Trinity College Dublin v Ag
| Jurisdiction | Ireland |
| Judge | Mr. Justice Keane |
| Judgment Date | 18 June 1993 |
| Neutral Citation | 1996 WJSC-HC 4689 |
| Docket Number | 616 Sp/1991 |
| Court | High Court |
| Date | 18 June 1993 |
BETWEEN
AND
1996 WJSC-HC 4689
THE HIGH COURT
Synopsis:
CHARITIES
Trusts
Objects - Failure - Hospital - Founder - Will - Bequest of book collection to trustees - Preservation of books in Dr. Steevens's Hospital for use and benefit of the physician, chaplain and surgeon - Purpose beneficial to the community - Death of testator in 1732 - Hospital closed in 1988 - Trustees application for cy-pres scheme - Charitable trust for benefit of the hospital - Priceless collection of 17th and 18th century books to be retained in original location - Scheme to be approved by High Court - (1991/616 Sp - Keane J. - 18/6/93) - [1995] 2 I.R. 301.
|In re The Worth Library|
TRUSTS
Objects
Failure - Charity - Remedy - Scheme - Cy-pres - Library of antiquarian books - Books to be retained in original location - (1991/616 Sp - Keane J. - 18/6/93) - [1995] 2 I.R. 301.
|In re The Worth Library|
Citations:
MADAME STEPHENS HOSPITAL ACT 3 GEORGE 11 CH 23
CHARITIES ACT 1961
CHARITIES ACT 1973
CHARITIES ACT 1961 S51(1)
CHARITIES ACT 1961 S43
KIRKPATRICK HISTORY OF DR STEEVENS HOSPITAL 1720 – 1920
CRAIG DUBLIN 1660 – 1860
AN EIGHTEENTH CENTURY DUBLIN BIBLIOPHILE IRISH ARTS REVIEW V3 NO 4 WINTER 1986
DOCTOR EDWARD WORTHS LIBRARY IN DOCTOR STEEVENS HOSPITAL JOURNAL OF THE IRISH COLLEGES OF PHYSICIANS & SURGEONS V6 NO 4 APRIL 1977
BRUNET LE PROGRES DE LA MEDECINE 1695
STATE PROPERTY ACT 1954
HEALTH ACTS 1947 – 1991
GOOD, IN RE, HARRINGTON V WATTS 1905 2 CH 60
BARRINGTONS HOSPITAL V VALUATIONS COMMISSIONER 1957 IR 299
STEELE, IN RE NORTHERN BANK EXECUTOR & TRUSTEES V LINTON 1976 NI 66
HEALTH ACT 1947 S78
HEALTH ACT 1970 S60(3)
CHARITABLE USES ACT 43 ELIZABETH 1 CH 4 (ENG)
MORICE V BISHOP OF DURHAM 1804 9 VES 399
INCORPORATED SOCIETY V RICHARDS 4 IR EQ 177
COMMISSIONERS OF INCOME TAX V PEMSEL 1891 AC 531
NATIONAL ANTI-VIVISECTION SOCIETY V INLAND REVENUE COMMISSIONERS 1948 AC 31
CHARITIES ACT 1961 S45
WEBB V OLDFIELD 1898 1 IR 431
CRANSTON, IN RE, WEBB V OLDFIELD 1898 1 IR 431
O'CONNELL V AG 1941 IR 323
AG V PEARCE 2 ATK 87
OPPENHEIM V TOBACCO SECURITIES TRUST CO LTD 1951 AC 297
PUBLIC TRUSTEE V DAY 1957 1 AER 745
WHICKER V JUME 1858 7 HL CAS 124
POWELL V COMPTON 1945 CH 123
CARNE V LONG 1860 2 DE G F&J 75
LLOYDS BANK LTD V BARCLAYS BANK 1930 2 CH 383
ORMROD V WILKINSON 1898 2 CH 638
AG V MARCHANT 1866 LR 3 EQ 424
TINDALL V BOARD OF GOVERNORS OF UNITED SHEFIELD HOSPITALS 1951 1 AER 538
IRC V CITY OF GLASGOW POLICE ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION 1953 AC 380
ROYAL KILMAINHAM HOSPITAL, IN RE 1966 IR 451
CHARITIES ACT 1961 S47
AG V GREAT EASTERN RAILWAY 1880 5 APP CAS 483
GOVERNORS OF ERASMUS SMITH SCHOOLS V AG & ORS 1932 66 ILTR 57
CHARITABLE USES ACT 1658 10 CHAS 1 SESS 3 CH1
PIOUS USES ACT SEE CHARITABLE USES
JUDGMENT of Mr. Justice Keane delivered the 18th day of June 1993.
(I) INTRODUCTION.
(II) DR WORTH AND STEEVEN'S HOSPITAL.
(III) THE LIBRARY OF TRINITY COLLEGE.
(IV) THE EVIDENCE OF EXPERTS.
(1) Security.
(2) Fire.
(3) Conservation.
(4) Accessibility, Cataloguing and Availability of Reference Books.
(5) Aesthetic Considerations.
(6) Funding.
(V) LEGAL SUBMISSIONS OF THE PARTIES.
