The Research On Charity Corporation

It is from the ancient time that the weak being cared and helped. In modern times this has been regarded as a basic obligation of the government. The enterprise of charity, as a supplementary to government operation, is an important part of the social security system. Charity helps social fairness, lubricates social communication and meets the spiritual demand of man. The key to the development of charity is to improve the system, as the Charity Promotion Law of People's Republic of China has been filed in the legislation plan of the People's Congress and Administration. Citizens have rights to carry out charity, in forms of direct practicing and set up charity organization. Charity Corporation is one important charity organization implementing charity in name of legal person. And many legislative examples around the world put emphasis on charity corporation system.This thesis is based on a competitive method. In chapter 1 and chapter 3, elementary concepts such as charity, charity activity, public-benefit corporation, charity corporation, charity trust are discussed in a generally normative researching method. The elementary research on charity corporation is still of deficiency due to the immature status of the development of charity in China, and this concept is rare to discuss on though it is long existing as one kind of the public benefit corporation. Charity corporation is a domain independent from market and government, and the discussion on this concept help to distinguish it from administrative corporation, mercantile corporation and the others, by which legal system of charity corporation finds its own standing ground. Chapter 2 uses the historical and comparative researching method and focuses on the history of Charity corporation both in China and abroad. The history of charity corporation is a history how it has been parting from appertaining to various communities and gaining its independence. The founding, managing and supervising of charity corporation are discussed in chapter 4 and 5, highlighting the question how to maintain its credit and independence between self-governing and external supervising. Chapter 6 shows a way to resolve the problem in the development of charity in China. The main problems are the governmental monopoly on charity enterprise and civil associations that harms. In order to resolve these problems, the law on charity should change from social administration to rights protection, and aims at conserving the rights of charity, incorporating, living, and knowing and so on. The Dual Administration System on the founding and supervising of charity corporation should be gradually cancelled, and changed to a comprehensive responsible system. The government should in principle quit its direct involvement in the course of charity and transfer to a supervisor instead of an administrator. The summaries of each chapter are as followed.Charity refers to caring and helping to others based on human love. The motives of charity vary from pure love to utilitarianism. Legally, charity consists only of objective activities of helping others regardless of motives. The range of charity is different because of the historical and practical differences in different countries, vaster in western countries and narrower in our country. The key aspect of charity is helping the weak, and its links include donation and voluntary service, money raising and personnel recruiting, aiding and so on. In modem society, large public-benefit corporations are under rigid governmental and social supervision in many aspects.Charity corporation is originated from the age of ancient Greek and Rome. And in the middle ages along with the mature of the concept of legal person, the charity corporation came in to being formally, and it gradually break away from the shackle of church and became more and more secular and civil ever since modern time. In traditional society of China, there is no such concept of charity corporation, but charity organization has been long existing in forms such as charity association in Qing Dynasty which is much similar to charity corporation in western world. There is a great similarity in historical development in China and west, and the maturing of charity corporation is also a process of its intermediation, secularization and autonomous as an independent social organization.Charity corporation distinguish itself from other organizations in voluntary, non-Government, nonprofit, public benefit, non-political features, emphasis on helping the weak and independent personality, which are requisites for its functioning. The functions of charity corporation are to institutionalize charity activities, enhance the efficiency of charity, protect personal dignity of receivers and protect the independence of charity activities. These features are also requisites in founding the charity corporation. Along with the social development the range of charity corporation is expanding, one way towards a more international and interdisciplinary charity corporation like Ford Fund and Gates Fund, another way towards a professionalized charity corporation such like the US Unit Way and community funds which only serve given receivers. The diversity of charity corporation requires sorted management on the founding, self-governing and external administration. The requirements on foundations should be higher than on the associations, and large ones than the small ones.It is basic charity rights for the citizens to carry out charity in forms of corporation , and it is the responsibility of government to support and protect it instead of restriction. To acquire the title of charity and legal person, charity corporation should meet the essential requisites for the purpose of charity and the qualification of legal person and then go through all legal procedures. The core of the founding system is the intention of the founder, and the registration procedure is only a method for the charity corporation to acquire social accreditation. The main problem is the threshold of founding charity corporation is too high, and it is too difficult for the charity organization to acquire the qualification as charity corporation. So the direction of the development of the founding system should be changed from the principle of admission to the principle of certification.The foundation of charity corporation demands a rational and loosen founding system. But maintaining the personal independence of the charity corporation requires an effective self-governing and strict external supervising. Without these two factors, the lasting of charity corporation will be effected and the intervention or even replacement of the government will become possible. Improving the self-governing and external supervision is important not only to charity corporation but also to the whole public-benefit enterprise. Institutionalization is fundamental, no matter for self-governing or external supervision of the charity corporation.