Charitable Trust Essay

To establish a charitable trust, the test of public benefit should be satisfied. In Oppenheim case, the test was not established and the trust held not charitable. Charity means an institution which is established for charitable purposes only. One of the most important requirements of charitable trusts is the ‘public benefit test’. In contrary to the other trusts, which are called private trusts, charities are observed to be public trusts. The reason for distinguishing charities from other trusts is because it avoids perpetuity and taxation. Analysing the speeches of Lord Simmonds and MacDermott, it should be crucial to identify the relevant law under the two principles of public benefit. These are divided by the ‘benefit aspect’ and the ‘public aspect’. The judges should strictly respect these aspects, for the trust to be charitable. This essay will substantiate the view, that both speeches involve controversial and debatable views, which are in conflict.

The first principle refers to an identifiable benefit which must exist to be a charitable trust. This principle is …show more content…
The first of the four sub-principles of the ‘public aspect’, is when the beneficiaries must be appropriate to the aims. This is based on the charity’s choice of beneficiaries. This aspect measures the number of people who can benefit and if they are entitled. Simonds expressed that class of persons who are called ‘section of the community’ can satisfy the test. MacDermott identified the relevant class, which are those people to be educated to be selected. The second sub-principle is; if the benefit is restricted to a section of the public, the restriction must be reasonable. Reasonable means legitimate and in a proportionate manner. In Oppenheim case, the gift restricted in a section of the society. However, if the restriction is too narrow, the charity will be void as an unreasonable