(VI) THE APPLICABLE LAW.
(VII) APPLICATION OF THE PROPERTY CY-PRES.
| APPENDIX I: | DRAFT CY-PRES SCHEME SUBMITTED BY THE PLAINTIFFS. |
| APPENDIX II: | PROPOSAL OF EASTERN HEALTH BOARD. |
Doctor Steevens” Hospital, one of the oldest of the great voluntary hospitals of Dublin, closed its doors for the last time early in 1988. The Body responsible for its administration, "The Governors and Guardians of the Hospital founded by Doctor Richard Steevens", (hereafter "the Governors") were incorporated by an Act of the Irish Parliament in 1729 (3 Geo. II, C XXIII). (Although the name of the founder is spelt "Stephens" in the relevant volume of the Statutes, I shall use the more familiar spelling in this judgment).
When the hospital closed, the Governors had to decide what was to become of an asset of inestimable value which was also in their care. This was the collection of some 4,500 books known as "The Worth Library" which had been kept in glass fronted bookcases in a room in the hospital specially designed for their reception from the early part of the 18th century. Since the Governors were proposing to sell the hospital building once the various services and equipment which it had housed were accommodated elsewhere, they had to come to a decision as to the future custody of the library. As one would expect, the Governors were concerned to ensure that the library would be preserved as an integral collection in some Irish setting and that the body responsible for its future custody would have the necessary skills, including particularly expertise in the conservation of rare books.
Having consulted with experts in the field, the Governors decided that the best course was to transfer the library to the first named Plaintiffs (hereafter "Trinity College"). The Governors, who were the Trustees of the library, appointed Trinity College as Trustees in their place and sought the advice of the Commissioners of Charitable Donations and Bequests for Ireland (hereafter "the Commissioners") in relation to the Trust and in particular as to whether the Commissioners would settle a Cy-Pres Scheme appointing Trinity College as Trustees of the library and making provision for the removal of the library to Trinity College and for the care and custody of the books and the management and control of the library. The Commissioners advised the Governors on the 1st March, 1988 that they should seek Counsel's opinion as to whether the Commissioners had jurisdiction under the Charities Acts, 1961and 1973, to settle such a Cy-Pres Scheme. Counsel advised that such a scheme would have to be framed by the High Court, if the value of the library exceeded £25,000, which it clearly did. The library had, in the meantime, in the interests of security and with the approval of the Commissioners, been transferred to Trinity College on a temporary basis.
The second named Defendants (hereafter "the Health Board") bought the hospital in 1988 for use as its headquarters. They were of the view that the Worth Library should be returned to its original home in the hospital. Trinity College in the meantime had applied to the Commissioners to be appointed as Trustees in place of the Governors and on 26th July, 1988, the Commissioners ruled that they proposed to make that appointment but directed that notice of the proposed appointment should be given in the prescribed manner. The Health Board and Mr J. B. Prendiville, who had been a member of the medical staff of the hospital for many years, furnished objections in writing to the appointment of Trinity College as Trustees. The Solicitors for Trinity College informed the Attorney General, whose consent was necessary under s. 51 (1) of the Charities Act, 1961 to an application to the High Court for the framing of a Cy-Pres Scheme, of these developments. The Attorney General took the view that there should be a second Trustee of the library who should be an appropriately qualified person with no connection with Trinity College and the second named Plaintiff who is the Director of the National Library (hereafter "Dr. Donlon") agreed to act in that capacity. On the 5th February, 1991, the Commissioners made an Order appointing Trinity College and the Director for the time being of the National Library to be Trustees in place of the existing Trustees of the Worth Library and vesting the property in the new Trustees upon the applicable Trusts. The Health Board applied to the High Court pursuant to s. 43 of the 1961 Act for an Order annulling this Order. This application was refused by Denham J. in a reserved judgment delivered on the 17th December, 1991.
In the meantime, the Attorney General had given his consent on the 31st May, 1991 to the application by Trinity College to the High Court for an Order framing a Cy-Pres Scheme. The Special Summons was issued on the 19th July, 1991, and on the 20th January, 1992, Costello J. made an Order joining Dr. Donlon as Plaintiff and the Health Board as Defendants. When the Special Summons came on for hearing before me, a number of Affidavits had been filed on behalf of Trinity College and the Health Board, exhibiting reports and other documents relating to the issues raised by the application and some of the deponents were cross-examined on their Affidavits. In addition, I heard lengthy submissions from Counsel and, during the Whit vacation, visited both Doctor Steevens” Hospital and the library of Trinity College in the presence of the parties and their legal representatives in order to see for myself the contents of the library, the room in the hospital in which they had hitherto been kept and the area of the library in Trinity College in which it was proposed by the Plaintiffs that they should be kept in future.
The draft Cy-Pres scheme submitted by the Plaintiffs is set out in Appendix I. The scheme proposed by the Health Board is set out in Appendix II.
It was now necessary to consider the factual background in considerably more detail.
Doctor Edward Worth was born in Dublin in 1678 and was educated at Merton College, Oxford. After leaving Oxford without apparently taking a degree, he studied medicine abroad, entering the University of Leiden in the Low Countries in 1699 and graduating as a doctor in medicine...
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