Legal requirement: to be a charity your organisation must be subject to the High Courts’ charity law jurisdiction. That means that the court must have the power to make decisions about the administration and purposes of your organisation as a charity. Your organisation cannot be a charity in England and Wales if it is subject to another country’s jurisdiction, including Scotland, Northern Ireland, the Isle of Man or the Channel Islands. Where your organisation’s governing document does not make it clear that it falls within the High Court’s charity law jurisdiction, we will let you know. The following factors can indicate that your organisation falls within the High Court’s charity law jurisdiction:
your governing document adopts the law of England and Wales to govern it
most of your trustees live in England and Wales
most of your organisation’s property is in England and Wales
your organisation’s centre of administration is in England and Wales
Independent of outside control Legal requirement: to be a charity, an organisation must be independent of outside control in a way that would prevent it being subject to the control of the High Court.