Cy-pres (short notes)

Law of Trust, Cy-pres.

1. CY-PRÈS
The word cy-près means; as near as possible.
The cy-près is a doctrine that where a charitable
trust's purposes are impossible or cannot be
fulfilled for whatever reason, the funds should be
re-applied to purposes as close as possible to the
trust's original goals.
To apply the cy-pres:
Ct will look at the intention of the settlor, which
must be towards a general charitable purpose.
If the intention of the settlor is towards a specific
charitable purpose and it is impossible to execute
it, the cy-pres doctrine cannot be applied and the
gift fails completely.


Divided into two:
1) Initial Failure
2) Subsequent Failure / Supervening impossibility

1. INITIAL FAILURES
An initial failure occurs when a specific gift to a
charity failed because it has ceased to exist or the
purpose has become impossible before the date
of the gift. The gift is then never effective.
It must be satisfied that the donor wished to give
to charity as a paramount intent. This is known as
General Charitable Intention.
If there is no general charitable intention by the
testator then the doctrine of Cy-Pres cannot be
applied and it becomes a resulting trust.
Re Rymer
There was a legacy to ‘ rector for time being St.
Thomas’s Seminary for the education of priests in
the diocese of the Westminister for the purposes
of such seminary. Shortly before the testator’s
death, the seminary had been closed, the building
sold, the student had been transferred to another
seminary near Birmingham.
H: The gift failed, as the testator had a specific
but not a general charitable intent. Thus, cy-pres
cannot be applied in this case.
Re Harwood
H: A gift had been made to the peace society in
Belfast which society could not be shown to have
ever existed. The Judge found that there was a
general intention to benefit societies aimed at
promoting peace and the gift was therefore
applied Cy-Près.
Biscoe V. Jackson [1887] 35 Ch.D 460,
F: Money was to be applied towards the
establishment of a Soup Kitchen in Shoreditch and
a Cottage Hospital there. It was not possible to
apply the gift in the manner indicated.
CoA held: That there was sufficient general
intention of charity for the benefit of the poor of
Shoreditch to entitle the court to execute the trust
Cy-Près .

2. SUBSEQUENT FAILURES
Subsequent failures are where money has already
been applied to a charitable purpose, and that
purpose has failed. It does not allow the next of
kin of the original donor to recover any money.
Re Wright
H: Once money has been effectually dedicated to
charity, whether in pursuance of a general or a
particular charitable intent, the testator's next of
kin or residuary legatees are forever excluded.
General Charitable Intention is irrelevant:
In a situation where a charity ceased to exist after
the property has become vested in the charity, the
doctrine of Cy-pres will apply irrespective of
whether there is a general charitable intention by
the testator or not.
Re Slevin
CoA considered a gift to an orphanage which
closed after the death of the testator but before
his assets were administered.
It was held that the gift did not lapse, a lapse can
only occur by failure of the object in the lifetime
of the testator.