''Re West Sussex Constabulary's Widows, Children and Benevolent (1930) Fund Trusts''

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Ch 1 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 policy of the "

beneficiary principle The beneficiary principle is a policy of English trusts law, and trusts in Commonwealth jurisdictions, that trusts which do not have charitable objects, as under the UK Charities Act 2006 sections 2 and 3, and also do not make the trust property ...

" and

unincorporated associations A voluntary group or union (also sometimes called a voluntary organization, common-interest association, association, or society) is a group of individuals who enter into an agreement, usually as volunteers, to form a body (or organization) to ac ...

Facts

A fund was set up to pay allowances to widows and dependents of deceased members of the West Sussex Constabulary. The members resolved to wind up the fund, and money was left over. Money had come from (1) the members themselves (2) raffles and sweepstakes (3) collecting boxes (4) donations and legacies.

Judgment

Goff J held all money was ''

bona vacantia Unowned property includes tangible, physical things that are capable of being reduced to being property owned by a person but are not owned by anyone. ' (Latin for "ownerless goods") is a legal concept associated with the unowned property, which e ...

'', except for the donations and legacies which were a resulting trust. He rejected that the members could claim a share of the property on the basis that the contract gave them any such right. Regarding the different sources he said: (1) Because the members' contract governed their contributions and gave them no claim to any residue, it was ''bona vacantia''. (2) The raffles and sweepstakes contract also gave the participants no right to the leftovers, and thus that money was also now ''bona vacantia''. (3) Collection box money was also ''bona vacantia'' because those people paid money out and out, with no intention for it to be returned in the event of a fund's dissolution. But (4) those who left donations or legacies could be regarded as having intended money should be retained only so long as the fund operated, so anything left over would be a resulting trust. The distribution of property between the members was only possible where the group existed for the benefit of the members.

Notes

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References

* English trusts case law High Court of Justice cases 1971 in case law 1971 in British law Widowhood in the United Kingdom

Facts

Judgment

See also

Notes

References