The Cy-près doctrine


Published by a UUÂãÁÄÖ±²¥ Private Client expert
Practice notes

The Cy-près doctrine


Published by a UUÂãÁÄÖ±²¥ Private Client expert

Practice notes
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Cy-prÄ—s definition

The cy-près doctrine may apply where there has been a failure of a charitable gift. In such circumstances, the Charity Commission can direct that the funds are applied to other, closely related, charitable purposes.

A useful definition of the cy-près doctrine was provided by the Restatement of the Law, Second, Trusts 2d: As Adopted and Promulgated by the American Law Institute at Washington, D.C., May 23, 1957, American Law Institute:

if property is given in trust to be applied for a particular charitable purpose, and it is or becomes impossible or impracticable or illegal to carry out the particular purpose, and if the settlor manifested a more general intention to devote the property to charitable purposes, the trust will not fail but the court will direct the application of the property to some charitable purpose which falls within the general charitable intention of the settlor

The prime requirements for cy-près to apply are:

  1. •

    a specific charitable object

  2. •

    an equitable or statutory cy-près situation

  3. •

    a paramount or general charitable intention where the initial operation

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Key definition:
Cy-près definition
What does Cy-près mean?

Where a settlor or testator had expressed a general intention to devote property to charity, and the manner in which he wished that intention to be carried out was impossible or impracticable, the court could direct the property to be applied cy-près, that is, as nearly as possible to the manner specified.

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