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The article discusses the Labour Party's proposal to end tax breaks for private schools to fund state education, raising concerns about potential impacts on private schools and the education system. Legal challenges based on human rights laws, including the right to education, are considered in the context of these proposed changes. The potential impact on educational options, social mobility, and the financial viability of smaller private schools is highlighted, with the Lester and Pannick Joint Opinion discussing issues related to property rights, discrimination, and the right to education. Various stakeholders, including private schools, parents, and religious communities, are considering legal challenges under the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) to address the diverse impacts of the proposed policies. [Extracted from the article]

This article examines a decade of charity law review processes in six jurisdictions—Australia, New Zealand, Northern Ireland, Scotland, England and Wales and Ireland. Using a life-cycle basis viewed through a functional comparative lens, it examines review terms of reference, stakeholder involvement in public consultations, report recommendations and governmental responses. The article compares post-review recommendation implementation across government-owned and independent review processes. In identifying areas most open to and most difficult to reform (including charity definition and advocacy) and probing the hidden state/non-profit sector tensions that underlie such reform attempts, this article provides new insights for future review processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The last decade has witnessed material interest in the relevance of organisational purpose to organisational governance for both for‐profit corporations and charities. A purpose‐focus promises greater clarity for responsible person duties, as well as motivational benefits. However, despite its centrality, the nature of organisational purpose remains under‐theorised. This article first explores theoretical understandings of organisational purpose to provide a robust base for purpose‐based governance theories and to provide potential methods for identifying organisational purpose. This is a descriptive project. Second, it examines the extent to which that theoretical understanding is reflected in charity law. This is a mildly normative project – all else being equal, there are rule of law reasons (greater clarity and stability) for the law to reflect our best understanding of a phenomenon, such that theory may help guide choices between divergent legal approaches to matters like the relevance of organisational values and activities in characterising purpose. Third, the article employs organisational purpose theory to understand the duties applying to charity governors in the context of a change of purpose. This is a mildly normative step again – all else being equal, it would benefit the rule of law if governance obligations reflect our best understanding of organisational purpose. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In England and Wales, fee-charging independent schools can be legally classified as charities and, therefore, receive associated benefits, the most obvious being taxation advantages. The high fees charged by many of these schools create financial exclusivity, which, it will be seen, confers significant social and cultural capital to those who can meet the economic barrier to entry. High fees lead to increased wealth for the schools, which is augmented by their charitable fiscal benefits. In exchange for receiving these charitable benefits, one might expect charity law to place significant social contribution requirements on these schools. However, this paper will argue that this is not the case: the law, in fact, requires very little from charitable independent schools. In practice, charity law cannot mitigate inequalities within elite education nor justify their taxation advantages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the structural impediments faced by nonprofit organizations advocating for disenfranchised groups, particularly regarding tax-deductible donations and lobbying restrictions. Topics discussed include the impact on politically disadvantaged groups, the limitations of current tax codes, and proposed solutions to address these disparities and empower advocacy efforts for the unenfranchised.

