Charities Act (Northern Ireland) 2008

General power to institute inquiries

22.—(1) The Commission may institute inquiries with regard to charities or a particular charity or class of charities, either generally or for particular purposes.

(2) The Commission may either conduct such an inquiry or appoint a person to conduct it and make a report to the Commission.

(3) For the purposes of any such inquiry the Commission, or a person appointed by the Commission to conduct it, may (subject to the provisions of this section) direct any person (P)—

(a) to furnish accounts and statements in writing with respect to any matter in question at the inquiry, being a matter on which P has or can reasonably obtain information, or to return answers in writing to any questions or inquiries addressed to P on any such matter, and to verify any such accounts, statements or answers by statutory declaration;

(b) to furnish copies of documents in P’s custody or under P’s control which relate to any matter in question at the inquiry, and to verify any such copies by statutory declaration;

(c) to attend at a specified time and place and give evidence or produce any such documents.

(4) For the purposes of any such inquiry evidence may be taken on oath, and the person conducting the inquiry may for that purpose administer oaths, or may instead of administering an oath require P to make and subscribe a declaration of the truth of the matters about which P is examined.

(5) The Commission may pay to P the necessary expenses of attending to give evidence or produce documents for the purpose of an inquiry under this section, and P shall not be required in obedience to a direction under paragraph (c) of subsection (3) to go more than 10 miles from P’s place of residence unless those expenses are paid or tendered to P.

(6) Where an inquiry has been held under this section, the Commission may either—

(a) cause the report of the person conducting the inquiry, or such other statement of the results of the inquiry as the Commission thinks fit, to be printed and published, or

(b) publish any such report or statement in some other way which is calculated in the Commission’s opinion to bring it to the attention of persons who may wish to make representations to the Commission about the action to be taken.