# Court of Appeal rules against Northern Ireland Charity Commission

- Link: https://fundraising.co.uk/2020/02/20/court-of-appeal-rules-against-northern-ireland-charity-commission/
- Published: 2020-02-20T12:15:00+00:00
- Author: Howard Lake

**The Charity Commission for Northern Ireland (CCNI) says it will continue its regulatory
work despite a Court of Appeal ruling which calls into question decisions made by
the commission since it was established.**

CCNI mounted an appeal after the High Court determined last year that it cannot 
delegate functions to employees acting alone. Ruling on the commission’s challenge,
Lord Justice McCloskey upheld a finding that the act does not empower any members
of staff to carry out its statutory powers.

Around 170 rulings have been made by CCNI relating to investigations of charities.
CCNI says that while day to day work will continue, their website has been updated
to remove a number of items for consideration, following the ruling. This includes
all statutory inquiry reports and the register of removed trustees.

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The [Charity Commission for Northern Ireland](http://www.charitycommissionni.org.uk)
said all organisations which have been contacted by the Commission to apply for 
charity registration must submit their application as normal and by the set deadline.
All registered charities due to submit their accounts and reports to the Commission
must do so by the set deadline, or risk going into default.

The Court of Appeal ruling relates to how the Commission makes decisions. The Commission
will now consider the ruling in full. Lord Justice McCloskey left open the question
that existing legislation may need amended or reviewed.

 * **[Northern Ireland charity list now available](https://fundraising.co.uk/2011/04/14/northern-ireland-charity-list-now-available/)**(
   14 April 2011)
 * **[Charity Commission NI to assume cy-près powers](https://fundraising.co.uk/2012/01/26/charity-commission-ni-assume-cypres-powers/)**(
   26 January 2012)
 * **[Fundraising is a leading charity concern of NI public](https://fundraising.co.uk/2012/09/25/fundraising-main-charity-concern-ni-public/)**(
   25 September 2012)