The past decade has witnessed a new trend towards restrictions and surveillance on civil society organizations in China, which seriously affected China's grassroots LGBT NGOs. Based on a field study of Chinese grassroots LGBT NGOs, this article explores the coping strategies utilized by these organizations to survive in a restricted civic space. Empirical evidence shows these organizations adopting various tactics to obtain funding and legitimacy. Yet despite the undeniable agency of these LGBT NGOs, they are still restricted by institutional power. While scrupulously avoiding political risks, grassroots LGBT NGOs inevitably shifted away from rights advocacy missions to become service-oriented, depoliticizing and even distorting their agendas. Consequently, the intensifying restrictions and surveillance have invisibly but saliently reshaped the structures and practices of these NGOs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Restricted philanthropic gifts are becoming more common, yet their legal characterisation is unsettled. Moreover, other than from anecdotal evidence, it is unclear how charities treat such gifts in practice. This article investigates the potential legal characterisations of restricted gifts and identifies the charitable trust as a commonly preferred construction by the courts. It then examines original empirical interview evidence from charities to show that, contrary to legal expectations, charities do not typically treat restricted gifts as being on charitable trust, but rather as being subject to an agreement or an extra-legal set of agreed norms with donors. This indicates a move away from a publicly regulated arrangement (the charitable trust) to private ordering arrangements, which has implications for the pursuit of public goals and the degree of power afforded to donors over social, cultural and environmental projects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the urgent need for charities to expend their 'rainy day funds' now, rather than hoarding for the future. For charities lucky enough to have endowments or material investments, such as universities, philanthropic foundations and some schools and hospitals, the collapse in many investment markets and in current income may nevertheless generate reluctance to realise and utilise investments. This article examines the role of activity-based regulation in encouraging charities to spend now, when it is needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The question addressed by this article is whether a faith-based public benevolent institution (PBI) may be registered with the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC) as both a PBI and as an institution that advances religion. The analysis commences by considering the question from the perspective of the jurisprudence pertaining to PBIs, before turning to that pertaining to bodies that have a purpose of ‘advancing religion’ within charity law. The question is answered by analysing the evolving position of the ACNC, reflected in the movement from the prior ACNC Commissioner’s Interpretation Statement on PBIs released on 19 December 2016 (the original CIS), to the draft version 2 of that document (the draft CIS) released on 09 June 2022 to the current Interpretation Statement issued on 31 August 2023 (the current CIS). Prior to the release of the current CIS, the ACNC’s practice, when read in light of the draft CIS, suggested that the ACNC had adopted an approach that strictly limited the circumstances in which a PBI could have a religious purpose. Such an approach would have had serious practical consequences for the funding and operations of many existing religious PBIs. The article supports the position finally adopted in the current CIS, explaining how that position is supported by the relevant legal authority. The current CIS largely concludes the challenges for faith-based PBIs posed by the ACNC’s earlier interpretations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Under the presidency of Prof. John M.G. Barclay (UK, 2022-2023), the seventy-sixth General Meeting of Studiorum Novi Testamenti Societas took place 25-28 July 2022 in Leuven, Belgium. Acta Politica: The Book of Acts and the Political Culture of the Roman Empire (conveners: Knut Backhaus, Carl Holladay and Daniel Marguerat): (a) Nathalie Siffer (France), 'Dimension apologétique des conflits avec les autorités juives et romaines dans les Actes'; respondent: Simon Butticaz (Switzerland); (b) Michael Wolter (Germany), "Imperial Characters and Imperial Language in Luke-Acts"; respondent: Michal Beth Dinkler (USA); (c) Maria B. Lang (Germany, guest), 'Erhöht, um zu bleiben. Sandra Huebenthal (Germany) and Heike Omerzu (Denmark), who retired from the Committee at the conclusion of the General Meeting, were thanked for their service to the Society. Judith Hartenstein (Germany) and Janet Spittler (USA) were elected as their replacements and will serve on the Committee for a period of three years. [Extracted from the article]

Brakman Reiser and Dean argue that this legal framework, enacted in the late 1960s and concerning mainly foundations, essentially sought to improve public trust in elite philanthropy. "For-Profit Philanthropy: Elite Power and the Threat of Limited Liability Companies, Donor-Advised Funds, and Strategic Corporate Giving" By Dana Brakman Reiser and Steven A. Dean. "Elite philanthropy in the twenty-first century" outlines the legal trends in the contemporary US philanthropy. [Extracted from the article]

