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1. Form and content of a direction |
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Any direction given by us must be in writing. We can only bring proceedings to enforce such a direction against a trustee if it has been personally served on him or her. In view of this it has been decided that if we issue a direction it should usually be personally served on the trustees (see OG 18 B5). A direction may be varied or revoked (under the powers conferred in s.90 of the 1993 Act) by a further direction. |
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A direction given under s.6 should be in the form of a letter signed by the CNO (see OG 18 B3) or other authorised officer (see 3. Below). In order to comply with s.6 and the Civil Procedure Rules the letter must: |
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- state that the direction is given under s.6 of the Charities Act 1993 and refer to the grounds under s.6(2) on which it is given;
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- make it clear that the direction is given to the charity trustees (in the case of a charitable company the directors);
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- state that the trustees are required to give effect to the direction regardless of anything in the charity's governing document (s.6(4));
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- warn the trustees that a failure to comply with the direction may be dealt with as for disobedience of an Order of the High Court and that in such eventuality we may consider making an application to the High Court against the defaulting trustees for contempt of court - an offence which is punishable by imprisonment;
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- specify the period within which the name must be changed (s.6(1)). The period which should be specified will vary from case to case but normally a period of one month will be appropriate;
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- point out that we will have to approve the new name if we have not already done so (s.6(1)).
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It is not necessary to state in the direction itself the detailed reasons why it is being given - these will already have been set out in the letter informing the trustees of our objections to the name (see OG 18 B3). However it is important that the charity trustees are in no doubt as to our reasons for making the direction and we should ensure in all cases that full and adequate explanation has been given. We should be prepared to clarify any points raised by the trustees subject to advice from the Names Legal Officer (see OG 18 B3). |
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A direction should not include the new name of the charity because of difficulties this might cause if that name itself subsequently proved unacceptable - if for instance it was found to infringe someone else's intellectual property rights or a trademark or some other legally protected name. |
