Trustees are the folks dependable for managing and overseeing the operate of a charity. Depending on the terminology utilised in the charity’s constitution, 香港慈善團體 trustees may be referred to by any amount of other names, this sort of as “governors” “stewards” or “custodians”. If the charity has been incorporated and operates by means of a business then the trustees will also be the directors of that company.
Who can turn out to be a trustee?
Any individual who is in excess of the age of eighteen can become a trustee of a charity. However, the procedure of charities is regulated by the Charity Fee and charities which are registered with the commission will have to file a list of trustees. The Commission might avert someone for performing as a trustee if it considers them to be unfit for the position for any of the adhering to reasons:
The trustee is an undischarged bankrupt
The trustee has been convicted of a critical legal offence, specifically if it was an offence of deception or dishonesty
The trustee has been disqualified or banned from performing as a firm director
It is also feasible that the constitution which governs the charity imposes limits on who can be a trustee. For case in point, the structure might improve the age restriction to 21 or demand the trustees to have encounter or qualifications in a specific discipline (e.g. a religious charity which calls for trustees to be ordained ministers).
What are the tasks of a trustee?
Trustees are dependable for creating selection about the working of a charity and are charged with the stewardship of its property and property. If the working day-to-working day pursuits of the charity are controlled by a compensated supervisor or main govt, then the trustees may possibly have to approve or authorise any motion which the supervisor normally takes.
At the bare bare minimum, trustees will have to attend board meetings every single couple of months, but trustees are typically appointed because they have particular expertise which are beneficial to the charity. For case in point, a trustee who is an accountant might act as treasurer and a trustee who is a builder might supervise construction initiatives. Nevertheless, even certain functions are delegated to individual trustees, it is essential to don’t forget that all of the trustees share obligation for conclusions.
Regardless of no matter whether the charity is unincorporated or not, its trustees also owe a “fiduciary responsibility” to the charity which is the maximum standard of care that the legislation recognises. Simply set, a trustee is predicted to be completely loyal to the charity, completely open up in all his dealings, not to set his possess interests ahead of people of the charity and not to allow something to interfere with his capacity to carry out his duties to the charity. When working with any property or assets which belong to the charity, the legislation demands a trustee to just take the identical amount of treatment as a “reasonably prudent guy” would take with his personal assets.
Can a trustee be liable for the charity’s debts?
This depends on the construction which the charity has adopted. Where a charity operates in the traditional way, as an unincorporated trust then the trustees can be liable for debts or liabilities which the charity incurs, even though it is very uncommon for courtroom statements to be made against charities.
Nonetheless, if a charity has been integrated and operates by way of a restricted organization, the trustees will typically be users and administrators of the business. They are guarded from debts and liabilities which the charity incurs in the same way as shareholders and directors of businesses which operate by way of a organization.
If a trustee breaches his fiduciary responsibility and causes a loss to the charity, then the Charity Commission can order the trustee to reimburse the charity, even though action of this kind would generally only be taken in which there was some wrongdoing on the element of the trustee.
Can a trustee be liable for the charity’s money owed?
Due to the fact of the rigorous legal obligations which trustees owe to the charity, it is often advisab/le to get legal tips prior to creating any big decision or changing the way in which the charity operates. Charity legislation is a specialised discipline and the Law Culture keeps a sign up of solicitors who exercise in this spot of legislation.
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