Charity Law And The Liberal State

The first sustained consideration of the law of charity from a liberal philosophical perspective.

The first sustained consideration of the law of charity from a liberal philosophical perspective.

Between State and Market surveys and critiques the existing literature on charities law as well as the laws themselves. The authors offer policy prescriptions for the future of an increasingly vital sector of Canadian society. The first section of the book contains an overview of the charitable sector in Canada, a sociological review of altruism in different societies, a discussion of altruism in various philosophical and religious traditions, an economic analysis of "rational voluntarism," and an assessment of the relationship between the charitable sector and the welfare state. The second section contains five papers on the legal definition of charity, both general (the jurisprudence of the Federal Court of Appeal and a proposal for rethinking the concept of "public benefit"), and particular (the political purposes doctrine, religion as charity, and a commentary on the recent major Supreme Court decision on the meaning of charity). The third section deals with the tax status of charities: two papers evaluate the current tax credit system and one deals with the administration of charities by the Canada Customs and Revenue Agency. The final section contains essays on charities and commercial enterprise, on the regulation of fund-raising, and on needed reforms in non-profit corporation law. At a time when the federal government is about to embark on a wide range of policy initiatives to assist and regulate the non-profit sector, these essays are necessary reading for anyone concerned with the future of the charitable sector in Canada. Contributors include Neil Brooks (Osgoode Hall Law School), Cara Cameron (McGill), Bruce Chapman, Kevin Davis (Toronto), Abraham Drassinower (Toronto), David Duff (Toronto), Richard Janda (McGill), Will Kymlicka (Queen's), Andrée Lajoie (Montreal), Mayo Moran (Toronto), Charles-Maxime Panaccio (office of Mr Justice Charles Gonthier), Jim Phillips, Jane Allyn Piliavin (Wisconsin-Madison), David Sharpe (Attorney-General's Office, New York State), Lorne Sossin (Osgoode Hall Law School), David Stevens, and Jen-Chieh Ting (Academia Sinica). Jim Phillips is professor of law at the University of Toronto. Bruce Chapman is professor of law at the University of Toronto. David Stevens is professor of law at McGill University

This Research Handbook provides a comprehensive overview of scholarship on not-for-profit law. The chapters, written by world leading experts, explore key ideas and debates in relation to: theories of the not-for-profit sector, the composition and scope of that sector, not-for-profit organisations and the constitution, the legal conception of charity, the tax treatment of not-for-profit organisations and the regulation of not-for-profits. The book serves to represent not-for-profit law as a field of academic inquiry, and to point the way to future research in that field.

An evaluation of intergenerational justice in charity law.

Charitable organisations occupy a central place in society across much of the world, accounting for billions of pounds in revenue. As society changes, so does the law which regulates nonprofit organisations. From independent schools to foodbanks, they occupy a broad policy space. Not immune to scandals, sometimes nonprofits are in the news for all the wrong reasons and so, when they are in the public eye, regulators must respond to high profile cases. In this book, a team of internationally recognised charity law experts offers a modern take on a fast-changing policy field. Through the concept of policy debates it moves the field forward, providing an important reference point for developing scholarship in charity law and policy. Each chapter explores a policy debate, setting out the fault-lines in play, and often offering proposals for reform. Two important themes are explored in this edited collection. First, there is a policy tension in charity law between its largely conservative history and the need to keep up-to-date with social change. This pressure is felt acutely along key fault-lines, such as the extent to which a body of law which developed before the advent of legislated human rights is able to adapt to a rights-based world, and the extent to which independent schools – historically so closely linked with charity – might deserve their generous tax-breaks. The second theme explores the law from the perspective of a good-faith regulator, concerned to maximise the usefulness of charities. From the need to reform old organisations, to the need to ensure that charities enjoy the right amount of regulatory freedom in a world of payment-by-result contracts, the book critically charts the policy justifications for regulatory intervention, as well as the costs that such intervention might bring. Debates in Charity Law will be of interest to both academic researchers and students of the non-profit sector, looking to understand the links between law, social change and regulation. It will also help and guide nonprofit employees and volunteers, showing how their sector is shaped and moulded by the law.

This book investigates and critically evaluates the concept of public benefit within charity law in the common law world. In the course of the study the book: provides a rich account of how the concept of public benefit has developed over time in charity law jurisprudence; deepens understanding of the aspects of public benefit that remain poorly understood even today; and suggests ways in which public benefit jurisprudence might develop in an orderly and principled way so as to better address some of the core concerns of charity law and the public policy objectives that lie behind it. The book includes contributions from world leading charity law experts and jurists. Each chapter reflects on a key aspect of public benefit jurisprudence in charity law. The topics have been chosen carefully to ensure coverage of most if not all of the large unresolved questions relating to public benefit in the common law world. Each chapter is accompanied by a comment, written by an academic expert or leading practitioner. The comments complement the chapters by critically engaging with those chapters and by offering different and thought-provoking perspectives on the subject matter of the chapters. The book will be of interest to academics working in law, philosophy, economics, sociology and political science. It will also provide a valuable resource for legal practitioners and judges, government officials, especially charity regulators, and in the not-for-profit sector itself.

A radically theological-political account of religious liberty, challenging secularisation narratives and liberal egalitarian arguments.