Supreme Court Sits in Belfast Karen Irwin [email protected]
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Journal of the LSNI 11 January-March 2017 Since delivering the CPD Seminar on Charity benefit statement and find it hard to articulate THELaw for the Law Society in February 2015 and demonstrate their public benefit. On So far as the Charity Tribunal is concerned Jenny Ebbage, Partner and Head of the occasion the registration application has acted there have been a number of decisions Charities Team at Edwards & Co. Solicitors, as a catalyst for a wide-ranging governance published. Many of these have arisen from writes on some recent developments. review and also an opportunity for upskilling the institution of statutory inquiries and the Over the year it has been a fast moving boards and those who work with them. From removal of charity trustees. environment for charities in Northern Ireland Friday, 3 June 2016 an updated version of the and it is important for practitioners to keep up online charity registration application form is The Court of Appeal decision in Charity to date so as to provide accurate and timely expected to go live. This is to be a more user Commission for Northern Ireland and Bangor WRITadvice to charity clients or to better inform friendly and intuitive version of the online Provident Trust and the Attorney General for THE JOURNAL OF THE LAW SOCIETY OFthemselves NORTHERN should theyIRELAND sit on a charity board. application process, with a change to the look Northern Ireland, seems to have now settled and flow and format of the questions being the question that Bangor Provident Trust was It would be impossible to cover everything ISSUE 229 Spring/Summer 2018 asked. Hopefully this will assist charities to indeed a charity and subject to the jurisdiction in this short piece but even a cursory look at register more easily. of the Commission which had instituted a the News items on the Charity Commission statutory inquiry under s. 22 of the Act citing a for Northern Ireland’s website will identify We are keeping a watching brief on the concern in relation to governance and financial significant recent movement in regulation outcome of the recent non-domestic rates matters. The decision of the Commission to impacting on the charity sector. Take charity consultation and in particular if this affects institute the inquiry dated back to August 2012 accounting for example. The new regulations, charity shops. and the matter had been considered by the the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Charity Tribunal and subsequently appealed to Regulations (NI) 2015 came into effect on 1 Equality Guidance for charities was produced in the High Court and then to the Court of Appeal. January 2016, these affect charity accounting conjunction with the Equality Commission for and reporting. It is a legal requirement for Northern Ireland to help charities understand In March the Charity Commission published registered charities to report annually to equality legislation as it applies to charitable its Interim Statutory Inquiry Report into the the Commission. All registered charities are bodies and where exemptions apply to Disabled Police Officers Association Northern required to complete and submit an online charities. Ireland. In early May 2016 the High Court annual monitoring return form, and their (Chancery Division) delivered its judgment accounts and reports. The full reporting and in Attorney General for Northern Ireland and accounting regulations apply to charities Those practitioners who also practice company Robert Crawford (a trustee of the Disabled reporting on a full financial year that begins law will be aware of the likely impact of the Police Officers Association), and the Charity on or after 1 January 2016, or those registered Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Commission, which was an application by the with the Commission on or after 1 January Act 2015 which is relevant to those charities Attorney General to appeal a decision of the 2016. Interim arrangements remain in place that are companies limited by guarantee and Charity Tribunal for Northern Ireland on various for charities registered before 1 January 2016. to trading subsidiaries. Also be aware from points of law. The Attorney General was using Charities that are companies must comply with 30 June 2016 that confirmation statements his powers under s. 14 of the Charities Act the Companies Acts as well. The reporting (which replace annual returns) to Companies (NI) 2008. The Attorney General sought to obligations are primarily determined according House must contain “beneficial ownership” appeal the decision of the Charity Tribunal to to the level of income of the charity. The details, this follows from the launch of the remove Mr Crawford as trustee of the charity. trustees annual report will be of interest as Person with Significant Control (PSC) Register, The Attorney General was not involved in the trustees have to report on how the charity which requires certain organisations including the hearing before the Charity Tribunal, but meets the public benefit