The Public-Private Nature of Charity Law

Is charity law a 'private law' or a 'public law' subject? This book maps charity law's relationship to the public law-private law divide, arguing that charity law is best understood as a hybrid (public-private) legal tradition that is constantly seeking to maintain an equilibrium between the protection of the autonomy of property-owning individuals to direct and control their wealth, and the furtherance of competing public visions of the good. Of interest to scholars and charity lawyers alike, The Public-Private Nature of Charity Law applies its unique lens both to traditional topics such as the public benefit rule and charity law's rules of standing, and to more contemporary issues such as the co-optation of charitable resources by threatened welfare states and the emergence of social enterprise. 'This book should be read by all who are interested in the respective domains of public and private law. Kathryn Chan brings new light to the divide and reveals the way in which both public and private law inform charity law. The book is subtle, original and rigorous, with an excellent grasp of primary and secondary material.' - Paul Craig, Professor of English Law at the University of Oxford and a Fellow of St John's College 'An original and thought-provoking book which takes the somewhat unruly law of charities and, with great insight and clarity, helps it to find its place on the legal map.' - Mary Synge, Associate Professor in Law at the University of Exeter 'Kathryn Chan's impressive monograph breaks new ground in its analytical approach towards charity in the modern world. Her careful study helps us to understand how charitable enterprises partake of the values and concerns of both public and private law, and to evaluate the strength and weaknesses of different approaches to the governance of charitable enterprises.' - Lionel Smith, Sir William C Macdonald Professor of Law, McGill University Acknowledgements Contents List of Abbreviations TABLE OF CASES Table of Legislation 1 The Law of Charities and the Public Law-Private Law Divide I. Introduction II. The Public Law-Private Law Divide: The History of a Concept III. Mapping the Law of Charities across the Public Law-Private Law Divide IV. Understanding the Public Law-Private Law Divide V. The Law of Charities as a Public Law-Private Law Hybrid 2 Charity Regulators and the Institutional Public Law-Private Law Divide I. Introduction II. The Common Law"s Charity Regulators III. The Modern Charity Regulators: Comparing "Civil" and "Tax-based" Regulatory Regimes IV. The Charity Commission for England and Wales V. Conclusion 3 Public Benefit and the Substantive Public Law-Private Law Divide I. Introduction II. Public Benefit at Common Law III. Public Benefit Under the Charities Act 2011 IV. Conclusion 4 Charity Law Standing Rules and the Procedural Public Law-Private Law Divide I. Introduction II. Standing at Common Law III. Standing Under the Charities Act 2011 IV. Conclusion 5 Alternative Equilibriums: Tax-based Charity Regulation and the Public Law-Private Law Divide I. Introduction II. Canada"s Tax-based Charity Regulator III. Public Benefit in Canada IV. Charity Law Standing Rules in Canada V. Conclusion 6 Challenges to the Hybrid Equilibrium: The Co-optation of Charitable Resources by Threatened Welfare States I. Introduction II. Co-optation and the Functional Public Law-Private Law Divide III. Mechanisms of Co-optation IV. Conclusion 7 New Equilibriums: Social Enterprise as a Post-charitable Legal Form I. Introduction II. New Social Enterprise Vehicles in England and Wales and Canada III. "Community Benefit" and the Substantive Public Law-Private Law Divide IV. Social Enterprise Standing Rules and the Procedural Public Law-Private Law Divide V. Conclusion 8 Conclusion Index Présentation de l'éditeur : "Is charity law a 'private law' or a 'public law' subject? This book maps charity law's relationship to the public law-private law divide. It argues that charity law is best understood as a hybrid (public-private) legal tradition that is constantly seeking to maintain an equilibrium between the protection of the autonomy of property-owning individuals to direct and control their wealth, and the furtherance of competing public visions of the good. Of interest to scholars and charity lawyers alike, The Public-Private Nature of Charity Law applies its unique lens both to traditional topics, such as the public benefit rule and charity law's rules of standing, and to more contemporary issues, such as the co-optation of charitable resources by threatened welfare states and the emergence of social enterprise." "Is charity law a 'private law' or a 'public law' subject? This book maps charity law's relationship to the public law-private law divide, arguing that charity law is best understood as a hybrid (public-private) legal tradition that is constantly seeking to maintain an equilibrium between the protection of the autonomy of property-owning individuals to direct and control their wealth, and the furtherance of competing public visions of the good. Of interest to scholars and charity lawyers alike, The Public-Private Nature of Charity Law applies its unique lens both to traditional topics such as the public benefit rule and charity law's rules of standing, and to more contemporary issues such as the co-optation of charitable resources by threatened welfare states and the emergence of social enterprise."--Page 4 de la couverture The law of charities and the public law- private law divide -- Charity regulators and the institutional public law-private law divide -- Public benefit and the substantive public law-private law divide -- Charity law rules of standing and the procedural public law-private law divide -- Alternative equilibriums : tax-based charity regulation and the public law-private law divide -- Challenges to the hybrid equilibrium : the co-optation of charitable resources by threatened welfare states -- New equilibriums : social enterprise as a post-charitable legal form -- Conclusion