Charity Law

Hundreds of charity shops could obtain an exemption from commercial rates following a High Court decision, legal experts have suggested.

Organisations dedicated to the advancement of human rights will be eligible to become charities under reforms proposed by the government. The Charities (Amendment) Bill 2023, to be introduced to the Dáil today, includes a series of revisions and updates to the Charities Act 2009, including pr

A public consultation is seeking views on a prospective scheme of delegation for decisions of the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland. The Charities Act (Northern Ireland) 2022, which was introduced in response to a Court of Appeal ruling in 2021, allows that the Department for Communities may m

Stephen Keogh and Darren Lehane SC have been appointed to the board of the Charities Regulator. Mr Keogh is a practising solicitor and the managing partner of Sellors LLP, while Mr Lehane is a senior counsel practising in the areas of public law, commercial law and chancery law.

The Charities Regulator and the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland have signed a memorandum of understanding which will enable a closer working relationship between the charity regulators north and south of the border. The formal agreement sets out a transparent framework by which the two chari

Legislation to strengthen the powers of the Charities Regulator has moved forward with the publication of its general scheme. The Charities (Amendment) Bill 2022 proposes to update existing charity law to improve the ability of the Charities Regulator to conduct its statutory functions and ensure gr

The Charities Regulator has appointed inspectors to carry out a statutory investigation into the Irish Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ISPCA). The watchdog said "a number of concerns ... in relation to governance at the ISPCA" were raised with it between March and June 2021.

Legislation to make decisions taken by Northern Ireland's charity regulator before 2019 lawful has cleared all stages in the Northern Ireland Assembly. The Charities Bill was introduced in response to concerns raised by the charity sector following the Court of Appeal's ruling in McKee & Others

Northern Ireland's charity regulator was constrained from its earliest days as a result of flawed legislation, an independent review has concluded. Professor Oonagh Breen of UCD Sutherland School of Law was appointed last January to chair an independent review of charity regulation in Northern Irela

LGBT+ charities have launched an appeal against the Charity Commission's decision to award charitable status to an organisation they say seeks to "roll back legal protections for trans people". The LGB Alliance, which opposes "new ideologies conflating biological sex with the notion of gender identi

More than 6,000 charities are no longer registered in Northern Ireland following a court ruling earlier this year, the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland (CCNI) has confirmed. In a legal update issued today, the regulator said the registration of charities which were registered prior to May 201

Rachel Toner, solicitor at Carson McDowell, explores a recent court judgment on the powers of Northern Ireland's charity regulator. The Court of Appeal have affirmed the decision of the High Court that the staff of the Charity Commission Northern Ireland (CCNI) do not have any decision making powers

The Charity Commission for Northern Ireland has opened a statutory inquiry into the Minnowburn Trust. The inquiry relates to concerns regarding the administration and governance of the charity.

Barrister Nicole Lappin has been appointed as the chief commissioner to the Board of the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland. Mrs Lappin, who is qualified to practise north and south of the border, will hold the post for a five-year term ending 31 July 2024.