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This study aims to investigate the impact of the 2016 Charity Law of the People's Republic of China on corporate philanthropy and its mechanism. Based on the difference‐in‐difference framework, empirical results show that the charity law has significantly increased the charitable donation level of firms with direct product–consumer contact rather than that in other firms. The additional analysis indicates that corporate self‐interest motives, but not altruistic motives, are ruled out as the mechanisms through which corporate philanthropy is delivered. Furthermore, a closer examination reveals that the charitable donation has not remarkably enhanced firms' operating performance, while the capital market gives these firms a higher valuation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Institutions—defined as strategies, norms and rules (Ostrom Understanding institutional diversity, Princeton University Press, Princeton, 2005)—are omnipresent in third sector contexts. In this paper, we present the Institutional Grammar (IG) as a theoretically informed approach to support institutional analysis in third sector research. More specifically, the IG coding syntax allows the researcher to systematically wade through rich text and (transcribed) spoken language to identify and dissect institutional statements into finer syntactical segments of interest to the researcher. It is a versatile method that can generate data for small- or large-N research projects and can be integrated with mixed-method research designs. After first introducing and describing the IG, we present a case study to illustrate how a IG-based syntactic analysis can be leveraged to inform third sector research. In the case, we ask: Do the rules embedded in regulatory text addressing the involuntary dissolution of charity organizations differ between bifurcated and unitary jurisdictions in the United States? Using IG's ABDICO 2.0 syntax, we identify eleven "Activation Condition" (AC) categories that trigger action and assess variation among the 46 jurisdictions. We ultimately conclude that the rules do not differ between bifurcated and unitary jurisdictions, but that finding is not the primary concern. The case demonstrates IG as an important methodological advance that yields granular, structured analyses of rules, norms and strategies in third sector settings that may be difficult to identify with other methods. We then emphasize four areas of third sector research that could benefit from the addition of IG-based methods: analysis of (1) rule compliance, (2) inter-organizational collaboration, (3) comparative study of institutional design, and (4) the study of institutional change. We close the paper with some reflections on where IG-based analysis is headed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article considers the relationship between the law, charity and religion, and specifically, the charitable doctrines of the advancement of religion and public benefit. In doing so, it addresses a number of matters, including controversy and morality, from the perspective of some key religious charity law cases. The discussions consider whether or not the Lord's name may be taken in vain through the works of these charities, and thus require legal reform, or whether charity law is indeed doing the Lord's work within the constructs of charity law such that the law remains fit for purpose. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Much writing on Donor Advised Funds (DAFs) relates to whether they 'unduly' delay the direct application of donated funds to achieve public benefit. However, the discussion rarely touches on a normative basis for determining what is 'undue' or that can be used to shape potential reforms, which are typically framed with reference to a private foundation payout rate or time limit for expending contributions. Research on charity accumulation conducted across the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, suggests that the normative principle of intergenerational justice is helpful for grounding such discussions (Murray, I. 2021. Charity Law and Accumulation: Maintaining an Intergenerational Balance. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press). This article considers intergenerational justice in the context of DAFs and considers whether the principle can be implemented in ways that support DAF sponsor independence and flexibility. One way that this could be achieved is by imposing (or enforcing existing) procedural obligations on decision-makers to give genuine consideration to intergenerational justice when making decisions about how much to spend and retain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The political purpose doctrine, a key part of the charity law landscape for many common law jurisdictions, has been subject to much judicial and academic criticism over the years. Its continued influence on the charity sector in relation to whether or not charities can operate effectively, or indeed, whether they may lose their registered status, gives rise still to such criticisms. It is against this backdrop that this article critically assesses the doctrine in light of newly-emerging decisions from the New Zealand courts that have fundamentally changed the charity law landscape from a national perspective, and considers some of the issues associated with this newly-evolved doctrine. Thus, what can be said is that New Zealand charity law jurisprudence is evolving and this article provides some useful insights in to contemporary charity law issues predominantly through the New Zealand lens as but one legal approach, and also compares some of these issues against two international perspectives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the contrasting perspectives on the future of Chinese civil society, with some expressing pessimism about its survival and others observing signs of flourishing. It challenges the conventional analytical paradigm, questioning the distinct role of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in shaping the institutional environment for civil society and explores the CCP's potential role in actively building its vision of civil society amid documented repression.

