Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

Related legal acts

Key definition

Charity definition

What does Charity mean? In practice, a charity is an organisation established solely for charitable purposes to deliver public benefit, with assets held for those purposes and supervised by the courts and charity regulators. Common forms include a trust, unincorporated association or company limited by guarantee (including CIO/SCIO). Surpluses cannot be distributed to members; funds must be applied to the purposes. Political activity is permitted only as ancillary. Status determines regulatory duties and eligibility for charity tax reliefs. England and Wales: Charities Act 2011, s 1, defines a charity as an institution established for charitable purposes only and subject to High Court control;...

Lehtimäki v Cooper (CIFF): Supreme Court on court-directed member votes, members’ fiduciary duties and conflicts in charitable companies

Published by a LexisNexis Private Client expert

Practice notes

ARCHIVED: This key charity litigation case is archived and is not being maintained. The Supreme Court matter of Children’s Investment Fund Foundation (UK) v attorney general illustrates how a substantial philanthropic trust can become entangled in matrimonial disputes and engage a range of charity litigation issues.

Key facts

The Children’s Investment Fund Foundation (UK) (CIFF) was a charity and a company limited by guarantee, incorporated and registered in 2002 by a husband (H) and his then wife (W). H and W acted as trustees of the charity and were also members of the company. The company’s only other member was Dr Marko Lehtimäki. After the breakdown of their marriage, H and C agreed that W would resign as a member and trustee of CIFF. In return, CIFF would provide a grant of $360m to a new charity founded by W.

First instance judgment and appeal

A company cannot make a payment for loss of office to a director (as contemplated by the agreement) unless it is authorised by a resolution of the members (sections 215 and 217 of the Companies Act 2006 (CA 2006)). Accordingly, an application was made, first to the Charity Commission and...

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Adam Carvalho

Adam Carvalho has more than 15 years' experience as a contentious Private Client lawyer. Most recently, he was a Legal Director in the Contentious Trusts and Probate Team at Myerson, where he worked on complex and high-value contentious trust and probate matters.Adam trained, qualified and worked as a senior associate and partner in a central London firm in the Tier 1 nationally for Contentious Trust and Probate work.Adam has considerable experience of ultra-high value litigation, cross-jurisdictional matters and disputes in non-UK courts. Adam has litigated in the Supreme Court, Court of Appeal, and advised in relation to complex matters in courts from Bermuda to New Zealand. Adam is known for his constructive, pragmatic advice, his down to earth approach, and his technical knowledge. Adam is a firm believer in focusing on the main issues and providing sound and accessible advice....

Web page updated on 27/05/2026

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