requirement. The full companies to report on the people who own intervened to appeal the decision of the annual monitoring return also requires charity or control their business. Tribunal. Mr Justice Horner concluded that the trustees to identify if any serious incident appeal raised various issues which may be of reports need to be made. It is hoped that The “Monitoring and compliance guidance – general importance in other appeals the guidance issued by the Commission on Getting it right” issued by the Commission, THISaccounting ISSUEand reporting will follow soon. In helps charity trustees and their solicitors by addition, the adoption of the new SORP, makes providing a summary of some of the relevant it essential for new charities to ensure that legislation and a checklist to help charities to Supremetheir accounts are in the rightCourt format. comply with their legal obligations. This can be read in conjunction with the Running your sitsAlthough notin all charitiesBelfast are registered, Charity guidance. Of particular interest are and this process is likely to take a couple of the sections on how the Charity Commission years to complete, more than 4300 charities monitors and identifies non-compliance and appear on the register. The registration of what consequences arise for charity trustees charities looks like a simple enough process when non-compliance is identified. at the outset; however, this has proved to be a challenge on occasions particularly when In Edwards & Co. we have advised clients Domesticthe charitable purposesviolence do not & neatly abuse fit wherePrimary a concern victims has been raised and the Admissions Ceremony Newwithin anysafeguards of the twelve for charitable purposes CommissionDegree has of imposed clarity self-regulatory concerning or Society welcomes newly potentialon the registration victims. application. We find that regulatorythe definition. guidance or in other instances admitted solicitors. clients struggle with the concept of the public invoked its statutory inquiry process. STRATEGIC TITLE INDEMNITIES TACTICAL RISK SOLUTIONS 0844 800 1043 [email protected] www.titlesolv.com Titlesolv is the trading name of London & European Title Insurance Services Ltd authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority Journal of the LSNI 3 Spring/Summer 2018 PUBLISHERS The Law Society of Northern Ireland Law Society House 96 Victoria Street BELFAST BT1 3GN Tel: 028 9023 1614 Fax: 028 9023 2606 E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.lawsoc-ni.org EDITOR Alan Hunter [email protected] BUSINESS EDITOR Peter O’Brien [email protected] Contents DEPUTY EDITORS Heather Semple [email protected] Paul O’Connor [email protected] 04 Cover Story: ADVERTISING MANAGER Supreme Court sits in Belfast Karen Irwin [email protected] DESIGN SHO Communications Consultants 06 News in Brief DISCLAIMER The Law Society of Northern Ireland and its agents 10 New fine collection & enforcement legislation accept no responsibility for the accuracy of contributed articles or statements appearing in this magazine and any view or opinions expressed are not necessarily 18 View from the Brussels Office those of the Law Society’s Council, save where otherwise indicated. No responsibility for loss or 19 Statutory Employment Rights payments increased distress occasioned to any person acting or refraining from acting as a result of the material in this publication 20 ‘Equity and fairness’ in misconduct dismissal can be accepted by the authors, contributors, editor or publisher. The editor reserves the right to make publishing decisions on any advertisement, loose 26 A Master’s Voice insertion or editorial article submitted to this magazine and to refuse publication or to edit any advertisement, 28 A slice of Viennese life - Society Annual Conference loose insertion or editorial material as seems appropriate to the editor. The Law Society of Northern 34 Capacity assessments – new precedent letters of instruction Ireland and its agents do not endorse any goods or services advertised including those contained in loose 50 Library Update – Digital Assets insertions, nor any claims or representations made in any advertisement/loose insertions in this magazine. No part of this publication may be reproduced without 51 Abstracts from the Courts the written permission of the copyholder and publisher, application for which should be made to the publisher. www.lawsoc-ni.org Writ readers can access back issues of You can also find details on the website about: Copy deadline for next edition: the magazine as far back as October / • Libero database December 2000 at www.lawsoc-ni.org - • Latest CPD courses Friday 7 September 2018 • Employment opportunities follow Publications link • Forthcoming events 4 Journal of the LSNI Spring/Summer 2018 Parliament Square London. In June 2017 it sat On the Monday Lord Kerr delivered a lecture Supreme for four days of hearings in Edinburgh. at the invitation of the Government Legal Service in the afternoon. That evening Court It heard two appeals from the Northern Ireland the Justices attended the opening of the Court of Appeal Civil Division.