Under-investment in public service journalism has led to growing interest in the possibility of philanthropic support for the sector. Though long associated with non-profit journalism in North America, there is little tradition of philanthropy in UK journalism. This paper explains how recognition of public interest journalism as charitable can be achieved through more constructive interpretations of the existing law. Despite its initially conservative response, the Charity Commission has recently taken important steps towards recognising defined forms of journalism as charitable under the existing law. This paper reviews the democratic imperatives fulfilled by public interest journalism which justify such developments; and seeks to demonstrate how this framework for defining public interest journalism aligns with the public benefit requirement in charity law, opening up the possibility of new forms of charitably funded 'public benefit journalism'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2016, the Charity Law of the People's Republic of China (Charity Law) introduced the charitable trust into the Chinese domestic system, with a view to releasing the potential of trusts to promote charitable activities. Drawing upon the failure of public welfare trusts, the new charity law designates special regulators for charitable trusts and endows settlors with extensive powers in the utilization of the charitable trust device. However, the new law on charitable trusts is vague and incomplete in numerous respects. Because of the vagueness of the law, public supervision, and regulatory scrutiny, trust parties might perceive risks in the creation and management of charitable trusts, and such perceptions may in turn motivate trust parties to use contractual tools to allocate such risks among themselves. Through semi-structured qualitative interviews and the study of real-world charitable trust contracts, this article offers a comprehensive analysis of the role of contracts in the regulation of charitable trusts. It explores the main uses of contracts in the field of charitable trusts and the reasons leading to such uses; it also aims to better understand how the scope and function of the legislative framework for charitable trusts is shaped by contractual arrangements between trust parties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In terms of environmental protection (and with reference to the filming location of the Lords of the Rings), New Zealand has been described as 'a friend to Middle Earth, but no friend of the Earth', which is in stark contrast to its international image that it seeks to foster of being '100% pure New Zealand'. This article considers the tension between New Zealand's approach to environmental advocacy from a charity law perspective, and in particular, the way in which charitable advocacy for the environment has been impacted by the limitations imposed on environmental charities through the charity law doctrine of political purposes. In carrying out this analysis, the article tracks the legal evolution of this doctrine and considers whether recent legal changes have resulted in charity law enabling New Zealand to become 'a friend to Middle Earth, and a friend of the Earth' through the apparent broadening of the actions that can be taken by environmental charity advocates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The federal Anti-Kickback Statute prohibits biopharmaceutical manufacturers from directly covering Medicare enrollees' out-of-pocket spending for the drugs they manufacture, but manufacturers may donate to independent patient assistance charities and earmark donations for a condition treated by their drugs. To assess whether this law and its associated regulations prevent manufacturers from profiting from their donations, we analyzed drug spending of more than three million Medicare Advantage enrollees in 2010 and 2017, together with data on conditions and drugs covered by these charities. We found that donations by the leading manufacturer of drugs for each condition were often likely to be profitable, even if relatively few patients were induced to use the manufacturer's drugs as a result. This was particularly true among the ten costliest conditions, where the leading manufacturer accounted for 67 percent of sales in 2010 and 89 percent in 2017, on average, indicating that manufacturers could effectively assist in the purchase of their own medications by contributing to condition-specific charities. We conclude that the current regulations or enforcement permit donations that violate the spirit of Medicare's Anti-Kickback Statute. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In contrast to membership organisations that serve the interest of members, members of charities operating as companies limited by guarantee are responsible by law for ensuring the charity serves its broader charitable purpose. This study examines how members of these large charitable companies discharge accountability through annual report disclosure. We analyse data on 630 company‐year observations for a sample of 153 Australian charitable companies limited by guarantee that lodged annual reports with regulators. Results show that members encourage the disclosure of financial and non‐financial information in the annual report and this in turn influences charities' future donations and grants revenue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This approach is broadly consistent with assertions by other writers that charity law is concerned with altruism ([22], 322; [29], 88-108), albeit it acknowledges that charity law does not currently comprehensively incorporate a stranger benefit/equality requirement and seeks to develop charity law beyond its current rules to arrive at this result. Keywords: discrimination; public policy; charities; charity law; equality; civil rights EN discrimination public policy charities charity law equality civil rights 141 159 19 04/29/22 20220401 NES 220401 1 Introduction "Charity law", being the law of charitable purpose trusts and of charitable status, is not very effective in jurisdictions such as the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the UK at dealing with discrimination. Parachin appears to suggest this because he views charity law as a body of private law rules and considers that it would better maintain coherence in charity law, and private law more generally, for charity law to develop in accordance with its underlying principles than to draw on public norms inherent in human rights legislation and constitutional law ([49], 338). [Extracted from the article]

The article discusses how social disparities and ecological problems require a social-ecological transformation. It reports to be effective, this transformation must also take property relations into account. It mentions the complexity of these relations often impedes sustainable action. It presents an illustration of property relations in nature conservation, legal structures, work and the role of organizational values that reveals their potential for transformation processes.

