## TRUSTEES’ REPORT 2023 The Ecclesiastical Law Society is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (registered charity no 1181002) whose registered office is at 1 The Sanctuary, London SW1P 3JT. The Trustees of the Charity for this reporting period were: Elizabeth Wilson (Chair) The Rt Rev’d Martin Warner (Vice Chair) The Rev’d Paul Benfield (Treasurer) Chancellor Ruth Arlow The Ven Moira Astin Paul Barber The Rev’d Stephen Coleman Lee Coley Edward Dobson Frances Godden The Rev’d Sam Maginnis Anne-Marie Organ The Rev’d Neil Patterson The Rev’d Christopher Smith During the year Ola Olajide was co-opted as a Trustee. The objects of the CIO as stated in our Constitution are: The objects (“Objects”) of the CIO are: To promote education in ecclesiastical law for the benefit of the public including in particular but not exclusively: - (a) the clergy and laity of the Church of England; - (b) those who hold authority or judicial office in, or practise in the ecclesiastical courts of, the Church of England; and - (c) students and teachers of ecclesiastical law. The Trustees are pleased to report that during the calendar year 2023 these objects were furthered in all of the activities and meetings of the Society and the Trustees wish to record their thanks to all those, Officers, members and service providers for their work in maintaining the life and witness of the Society in the year to June 2023. The AGM was held on 10[th] June at St Peter’s Eaton Square, Belgravia, London SW1W 0QH on Saturday 10 June 2023 during the course of the Day Conference. We are grateful to the Vicar and Churchwardens of St Peter’s for their hospitality. Over 75 members attended and there was significant discussion around the theme of Contested Heritage. The trustees are grateful to the speakers who made major contributions to the day: The Rt Rev’d John Inge, Araba Taylor and Janet Berry. _Day Conference 2023: our speakers with our Chair, Elizbeth Wilson_ During the annual meeting The Rev’d Christopher Smith was re-elected a Charity Trustee. The meeting received the annual accounts of the Charity which had been independently examined and these, with the Treasurer’s report, are appended at the end of this report. The Society relies almost entirely on its members for its income. During this reporting period the Charity received some sponsorship from Wrigleys Solicitors LLP. Our income rose slightly reflecting a 4% rise in subscription income and by a one-off timing adjustment to CUP Royalties, but we have also had an 11% increase in costs. The Society faces financial pressure and will be reviewing its income and expenditure including, but not limited to subscription levels, sponsorship, and the journal’s finances. During the annual meeting the outcome of the Trustees’ deliberations concerning STV (as raised at the previous AGM) were reported. The decision to remain with the present voting system was reported to members. The voting matter had been considered along with a number of minor amendments to the Constitution. The members voted unanimously to accept the proposed changes. A copy of the amended Constitution is on the website. The Trustees met on four occasions in 2022/23. In our governance procedures, and in all activities referred to in this report, the trustees confirm that they have compiled with their duty to have due regard to the guidance on public benefit published by the Charity Commission in exercising their powers or other duties. In addition to the Day Conference already referred to, a lecture programme was delivered with both in person and virtual events. Lectures included: - The Rt Revd Humphrey Southern on “ _Called on the Mountain to serve on the Plain: Priorities for Ministry Formation_ ”; - Dr Renae Barker on “ _Beyond the Religious Discrimination Bill, Understanding the State-religion Dynamic in Australia_ ”; - Professor Paul Babie on “ _The Canonical Origins and Status of the Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Churches of Ukraine_ ”; - The Rev’d Dr Becket Soule OP on “ _The Recognition of Orders by the Roman Catholic Church_ ”; - Canon Rosalie Manning on “ _The Safe and Inclusive Church Commission in the Anglican Church of Southern Africa_ ”; - Edward Day on “ _The Shape of Ordained Ministry in the Henrician Canons of 1535_ ”; - The Rt Revd Dr Martin Warner on “ _The Bishop In Parliament”; and_ - David Etherington KC on “ _In Defence Of The Chancellor_ ” The Trustees are grateful to the