Robert Pearce KC and Matthew Mills, instructed by Alistair Robertson and Darryn Hale of DAC Beachcroft LLP, have successfully defended substantial charity proceedings in Jaffer v Jaffer [2024] EWHC 135 (Ch).

The Claimant had alleged that the 2020 election for President of the World Federation of the Khoja Shia Ithna-Asheri Muslim Communities was invalid, and that a receiver ought to be appointed over the charity. After a two-week trial, the court dismissed all of the Claimant’s complaints.

The judgment is important for charity law practitioners for three reasons.

First, this is the first reported case to define the court’s power to appoint a receiver over a charity. The court accepted Robert and Matthew’s submissions on the correct test to apply: see [200]–[203].

Second, the judgment sets out the correct approach to analysing alleged breaches of a charity’s election rules and procedures: see [242].

Third, the judgment explains when a charity trustee is required to investigate a potential breach of trust by their predecessor: see [379]–[383].

Read the High Court’s judgment here.