Cy-près definition
Cy-près means “as near as possible”. When a charitable purpose cannot be carried out, the Charity Commission can direct under a scheme that the funds should be used for other similar charitable purposes.
Cy-près is old French and means „as close as possible“. In the legal context it has been used in English charity trust law and today it describes the use of compensation funds in mass litigation in a
Cy-près means ‘as near as (practicable)’. It embodies the idea that where something cannot be carried out exactly, then it should nevertheless be carried out in substance, as close as possible to the desired result. In the context of a class action, it would allow a court to dispense ‘approximate justice’, whether by way of price rollback or an award of damages to a nominated recipient where all applicants cannot be identified.160 The proponents of cy-près type remedies argue that they are necessary in order to allow class action promoters to launch class actions in relation to claims where the loss suffered by an individual is so small that it is not only insufficient to justify litigation, but it also renders identification of the ‘victims’ or distribution of the proceeds uneconomic.161
More Definitions of Cy-près
Cy-près means “as near as possible”. A cy-près scheme allows funds to be applied for charitable purposes which are similar to the original purposes.