training committee who delivered a training event on the Faculty Jurisdiction Rules with particular reference to the Church’s carbon footprint. Sadly, both the Chair (The Ven Simon Baker) and the Secretary (The Revd Norman Boakes) have stepped down after many years of service. The Ven Moira Astin has been welcomed as the new Chair. The Trustees are also grateful to all the volunteers who offer to assist them in the work of the charity. We record our ongoing thanks to the section editors of the Journal and to all those who gave substantial time and attention to the report produced by our Working Party on the Seal of the Confessional. The Trustees commissioned this report by the working party which was convened by our President Bishop Christopher Hill. It complied with a strict and limited timetable and submitted a substantial contribution to the House of Bishops’ working party on the subject. The 2nd edition of the _Principles of Canon Law Common to the Churches of the Anglican Communion_ was launched in August 2022 at the Lambeth Conference in Canterbury. This revision was a joint project of the ELS, the Centre for Law and Religion at Cardiff University, and the Anglican Consultative Council. The Rev’d Russell Dewhurst and the Rev’d Stephen Coleman delivered teaching in canon law to four groups of ordinands at several Theological Education Institutions of the Church of England, presenting the ELS course ‘Canon Law for the Newly-Ordained.’ This was enthusiastically received by those about to begin ordained ministry, and it is hoped to extend the ELS offering in the future. The Eric Kemp prize for 2023 was awarded to Erin Carnus. The ELS again collaborated with the Inner Temple in an annual Ecclesiastical Moot Competition by providing a generous cash prize to the winner. In May, the ELS helped to facilitate the visit of a small delegation of Danish university researchers and social field practitioners studying religious courts and councils in London. The Society’s Newsletter, edited by Frances Godden, has been distributed regularly to members via email. Frances wishes to keep this publication fresh and accessible and, in order to do so, will be grateful to receive contributions and comments. A strategy day is planned for November 2023 which will direct the work of the Trustees for the coming years. As mentioned in the report last year, we have paid ongoing attention to the Journal and its publication. The Trustees are indebted to the Editor of this, our flagship publication. The Trustees record their gratitude to all those whose time and talent have been employed in furthering the aims of the Society in the past year. We look forward to developing the scope of our work in the coming year. ## **RECEIPTS AND PAYMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDING 30 JUNE 2023** ## **charity number 1181002** ||||| |---|---|---|---| |**RECEIPTS**|_Notes_|**2022/23**|**2021/22**| ||||£| |Members' subscriptions|3|32,490|31,120| |CUP royalty payments|7|6,403|3,928| |Conference Income||3,514|2,552| |Sponsorship|||1,163| |Other income||278|256| ||||| |Interest received||985|60| ||||| |**Total Receipts**||**43,670**|**39,079**| ||||| |**PAYMENTS**|||| ||||| |Journal costs|4|9,493|9,000| |Conference and events costs|||| |Conference||4,596|3,738| |Lectures||166|368| |Grants Awards and Presentations||500|| |Education||2,044|1,798| |Administration costs:|||| |Website and other online costs||2,668|2,943| |Administration|5|19,419|16,811| |Trustee Expenses|6|185|447| |Independent examiner’s fees||600|600| |Bank and subscription collection charges||513|547| ||||| |**Total Payments**||**40,184**|**36,252**| ||||| |Surplus/(Deficit)of Receipts over Payments||3,486|2,827| |Current assets at beginningofyear||62,790|59,963| |**Current assets at end ofyear**||**66,276**|**62,790**| ||||| |Cash at Bankers: COIF Deposit||18,473|17,995| |CAF Bank||47,803|44,795| |**Total Current Assets**||**66,276**|**62,790**| ## **Notes to accounts for the year ending 30 June 2023:** 1. All the funds of the Society are unrestricted as defined by the Charities Act 2011. 2. These accounts cover the period from 1 July 2022 to 30 June 2023 3. Members’ subscriptions are collected by Direct Debit, BACS and card payments via the Society's website, and recorded on a cash basis. 4. The Society pays honoraria to the Editor and the Consultant Editor of the Journal. In 2022/23 these totalled £9,000. 