CHAPTER 158

THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND TRUSTEES ACT.

Arrangement of Sections.

CHAPTER 158

THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND TRUSTEES ACT.

Commencement: 15 April, 1908.

An Act relating to Church of England trustees.

1. Interpretation.

In this Act, “bishop” means the bishop of the Church of Uganda for the time being exercising ecclesiastical jurisdiction in any diocese in Uganda.

2. Trustees and their powers.

A body of trustees may be appointed as and when it is deemed necessary by the bishop for the purposes of accepting by bequest, donation, contract or otherwise and of holding and dealing with any land, contributions or other property which may be donated to or acquired by them for ecclesiastical purposes according to the tenets and doctrines of the Church of England in such areas in Uganda or in respect of such places of worship situated in Uganda as may be specified at the time of their appointment or from time to time; but any such body of trustees shall not hold more than two acres of land in Uganda without the prior consent in writing of the President.

3. Constitution of trustees.

Any body of trustees so appointed as provided in section 2 shall comprise the bishop and two lay persons, to be chosen in the first instance and also from time to time on any vacancy in the office by death, incapacity or resignation, one by the President and one by the bishop; provided that where a body of trustees is appointed in respect of any specified place of worship, the President or the bishop may appoint as a lay trustee, a churchwarden for the time being of such place of worship, and thereupon the person from time to time holding that office shall be deemed to be duly appointed as a trustee within the meaning and for all the purposes of this Act.

4. Trustees to be a body corporate.

The trustees shall be a body corporate by the name of the church trustees of the area or place of worship to which they belong, having perpetual

succession and a common seal, with power to sue and to be sued in its corporate name; and until a common seal shall be provided, the seal of the bishop may be used as the common seal.

5. Application of funds in hands of trustees.

The trustees may from time to time, as circumstances may require, apply or cause to be applied, either to the general ecclesiastical purposes of such area or place of worship or to any specific ecclesiastical purposes of such area or place of worship, any funds in their hands, and the funds so applied may be applied to such purposes, and shall not be applied to any other purpose; but due regard shall be had to the directions of the donors of funds contributed for any special ecclesiastical purposes.

6. Investment of surplus funds.

Subject as aforesaid the trustees may invest in Government or real securities any funds in their hands, and accumulate the income of the funds, or otherwise deal with the funds as they think expedient, subject to this Act.

7. Chairman of trustees.

The bishop shall be the chairman of the trustees.

8. Absence of bishop from Uganda.

In the event of the temporary absence from Uganda of the bishop, such other ecclesiastical authority as the bishop may appoint shall act in his place and exercise all the powers and duties by this Act conferred upon the bishop.

9. Annual accounts.

The trustees shall once in every year for the purposes of verification and audit lay before a body consisting of not less than three interested persons, other than the trustees, to be appointed by the bishop, an account of their receipts and expenditure during the preceding year, and the mode in which those receipts have been derived and expenditure incurred, together with a statement of the amount, if any, of the funds remaining in their hands at the date of the account.

10. Rules.

The Minister may make rules generally for carrying into effect the provisions of this Act.

History: Cap. 148.