Re Bucks Constabulary Widows and Orphans Fund Friendly Society (No 2)

Re Bucks Constabulary Widows and Orphans Fund Friendly Society (no 2)
Court	High Court
Citation(s)	[1979] 1 All ER 623
Case opinions
Walton J
Keywords
Certainty, express trusts

Re Bucks Constabulary Widows and Orphans Fund Friendly Society (no 2) [1979] 1 All ER 623 is an English trusts law case, concerning the policy of the "beneficiary principle" and unincorporated associations.

Facts

The Bucks Constabulary Fund Friendly Society was set up to give relief to widows and orphans of deceased members. It was an unincorporated association registered under the Friendly Societies Act 1896. It had no rules for how assets should be distributed if it was wound up. It was disputed whether surplus assets should go to the Crown as bona vacantia, or be distributed among the members equally on a per capita, or another basis.

Judgment

Walton J held that the present members of the association shared in the surplus property equally.

“

I can see no reason for thinking that this analysis is any different whether the purpose for which the members of the association associate are a social club, a sporting club, to establish a widows’ and orphans’ fund, to obtain a separate parliament for Cornwall, or to further the advance of alchemy.

”

Unless there is a rule to the contrary, past members have no rights in a group’s assets, unless by death or resignation the society is reduced to one member. If so, the one cannot claim to be the association, as one cannot associate with oneself. So the property must be regarded as ownerless, and go to the Crown as bona vacantia.

Significance

In Hanchett‐Stamford v Attorney‐General:^[1] the association ends but the property then rests with the survivor.

Sources on associations

The Satanita [1897] AC 59

Leahy v Attorney‐General for New South Wales [1959] UKPC 1

Re Recher’s Will Trusts [1972] Ch 526

Re Lipinski’s Will Trusts [1976] Ch 235

Re Grant’s Will Trusts [1979] 3 All ER 359

Conservative and Unionist Central Office v Burrell [1982] 1 WLR 522

Re West Sussex Constabulary Trusts [1971] Ch 1

Re Bucks Constabulary Society (no 2) [1979] 1 All ER 623

Hanchett-Stamford v Attorney-General [2009] Ch 173

Industrial and Provident Societies Act 1965 s 1

Friendly Societies Act 1974 s 54(1)

TULRCA 1992 ss 12-14

Companies Act 2006

Charities Act 2011

Beneficiary principle and English trusts law

English trusts law

Notes

↑ [2009] Ch 173

References

External links

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