Singapore, with a five million population, has a vibrant charitable sector with over 2000 registered charities attracting approximately USD$2.18 billion in annual donations. How did Singapore's charitable sector achieve its current level when it has been, in the past, segregated along mainly religious, race and clan-based communities? This paper explores this question by piecing together the current ecosystem, regulatory and tax infrastructure which facilitates the charitable sector in Singapore. Central to the development of the charitable sector has been the Singapore government's role of being a gatekeeper, regulator and enabler of charities. In analysing the government's role in the charitable sector, this paper locates Singapore's charitable sector within the literature on government and nonprofit organization relations which has been described at times being cooperative, complementary, confrontational, and co-optive. These astute observations ring true with respect to the Singapore government's relationship with the charitable sector. For organizations which pursue purposes consistent with state's vision of public good, the state's relationship with these charities has been largely cooperative and complementary. However, even within charities considered by the state to further public good, there is a strong element of co-optation where the state wields significant direct and indirect power over the charitable sector by way of provision of funding and board composition. In contrast, nonprofit organizations which engage in aims inconsistent with the state's perceived public interest are, by law, unable to register itself as charities and enjoy corresponding fiscal benefits. Such nonprofit organizations also typically do not receive state funding. This demonstrates the confrontational nature of the state's relationship with these nonprofit organizations. Through a close analysis of the laws, codes, media reports and academic literature on the charitable sector, the central thesis of this paper is that the charitable sector in Singapore is essentially a state facilitated endeavor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines poor law hospital reform during the 1920s and 1930s. Northern Ireland's failure to dissolve the poor law system until the 1940s is viewed as one of its major failures in health policy, as the other countries in Britain and Ireland had broken up the system by 1929. Recent historiographical examinations of interwar healthcare have challenged older negative accounts of the period and instead identified diverse, vibrant and expanding health systems. Much of this has concentrated on English and Welsh health systems or comparisons between large, industrialized nations. Research remains lacking on the trajectory of healthcare in smaller, nascent countries that witnessed political realignment and new settlements during an era of transformation in empire. Irish partition and the establishment of two new states – Irish Free State and Northern Ireland – represented a major reshaping of the British Empire. This article concentrates on Northern Ireland and argues that where local workhouse infirmaries were transformed into district hospitals local authorities brought positive improvements in healthcare evident in many countries. Such improvements were, however, limited to the north-east and the west and south of Northern Ireland, which were marked by political and religious tensions, witnessed limited reform. Local authority policy innovation was thwarted by state interference in local government, which included the temporary dissolution of dissenting Nationalist authorities and gerrymandering of electoral boundaries. This article also argues that the failure to dissolve the poor law was a result of limited medical professional interest in reform. Northern Ireland's powerful medical profession was key to shaping the direction of Northern Irish policy. This was a result of the devolved administration's limited expertise in policy making and the dominance of the constitutional question and Nationalist–Unionist divisions in politics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most universities (bar profit-making institutions) are charities as a matter of law but, historically, have been exempt from charity law regulation. This paper considers the statutory reforms of 2006, which sought to level the regulatory playing field by appointing 'Principal Regulators' of such 'exempt charities' to promote compliance with charity law. Focusing on the university sector – where some universities are now registered charities (and regulated by the Charity Commission) whilst others remain exempt – it will note how the reforms have resulted in the application of significantly different degrees of scrutiny and accountability, both between individual universities and between universities and other charities. In part, this is due to the statutory framework itself but, significantly, is also attributable to the radically different approach taken by the Office for Students, which