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Turnour, Matthew --- "Modernising Charity Law: Steps to an Alternative Architecture for Common Law Charity Jurisprudence" [2010] ELECD 680; in McGregor-Lowndes, Myles; O’Halloran, Kerry (eds), "Modernising Charity Law" (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2010)

Book Title: Modernising Charity Law

Editor(s): McGregor-Lowndes, Myles; O’Halloran, Kerry

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

ISBN (hard cover): 9781849802505

Section: Chapter 10

Section Title: Modernising Charity Law: Steps to an Alternative Architecture for Common Law Charity Jurisprudence

Author(s): Turnour, Matthew

Number of pages: 34

Extract:

10. Modernising charity law: steps
to an alternative architecture for
common law charity jurisprudence
Matthew Turnour

INTRODUCTION

This chapter addresses the question, how can the common law concept of
charity law be modernised? There are difficulties with the present jurispru-
dential conception. The focus of the chapter is not on those difficulties,
however, but rather on the development of an alternative architecture for
common law jurisprudence. The conclusion to which the chapter comes is
that charity law can be modernised by a series of steps to include all civil
society organisations. It is possible if the `technical' definition of charitable
purpose is abandoned in favour of a contemporary, not technical concept
of charitable purpose.1 This conclusion is reached by proposing a frame-
work, developed from the common law concept of charities, that recon-
ciles into a cohesive jurisprudential architecture all of the laws applying to
civil society organisations, not just charities.
In this section, first the argument is contextualised in an idea of society
and located in a gap in legal theory. An analogy is then offered to intro-
duce the problems in the legal theory applying, not just to charities, but
more broadly to civil society organisations. The substantive challenge
of mapping an alternative jurisprudence is then taken in steps. The final
substantive section conceptualises the changes inherent in a move beyond
charities to a jurisprudence centred on civil society organisations and
how this would bring legal theory into line with sectoral analysis in other
disciplines.

Social Context

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