Section 70A Appointment of charity trusteesF1

(F21)

OSCR may, on the request of a charity, appoint a person as an interim charity trustee for the charity where—

(a)

the charity has an insufficient number of charity trustees to be able to appoint a charity trustee under its constitution, and

(b)

the charity’s constitution does not provide a mechanism for appointing a charity trustee in such circumstances.

(2)

OSCR may, of its own accord or on the representation of any person, appoint a person as an interim charity trustee for a charity where OSCR is satisfied that—

(a)

the charity has no existing charity trustees,

(b)

all of the charity’s existing charity trustees either—

(i)

cannot be found, or

(ii)

are not acting and are not expected to resume acting, or

(c)

the number of the charity’s existing charity trustees who fall within sub-paragraph (i) or (ii) of paragraph (b) is such that the charity is unable to make a request under subsection (1).

(3)

OSCR may appoint more than one F3interim charity trustee under subsection F4(1) or (2), but only as many as is necessary for the charity to be able to appoint charity trustees under its constitution F5without requiring involvement from charity trustees who cannot be found or are not acting.

(4)

A person appointed as an F6interim charity trustee under subsection F7(1) or (2)—

(a)

is appointed for the period of 12 months (or such shorter period as OSCR thinks fit) starting with the date of appointment, and

(b)

has the same functions as a charity trustee appointed under the charity's constitution.

(5)

Despite subsection (4)(a), if—

(a)

at the end of the period mentioned in that subsection, the charity is F8... not (but for the F9interim charity trustee) able to appoint a charity trustee under its constitution F10without requiring involvement from charity trustees who cannot be found or are not acting, and

(b)

OSCR, the majority of the charity trustees (or if only two trustees, either of them) and the F11interim charity trustee agree to an extension,

an F12interim charity trustee's period of appointment may be extended by one period of up to three months starting with the expiry of the original period of appointment.

(F135A)

For the purpose of subsection (5)(b), no account is to be taken of any charity trustees who cannot be found or are not acting.

(6)

Nothing in subsections (1) to (5) prevents a person appointed as an F14interim charity trustee by OSCR under subsection F15(1) or (2) from being appointed as a charity trustee by the charity under its constitution.

(7)

But the F16interim charity trustee may not vote on whether to make such an appointment.

(8)

Where an F17interim charity trustee is appointed as a charity trustee under the charity's constitution, the person's appointment as an interim charity trustee comes to an end on the date of that subsequent appointment.

F18(9)

For the purposes of subsection (1), a request is the request of a charity if it is from—

(a)

the majority of the charity trustees of the charity, or

(b)

if there are only two charity trustees of the charity, either of them.