Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

Related legal acts

Key definition

Attorney General definition

What does Attorney General mean? In legal practice, the Attorney General is the government’s chief legal adviser and, in the UK, a Law officer of the Crown who represents the public interest in litigation and exercises supervisory and consent functions in criminal justice. The office is constitutional, with functions set across statute and case law rather than a single Act. In England and Wales, the Attorney General advises the Crown and UK Government, superintends the Crown Prosecution Service and Serious Fraud Office, gives consent for specified prosecutions, intervenes in contempt, charity and relator matters, and may refer unduly lenient sentences to the Court of Appeal. In...

England and Wales: Court jurisdiction over charities—High Court, Charity Commission and Tribunal powers; charity proceedings authorisation, validity, administration, schemes (administrative and cy-près), and limits on directing fiduciary discretions

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Practice notes

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Who has jurisdiction in respect of charities?

The Crown, in its role as parens patriae, has the principal authority over the application of charitable assets, exercised through the Attorney General, although this authority has been widely devolved over time and in practice. The High Court retains inherent jurisdiction regarding charitable matters, as explained below in outline only. While this note addresses only the court’s jurisdiction, it should also be noted that:

the Charity Commission exercises jurisdiction concurrent with the High Court for various purposes
the First-tier Tribunal (Charity) may review a limited category of Charity Commission decisions and hear appeals against many others, with the Upper Tribunal determining appeals from the First-tier Tribunal
for certain charities, jurisdiction may additionally be exercised by Visitors

Jurisdiction of the court

The court’s inherent jurisdiction in relation to charity is exercised in the High Court within the Chancery Division, as a matter of course. Charity proceedings are ordinarily heard in the Business and Property Courts, in the Property, Trusts and Probate List, where such cases are listed.

Types of application

Issues relating to the validity of charitable dispositions

In practice, although the court continues to hold jurisdiction over these matters,...

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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 21/05/2026

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