Section 3 Power to call for documents and search records.
Where the Ministry has reasonable grounds to believe that any property belonging to a charity or given for charitable purposes may have been concealed, misapplied or withheld, it may, with the consent of the Attorney-General, by order require any person having in his possession or control any books, records, deeds or papers relating to the charity—
to furnish the Ministry with copies of or extracts from any of those documents; or
unless the document forms part of the records of other documents of a court or of a public or local authority, to transmit the document itself to the Ministry for inspection.
Any officer of the Ministry, if so authorised by the Ministry, shall be entitled without payment to inspect and take copies of or extracts from the records or other documents of any court, or of any public registry or office of records, for any purpose connected with the discharge of the functions of the Ministry under this Act.
The Ministry shall be entitled without payment to keep any copy or extract furnished to the Ministry under subsection (1); and where the document transmitted to the Ministry under that subsection for inspection by the Ministry—
relates only to one or more charities; and
is not held by any person entitled as trustee or otherwise to the custody of the document;
the Ministry may keep the document or deliver it to the trustees of the charity or to any other person who may be so entitled.
Notes on the whole Act
Textual amendments
- F1
Functions transf., SR 1999/481
- F2
Act repealed (24.6.2013 for the repeal of ss. 1, 5, 13, 22-24, 1.1.2016 for the repeal of s. 14) by Charities Act (Northern Ireland) 2008 (c. 12), s. 185(1), Sch. 9; S.R. 2013/145, art. 2, Sch.; S.R. 2015/383, art. 2(3), Sch.