Charity Law & Policy Unit Annual Public Lecture by Professor Elizabeth Cooke, Principal Judge, Property Chamber, Land Registration Division

Professor Elizabeth Cooke, Principal Judge, Property Chamber, Land Registration Division and former Law Commissioner gave a lecture on 18 February 2016, entitled, ‘Charity Law and the Boundaries of Non-Political Law Reform’.  In her lecture, Judge Cooke described the process of charity law reform and focussed on the new power to be given to charity trustees to make social investments.  This power is now contained in clause 15 of the Charities (Protection and Social Investment) Bill.  The Bill has now completed its passage through parliament and is awaiting the final stage of Royal Assent when it will become an Act of Parliament.

From 2008 to 2015 Judge Cooke served as a Law Commissioner for England and Wales. She was responsible for the Commission’s reports on Property, Family and Trust Law during that period, including projects on Easements, Covenants and Profit à Prendre (2011), Electronic Communications Code (2013), Conservation Covenants (2014) and Rights to Light (2014).

She was also a key player in establishing the biennial Modern Studies in Property Law Conference, which was hosted at the University of Liverpool in 2014, and which holds it 11th meeting in Belfast in April 2016.  The conference is supported by a peer reviewed publication, of which Judge Cooke has been the editor of a number of volumes.  She also chaired the Editorial Conference Board for many years.

The lecture, attended by students, academics, charity practitioners, trustees and lawyers was stream captured and can be viewed below.

Charity law and the boundaries of non-political law reform - 18 February 2016