Does Charity Remain a Valuable Legal Concept for the UK in 2006 and for the Future - Coursework Example

1) Does charity remain a valuable legal concept for the UK in 2006 and for the future? I. Introduction The history of laws on charities in backto the Elizabethan law which is the Statute of Charitable Uses 1601. Also know as Elizabeth 1, this law contained a list of purposes and activities in the Preamble sometimes described as the first statutory definition of charitable purposes. However, as by operation of law, the preamble do not form part of the law and is treated as simply an introduction and could be used as a legal basis since it is not part of the body of the act. Nevertheless, the preamble of 1601 formed the foundation for defining charitable purposes which for all purposes, have metamorphosed solely on the basis of case law. Although the concept originating from the Elizabethan law is still useful until the present, this has evolved into its modern form in new Charities Bill which defines charity in a more understandable and concrete manner. The Bill laid out modern charitable purposes such as: the prevention and relief of poverty the advancement of education the advancement of religion the advancement of health social and community advancement the advancement of science, culture, arts, and heritage the advancement of amateur sport the promotion of human rights, conflict resolution and reconciliation the promotion of animal welfare the advancement of environmental protection and improvement other purposes beneficial to the community Are these concepts of charity valuable in our times? The answer is yes. There is always wisdom in encouraging the more affluent members of society to contribute towards the welfare of the less fortunate and giving rewards to those who do in terms of tax reduction and exemptions as the case maybe. Although some people argue that charities would lead to dependence of a marginalized sector to their more affluent counterparts while pointing out to some unscrupulous practice of institutions of evading taxes in the guise of charity, a closer look into the situation would give a picture that the positive greatly outweighs the negative impacts of charity (Fink, N.S.; Metzler, H.C.1982) Let us look into some issues to prove my point. 1.1 Prevention and Relief of Poverty It cannot be denied that even in our present society where greater opportunities for advance are present, there are many who are poor. A great deal of these people who are poor have potentials which could not be put into proper use due to lack of proper training and the right opportunities. With the concept of charity where charitable institutions can extend free services to those who cannot afford to pay for it, such person who is in dire need for trainings may be able to acquire the skills he/she needs in order to get a decent job. Charity doesn’t necessarily means welfare or dole-out system but rather a stepping stone where one can access opportunities that will him/her self-sufficient. the advancement of environmental protection and improvement Charitable institutions have different focus that are beneficial to society. For purposes of clarity, let us look at the particular aspect of advancement of environmental protection and improvement. With rapid growth of population and the increase in energy consumption and waste generated by people and industries, there is a great need to look for ways and means to help mitigate the impact of these factors. Charitable institutions contributes a lot in this area by conducting independent research and studies which serve as check and balance on studies produced by certain sectors which has a stake on the particular issue. By doing do, such act is therefore beneficial to everyone and is commendable. (ii) How far do you think the new Charities Bill/Act will effectively bring the law of charity into the 21st century? The enactment of the new Charities bill will effectively bring the law of charity into the 21st century by providing a good check and balance mechanism through the proper definition of the parameters of the law. The new Charities Bill give Power to the Charity Commission to regulate the activities relating to charities. Furthermore, the Bill defines the new rules by which charities are to abide in order to be considered as such. Another innovation this Bill is the creation of the “court of first instance” for complaints relating to charities. Furthermore, It also repeal such other laws which are deemed contrary to the basic principles espoused thereof. To fully understand these aspects of the law, let us discuss these one by one. 2.1 Charitable Purpose Under the new Charities Bill, Charity means an institution, which is established for charitable purposes only1. By defining what purposes are considered as charitable, the law effectively excludes those institutions which are organized simply for profit and at the same time encourage people to trust the institution. Under this law2, charitable purpose are strictly limited to the following: (a) The prevention or relief of poverty (b) The advancement of education (c) The advancement of religion (d) The advancement of health or the saving of lives includes the prevention or relief of sickness, disease or human suffering (e) The advancement of citizenship or community development including rural or urban regeneration, and the promotion of civic responsibility, volunteering, the voluntary sector or the effectiveness or efficiency of charities; (f) The advancement of the arts, culture, heritage or science; (g) The advancement of amateur sport which involves physical skill and exertion; (h) The advancement of human rights, conflict resolution or reconciliation or the promotion of religious or racial harmony or equality and diversity; (i) The advancement of environmental protection or improvement; (j) The relief of those in need by reason of youth, age, ill-health, disability, financial hardship or other disadvantage including relief given by the provision of accommodation or care to such persons; (k) The advancement of animal welfare Therefore, any activities not covered by these list shall not be recognized as a charitable activities. 2.1 Enforcement of the law In enforcing the provisions of the law, the Bill creates a new body corporate called the Charity Commission for England and Wales. This commission is tasked to keep a register of charities and to remove from such list those charities, or institutions, which are no longer considered to be charities, as defined in the Charities Bill.3 Part of the task of the Commission is the issuance of guidance regarding the public benefit requirement of charity. This task is in consonance with the goals of the Commission as follows: to increase public trust and confidence in charities, promote awareness and understanding of the operation of the public benefit requirement, increase compliance by charity trustees with their legal obligations in exercising control and management of the administration of their charities, promote the effective use of charitable resources and enhance the accountability of charities to donors, beneficiaries and the general public.4 2.2 Manner of Collection Some problems involving charities stems from the manner upon which such charities collect donations. There are times in the past where the people felt harassed by individuals collecting donations for charities and are distrustful as to the real motives of such collection. In response to this, the Bill amends the Charities Act 1993 and controls collections in a public place and door to door collections. The Bill now controls such collections by requiring the person or institution to apply for a public collection certificate to the Charity Commission before it can conduct such public collection with the exemption of those local short-term collections. A further control measure imposed under the new Charities Bill is that once a public collections certificate had been issued, the holder thereof must apply to the local authority for a permit for a collection in a public place, in areas where applicable, or give notification to the local authority if such collection involves door to door solicitation. Street fundraisers - known as "charity muggers" or "chuggers" because of the aggressive techniques sometimes used to solicit direct debit contributions - will have to apply for public collection certificates, giving proof that they are "fit and proper persons".5 2.3 Appeal In the event where conflict arises and the Commission refused to grant the request of the person or institution, a right of appeal to the "court of first instance" for appeals against certain decisions of the new Charity Commission may be made. 6 Such Charity Appeal Tribunal as constituted by the Bill should be an independent and impartial tribunal, established by law. Bibliography 1. The Charities Bill 2. Rebecca Smithers and John Carvel, Wednesday December 22, 2004. Charities bill gets a warm welcome The Guardian 3. Caritasdata (Editor). Top 300 charities 2006/7 CaritasData Ltd 4. Fink, N.S.; Metzler, H.C.(1982) Cost and Benefits of Deferred Giving 5. http://nli.northampton.ac.uk/mmb/lawacc/jrm/Charities-Fundraising-Charities-Bill.htm 6. http://www.legalday.co.uk/current/charity.htm Read More