Court of Appeal rules against Northern Ireland Charity Commission

Howard Lake | 20 February 2020 | News

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.

The Charity Commission for Northern Ireland 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.

About Howard Lake
Howard Lake is consultant editor of UK Fundraising. He founded the site in 1994 and successfully sold it in 2022. As director of Giving X Ltd he is exploring growing giving on a massive scale. He is the founder of Fundraising Camp and co-founder of GoodJobs.