Charity without Politics? Examining the Limits of ‘Politics’ in the Law of Charity

Abstract

As a former British colony, the legal framework for charity operation in Hong Kong is greatly influenced by that in England. However, despite England took steps to modernise its charity law some 30 years ago (culminating to the enactment of the Charities Act 2006), charity law in Hong Kong has remained static for decades. Recently in June 2011, the Law Reform Commission of Hong Kong proposed to reform charities in Hong Kong. While the Commission agrees with a clear statutory definition of what constitutes a charitable purpose, it leaves open the question of whether, and if so, the extent to which, political purposes / activities are permissible .....

Not surprisingly, this has sparked a renewed interest in the relationship between charity and politics, and more specifically, the limits on the pursuit of political purposes by charities. It is well-established in English law is that the purpose of a charity must be exclusively charitable, which means that it must not have political purposes: Bowman v Secular Society Ltd [1917] AC 406. Under such a rule, not only is a charity forbidden from involving in party-politics, it is also prohibited from having as its purpose advocacy for change in the laws or policies of a government, even if the change involves poverty relief, religion or education: McGovern v AG [1982] Ch 321 .....