Equity & Trusts - Charitable Trusts - Advancement of Religion, Political Purposes & Exam Pointers

Equity and Trusts: Last Lecture Notes

Introduction

• Final lecture on equity and trusts; content guaranteed to be on the exam.

• Revision lectures will be recorded by Dageshri, Dara, and Juliet and made available on Moodle.

• Tofakahirpur organizing a revision session on Saturday (MSB 137, 10:30 AM; invite-only, working session).

• Teaching evaluations are open; student feedback can influence future changes. Prizes are available for completing the survey.

Finishing Heads of Charity

• Covering advancement of religion and any other purposes beneficial to the community.

• Discussion of political purposes (advocacy) applicable to any head of charity; One of the most controversial subject to recent changes and relevant for the exam.

Advancement of Religion

• Most controversial head of charity in NZ and overseas; debates about whether religion should be charitable.

• Religious charities contribute significantly to communities, assist secular communities, and often operate modestly.

• Religious charities in New Zealand are worth $6,100,000,000.0$ NZD annually.

• In the US, religious charities are worth $1,400,000,000,000.0$ USD. Similar results in Canada and Australia

• They choose not to promote what they do. They assist everybody.

Determining Religion at Charity Law

• Definition: Based on the Scientology case (Church of New Faith v Commissioner of Payroll Tax).

  • 1. Belief in a supernatural being, thing, or principle.

  • 2. Acceptance of canons of conduct in order to give effect to that belief.

• Varies depending on the religion.

• Buddhism, despite not having a god, is considered a religion at charity law.

• Canons of conduct contrary to a country's policies or requiring illegal actions will fail at charity law.

Advancing Religion

• Requires action that advances the religion; not just personal prayer.

• Advancing religion can be done in a wide varieties of ways

• Can be done through secular activities.

Re Banfield (Lloyds Bank Ltd v Smith)

• Pilsden Community House assists troubled individuals regardless of background.

• The court determined that it advanced religion because the organization's religious (Christian) motives underpinned their activities, including prayers and worship, even though attendance was not mandatory.

Liberty Trust v Charities Commission

• Provides interest-free loans (under Baptist church) to pay off debts and mortgages.

• The court determined that it advances religion because it aligns with Christian teachings against being in debt and incorporates biblical principles (Ursary). Also, even though it seemed commercial it acted as a charity since profits went back into charitable purposes.

Scientology

• Controversial but is a religion at charity law.

• Church of the New Faith Case: Established a two-stage test for religion.

• Argument about whether it was a sham since religion is based on faith. It cannot be proven no matter what anyone says.

• Charlatanism is the price of religion.

• Treated the same as any other religion under charity law in New Zealand and Australia (but not in the UK).

Jedi Society

• Jedi Knights from Star Wars; Jediism is one of the fastest-growing religions.

• The Jedi Society of New Zealand applied to become a registered charity.

• The registration board said a new religion had to meet strict criteria:

  • 1. Whether or not there Body of doctrines faces humankind in the universe and considers its relationship with the infinite.

  • 2. The Body of Doctrine goes beyond what is scientifically provable.

  • 3. That its Canons of conduct are sufficiently structured, cogent, and serious enough so as to be registered or capable of advancing religion.

• The European Court of Human Rights created this test.

• They have a body of doctrines but were