replaced HEFCE as Principal Regulator in 2018. Possible improvements in regulatory practice and statutory reform are offered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Keywords: Discrimination; Equality Act; charity law; positive action; religion; proportionality EN Discrimination Equality Act charity law positive action religion proportionality 208 211 4 05/24/21 20210601 NES 210601 Discrimination has long been a feature of the provision of charitable services in the UK. Discrimination, Equality Act, charity law, positive action, religion, proportionality The Court of Appeal had correctly noted that a proportionality assessment should only be set aside when the court of first instance had applied the wrong legal framework or made a logical error in its analysis. [Extracted from the article]

Due to corruption and limited oversight, philanthropy in China has come under increasing scrutiny by both the Chinese government and public. In particular, corruption has impacted charities, resulting in operational funding declines that have also impacted legitimate charities serving the vulnerable. Hence, an increase in the number of Chinese charities without adequate transparency and needed good governance threatens the health of these organizations and their service groups. In response, the Chinese government enacted the 2016 Charity Law, implemented on September 1, 2016. Yet the impact of this law, if any, is unknown. We therefore conducted a literature review of the academic and gray literature to assess characteristics of the law, its strengths and limitations, and to explore anti-corruption case studies. In addition, we reviewed publicly available secondary data on the transparency status—complete financial information and responsible staff—of Chinese charity organizations and a group of health-related specific charities before and after the Law's enactment. This included the transparency scores of the top 100 charities and top 30 health-related charities in China. The academic literature we reviewed focused on general governmental corruption and little on charity-related corruption. However, the gray literature reflected a poor view of charities in China due to publicized claims of fund and abuse. Based on our secondary data analysis, we found charity organizations' transparency shows some variation but as a total continues to score low overall across the top net asset holding charities. Importantly, based on a regression analysis, the transparency scores of Chinese charities did not experience a significant change despite the Charity Law's enactment. In response, strengthening the Charity Law by enhancing enforcement of financial regulations and implementing systemic good governance measures is needed. Further, efficiency initiatives such as philanthropy de-administration, e-government, and outsourcing monitoring of Chinese charities to external agencies would promote trustworthiness and credibility of Chinese charity organizations now and in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

At the heart of this article stand three questions that we believe are crucial to an understanding of the character of the poor law and its role in the lives of the poor who had to navigate its rules. First, what was actually 'new' about the central administrative structures and processes required to make the New Poor Law function? Second, how did those processes change over time and, in particular, how far did the central authority itself engage with the poor directly? Third, did the processes and structures of the central authority afford a space in which the poor could learn to better navigate the New Poor Law and exercise their own agency? Using a sample of letters written directly to 'the Centre' by paupers in the English midlands, and the subsequent epistolary responses of the central authorities, we trace a situation in which the Centre was duty bound to respond to poor letter writers much as they did to everyone else. Rights to contest local welfare regimes remained strong in the post-1834 period, and the central authorities, through their responses, afforded a space of agency that came to be well known. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lëhtimakiv Cooper is a significant Supreme Court decision which establishes that the members of charitable companies are in a fiduciary relationship with respect to the purposes of their organisation. Its core principles have the potential to impact on a very large number of people in the voluntary sector. This note critically assesses the nature and scope of the new fiduciary relationship. In the light of the fact that the majority of new charities are founded as charitable incorporated organisations, the note also criticises the narrow focus on charitable companies taken in the case. Finally, it analyses the expansion in jurisdiction in the decision. The case is notable for bringing companies within the courts' traditional, and powerful, jurisdiction over trusts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]