http://www.legislation.gov.uk/nia/2008/12/section/26Charities Act (Northern Ireland) 2008An Act to provide for the establishment and functions of the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland and the Charity Tribunal for Northern Ireland; to make provision about the law of charities, including provision about charitable incorporated organisations; to make further provision about public charitable collections and other fund-raising carried on in connection with charities and other institutions; and for connected purposes.texttext/xmlenStatute Law Database2026-05-28Expert Participation2022-03-30 PART 6 261Subject to subsection (3), the circumstances in which the original purposes of a charitable gift can be altered to allow the property given or part of it to be applied cy-près shall be as follows—awhere the original purposes, in whole or in part—ihave been as far as may be fulfilled; oriicannot be carried out, or not according to the directions given and to the spirit of the gift; orbwhere the original purposes provide a use for part only of the property available by virtue of the gift; orcwhere the property available by virtue of the gift and other property applicable for similar purposes can be more effectively used in conjunction, and to that end can suitably, regard being had to the appropriate considerations, be made applicable to common purposes; ordwhere the original purposes were laid down by reference to an area which then was but has since ceased to be a unit for some other purpose, or by reference to a class of persons or to an area which has for any reason since ceased to be suitable, regard being had to the appropriate considerations, or to be practical in administering the gift; orewhere the original purposes, in whole or in part, have, since they were laid down,—ibeen adequately provided for by other means; oriiceased, as being useless or harmful to the community or for other reasons, to be in law charitable; oriiiceased in any other way to provide a suitable and effective method of using the property available by virtue of the gift, regard being had to the appropriate considerations.2In subsection (1) “the appropriate considerations” means—a(on the one hand) the spirit of the gift concerned, andb(on the other) the social and economic circumstances prevailing at the time of the proposed alteration of the original purposes.3Subsection (1) shall not affect the conditions which must be satisfied in order that property given for charitable purposes may be applied cy-près except in so far as those conditions require a failure of the original purposes.4In authorising property comprised in a charitable gift to be applied cy-près, the Court or the Commission shall have power to alter—athe purposes for which the property given may be applied; andbthe provisions and conditions governing the application of the property for those purposes;so as to secure that the property is applied as beneficially as is possible, consistently with the spirit of the gift.5In ascertaining the spirit of a gift for the purpose of subsection (1)(a)(ii) or (4) the Court or the Commission may take into account the conduct, and any habits or actions, of the donor and any written or oral declarations made by the donor at any time in relation to the gift.6References in the foregoing subsections to the original purposes of a gift shall be construed, where the application of the property given has been altered or regulated by a scheme or otherwise, as referring to the purposes for which the property is for the time being applicable.7It is hereby declared that a trust for charitable purposes places a trustee under a duty, where the case permits and requires the property or some part of it to be applied cy-près, to secure its effective use for charity by taking steps to enable it to be so applied.