''Harries v The Church Commissioners for England''

992 Year 992 ( CMXCII) was a leap year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Worldwide * Winter – A superflare from the sun causes an Aurora Borealis, with visibility as fa ...

1 WLR 1241 is an

English trusts law English trust law concerns the protection of assets, usually when they are held by one party for another's benefit. Trusts were a creation of the English law of property and obligations, and share a subsequent history with countries across the ...

case, concerning the possibility to invest ethically. It tempers the decision in ''

Cowan v Scargill ''Cowan v Scargill'' 985Ch 270 is an English trusts law case, concerning the scope of discretion of trustees to make investments for the benefit of their members. It held that trustees cannot ignore the financial interests of the beneficiaries. ...

'' to show that trustees can make investments, guided by ethical considerations, if it can be shown that overall financial performance would not be harmed, but also if it would be consistent with the purpose of the trust.

Facts

Richard Harries Richard Douglas Harries, Baron Harries of Pentregarth, (born 2 June 1936) is a retired bishop of the Church of England and former British Army officer. He was the Bishop of Oxford from 1987 to 2006. From 2008 until 2012 he was the Gresham Profes ...

Bishop of Oxford The Bishop of Oxford is the diocesan bishop of the Church of England Diocese of Oxford in the Province of Canterbury; his seat is at Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford. The current bishop is Steven Croft, following the confirmation of his electio ...

, challenged the Commissioners to change their investment policy. 85% of the fund provided income for stipends for serving clergy, pensions for retired clergy and housing for both. Harries argued that investments should not be selected that were incompatible with ‘the promotion of the Christian faith through the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

’ even if it involved financial detriment. The Commissioners argued their policy was fine, of regarding non-financial considerations so far as it did not ‘significantly jeopardise or interfere with accepted investment principles’. The Commissioners already excluded 13% of companies under its existing investment policy, and evidence showed that a more restrictive policy of not investing in South Africa meant not investing in a further 24% of listed companies (to reach 37% in total).

Judgment

Sir Donald Nicholls, V.-C. held that the Commissioners policy was sound. He went on to say that one can invest ethically if otherwise there would be a conflict with the trust’s objects.

References

*JH Langbein and RA Posner, ‘Social Investing and the Law of Trusts’ (1980–1981) 79

Michigan Law Review The ''Michigan Law Review'' is an American law review and the flagship law journal of the University of Michigan Law School. History The ''Michigan Law Review'' was established in 1902, after Gustavus Ohlinger, a student in the Law Department ...

72, 88 *

Donald Nicholls Donald James Nicholls, Baron Nicholls of Birkenhead, (25 January 1933 – 25 September 2019) was a British barrister who became a Law Lord (Lord of Appeal in Ordinary). Biography Nicholls was educated at Birkenhead School, before readin ...

, ‘Trustees and their broader community: where duty, morality and ethics converge’ (1995) 9(3) Trusts Law International 71 {{DEFAULTSORT:Harries V Church Commissioners For England English trusts case law 1991 in case law 1991 in British law High Court of Justice cases History of the Church of England

Facts

Judgment

See also

References