5. The administrative costs include the fees paid to three service providers – the Executive Secretary, the Finance Officer and the Communications Officer. Their fees totalled £18,438. Administration expenses totalled £982 representing travel and office costs 6. Trustee Expenses of £185 are shown separately and a further £159 of out-of-pocket reimbursements to trustees are included under appropriate expense headings. 7. These are 2021 and 2022 Royalties both received in 2022/23. 8. Payments of £260 were made to a Trustee, Stephen Coleman, for his services as a trainer in Canon Law. **Paul Benfield Treasurer** Ecdesiastical Law Society Forrest Burlinson 20 Ovl Lane Dewsbury WF12 7Ra 26 September 2023 Dear Sirs We hereby confirm lo the best of Ouf knowledge and belief. having rnade appropriate enquiries of other trustees and officials of the charity, the following represenlalions given lo you in connection with your independent examinatKJn of the financial statements for the period ended 30 June 2023. Representalions GENERAL We a¢knth￿edga as trustees our responsibilty fiK rna￿n9 accurate representatK¥n5 to yw and for the ac(xyJnts which Y(￿ have prepared on our behalf fw the charity. 21 We have fu￿lled our resportsiknlilies as trustees under the Charitw kt 2011 for preparing financial stslemenls. in accc*darK* Ihe appI￿able financial re[￿ing framework IRe¢eipts arKI Payments A¢¢ounts under guidance CC16}. and for makiThJ accurate reFfesentation$ to you as our independent examiner. We confirm that all accounting rec(Kds have been made avalable to you for the purpose of your examination and that all the transact￿n$ undertaken by the charity have been propedy refie¢ted and re¢orded in the accounting reC(￿d$. All other rec*)rds and related infonnab'on have been made available to you rf requested. We have given you unrestricted access lo persons within the ¢harity in order to obtain any eVIde￿e and have wovided any additional information that ytsj have requested for the purposes of your indepermjent examination. We confimi that we aTr aware that a related party of the chanty is a person or organisalion, whi¢h eilher Idirectty or iThJiredy) contrcAs. has joint contrd of, or swJnificanty infiuences the charity or vice versa and as a result will indude." trustees. ott)er key management. dose family and other business interests of the pre¥￿s. 3) 4) Ee¢le8iastical tthw &Kiety l The Sanc¢ut)ry. L￿ndoll, SWIP WT DX 145940 Westmin8ter 4 admin(tyclawsoc.org.uk www.ecelawsoc.org.uk The &Ylesiastieal Law ￿)ety a Regi9tsred Charity Num1￿[ Ili11￿2 5) We o)ftfirm that all related party relat￿nShIpS and transact￿$ have been accounted for aThJ (Jisclosed in accordance wlh the guidarKe in CC16 where in wr Opin￿ this hdps re&Jers obtain a better uThJerstsnding of the accwnts. We confimi that the charity has had. at no time during the year. any arrangement. transaction or agreement lo provide credit facilil*s li￿ludIng advan￿ and ￿edItS granted by the charity> for trustee5, nor to provKle guarantees of kn'nd on behalf of the trustees. We confirm that V￿ are not aware of any possible or actual instance of rK)n-complian¢e with those laws and regulations which rKovKle a legal framthv(Kk ￿thin whth the charity (J)nducts ils activibes and wh￿h are central to the charl￿$ atility to O)IKluct its ￿1vItIeS We ￿kno￿edge our responsibilty ts the desw3n and Im&￿emental￿￿ of Mltemal controls to prevent and detect fraud. 6) 8) g) We confirm that there have been no actual or suspect&J instances of fraud invdving tnJste8S, management or employees have a signif￿ant ro￿ in intemal control or that C(￿Id have material effect on the financtal ststements. We *so confimi that we are not aware of any allegations offraud by former trustees. empbyees. regulators or othws. We confimi that all grants. donat￿rts arNI other irwme, rf ary. iThSuding th¢)se suty'ecl to special lemis or conditiorts or r￿e1ved for restricled purK￿)ses. have been to you. There have been no breaches of temis or coThlitions during the regarding the appl￿t￿ of such Ir￿Me received either in this Fernd or the pasL We confimi that ￿ are not aware of ary malters of material S￿n￿￿nCe that should be rep￿d to the Charity Commission. 10} 11) We confirm that the above representations are made on the basis of enquiries of all Irustees, management and staff with relevant kr￿wledge and experience sufficient to satisfy us that we can property make each of the above representab'ons lo you. Yours faithfully Signed on behall of the Iruslees Trustee