for certain aspects of the law that affect organisations established to pursue what in English law are lmown as charitable purposes. Charities, as such organisations are commonly termed, are in general terms those not-for-profit organ- isations which can satisfy the state, in the form of a public body called the Charity Commission,I that they meet specified criteria.2 The criteria are derived from and are to be found in case law as developed over a period of some 400 years. In short the definition of charity is a creature of the common law. In general terms the HRA 1998 may impact in a variety of ways on charities. In cer- tain circumstances charities themselves may be deemed to be exercising functions of a public natures such as providing residential care facilities for the mentally handi- capped via a contractual relationship with local authorities. In those circumstances the acts or omissions of the charity itself may come within the scope of the statute.4 Important as this consequence of the enactment of the HRA 1998 is for charities and * School of law, University of War-wick. I am grateful to John Gardner, Charles Mitchell and Karla W Simon for their helpful comments on an earlier draft of this article. I remain responsible for the conclusions and any remaining errors. 1. The Charity Cormnissioners, of whom there are five assisted by a staff of around 550, are civil servants appointed by the Home Secretary to whom they must submit an annual report, but otherwise they act independently of his department. On the public accountability of the Commission see 10th Report of the House of Commons Expenditure Committee (HC Paper (1974-75) no 495); National Audit Othce Regulation and Support of Charities (HC Paper(1997-98) no 2) and the Committee of Pubbc Accounts (Twenty Eighth Report (1997-98) HC no 408). 2. Under Charities Act 1993, s g(1) and (2) the Comnissioners are required to establish and maitain a reg- ister of all charities not specifically excused. The mandatory obligation is reinforced by s 1(6) and (6)(a), under which the charity trustees of such charities are required to apply for registration. See generally H. Picarda, The Law and Practice Relating to Charities (2nd ed., London: Butterworths, 1995) ch 15). 3. Under the Human Rights Act 1998, s 6 (1) it is unlawful for a public authority to act in a way which is incompatible with a Convention right and a public authority includes any person certain of hose tiuc- tions are ftmctions of a public nature (s 6(2)(b)). This definition could certainly extend to include some activities of modem charities such as the RSPCA and NSPCC. 4. SeeJ. Warburton and A. Cartwright, Hu-man Rights, Public Authorities and Charities (2000) 6 Charity Law and Practice Review 169; and Charity Commission, Human Rights Act 1998: Charities and Human Rights (Operational Gidance OG71 B3-18 September 2000: w-vw.chasrity-comnission.gov.lk/ogs/gO71b03). PUBLISHEt D iBy HAR T PUBLtSHING

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Short-term subscription options include 24 hours, 48 hours, or 1 week to HeinOnline.

Purchase Access

Contact us for annual subscription options:

Contact Us

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

Log In

profiles profiles most