Nothing in this Act and nothing empowered to be done thereunder shall deprive any person of any right of indemnity to which he was entitled immediately before the date of unification whether as party to any action, arbitration or proceeding as trustee or in any other capacity whatsoever.
(1) Any church other than a concurring church which immediately prior to the dissolution of the Union was a member church thereof, may, if so authorised by not less than three-fourths of those present and (being entitled to vote) voting at a meeting of the members thereof specially convened for the purpose, apply to be unified with the United Reformed Church and shall be admitted thereto if the General Assembly so resolves by not less than three-fourths of the members thereof present and voting.
(2) Any admission under the preceding subsection shall occur on such day as the Assembly Moderator in consultation with the Synod Moderator shall appoint.
(3) On and from the day of admission appointed under the preceding subsection the provisions of this Act shall apply as if the day of admission was the date of unification and as if the church were a concurring church.
(1) On the date of unification the name of the company shall be changed to The United Reformed Church (Synod of Scotland) Nominees Limited.
(2) On and from the date of unification the only members of the company shall be those members who immediately before that date were members of the Council of Management of the company or who have been appointed under the provisions of subsection (3) of this section, and all other members shall be deemed to have retired from membership immediately before that date.
On and from the date of unification the Synod of Scotland shall have sole power of appointing members of the Council of Management of the company.
(b) The Synod of Scotland may delegate the power conferred on it by paragraph (a) of this subsection to such other body or person as it thinks fit.
(4) Subject to the provisions of this Act, on and after the date of unification references in the Memorandum and Articles of Association of the company to the Union and to its annual assembly and general committee shall be read and construed, unless the context otherwise requires, as references to the Synod of Scotland and references to member churches of the Union shall be read and construed as references to churches which—
(a) were member churches of the Union immediately prior to its dissolution; or
(b) are local churches in Scotland of the United Reformed Church.
(5) Where immediately before the date of unification the company is acting as nominee of a non-concurring church or as trustee of assets held in trust for or on behalf of a non-concurring church, the company shall, notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (4) of this section, continue so to act until that non-concurring church appoints another body or person to act as nominee or trustee in its place.
(6) Forthwith after the date of unification a copy of this Act printed by the Queen’s Printer shall be sent to the Registrar of Companies in Scotland who shall enter the new name of the company on the register in place of the former name and shall issue a certificate of incorporation altered to meet the change of name.
(7) The production of a copy of this Act printed by the Queen’s Printer shall on and after the date of unification be conclusive evidence in all courts and proceedings of the matters set forth in this section.
(1) This section applies to—
(a) Trinity E.U. Congregational Church, Falkirk (a member church of the Union which participates in Grahamston United Church with the Church of Scotland congregations of Grahamston Parish Church and Grahams Road Parish Church and the congregation of Falkirk Methodist Church); and
(b) Mosspark Congregational Church, Glasgow (a member church of the Union which participates in Mosspark United Church with the congregation of Ibrox Methodist Church).
(2) Section 6 (Heritable property held in trust for concurring churches) of this Act shall not apply to a church to which this section applies and section 7 (Other property held in trust for concurring churches) of this Act shall apply to its heritable as well as its non-heritable property.
(3) Nothing in this Act shall affect any rights of, or the trusts upon which any property is held for, for the purposes of or in connection with, any Church of Scotland or Methodist congregation participating in Grahamston United Church or Mosspark United Church.
(1) This section applies to—
(a) Livingston Ecumenical Parish (an ecumenical church of the Union, the Church of Scotland, the Scottish Episcopal Church and the Methodist Church);
(b) Morningside United Church (an ecumenical church of the Union and the Church of Scotland); and
(c) Oakshaw Trinity, Paisley (an ecumenical church of the Union and the Church of Scotland).
(2) Section 5 (Dissolution of unincorporated associations), section 6 (Heritable property held in trust for concurring churches) and section 7 (Other property held in trust for concurring churches) of this Act shall not apply to a church to which this section applies.
(3) In the application of section 10 (Gifts which are to take effect as gifts to United Reformed Church), section 11 (Power to make grants, etc., to United Reformed Church), section 12 (Powers vested in dissolved associations), section 13 (Preservation of existing trusteeships) and section 16 (Pending representative actions, etc.) of this Act to Morningside United Church and Oakshaw Trinity, Paisley, the reference to any dissolved association shall be a reference to Morningside Congregational Church or to School Wynd Congregational Church, Paisley (as the case may be) and the reference to an association, minister, officer, members or class of members of the United Reformed Church or the children, widow, widower or other dependants of such a minister, officer or member shall be a reference to Morningside United Church or Oakshaw Trinity, Paisley or to the ministers, officers, members or class of members of Morningside United Church or Oakshaw Trinity, Paisley or to the children, widow, widower or other dependants of such ministers, officers or members.
(4) In the event of any future variation, re-arrangement or termination of Morningside United Church or Oakshaw Trinity, Paisley bringing about the revival or reinstatement of the trusts of Morningside Congregational Church or of School Wynd Congregational Church, Paisley, any reference in a trust deed relating to or in respect of Morningside Congregational Church or School Wynd Congregational Church, Paisley, to a Congregational Church or to the Union, the Evangelical Union or the Congregational Union shall take effect as a reference to the United Reformed Church.
(5) Nothing in this Act shall affect any rights of, or the trusts upon which any property is held for, for the purposes of or in connection with, any Church of Scotland, Scottish Episcopal or Methodist Church or congregation participating in or forming part of Livingston Ecumenical Parish, Morningside United Church or Oakshaw Trinity, Paisley.
(1) In this section the expression “joint property” shall mean, unless the subject or context otherwise requires, any property which immediately before the date of unification is held in trust for or for the purposes of or in connection with—
(a) a concurring church (whether alone or jointly with one or more other concurring churches) and a non-concurring church;
(b) the minister or ministers of one or more concurring churches and the minister or ministers of one or more non-concurring churches; or
(c) the members or any class of members of one or more concurring churches and the members or any class of members of one or more non-concurring churches; (such trusts or purposes being referred to in this section as “the joint purposes”).
(2) On and from the date of unification and until distribution has been made in accordance with the provisions of this section, all joint property to which this section applies shall be managed so far as circumstances permit by the same persons, and with the same powers, as if this Act had not been passed, and those persons shall permit the property or the benefit thereof to be used for the joint purposes in such manner as in the opinion of those persons will enable the joint property to be used and enjoyed as nearly as possible in the same manner as it was used and enjoyed immediately before the date of unification.
The General Secretary of the Union to the extent possible before the date of unification and thereafter the Synod Moderator shall cause to be ascertained the value at the date of unification of the joint property (such value in this section being referred to as “the joint value”).
(b)(i) In the case of heritable property and moveables the value to be ascertained shall be the price which such property might reasonably be expected to fetch if sold in the open market by a willing seller at the date of unification.
(ii) In the case of securities quoted on the Stock Exchange the value to be ascertained shall be the price one-quarter up from the lower to the higher of the range of prices for each such security quoted in the Stock Exchange Daily Official List for the date of unification or, if no quotations are issued for that day, then for the business day next following the date of unification.
(4) Forthwith upon the ascertainment of the joint value the Synod Moderator shall—
(a) list the assets comprising the joint property and the values of such assets at the date of unification; and
(b) allocate the joint property between the joint purposes in proportion to the membership of the respective concurring and non-concurring churches (as recorded in the last year book of the Union to be published before the date of unification);
and the Synod Moderator may appropriate assets as between the joint purposes and determine the form of the property allocated as he sees fit.
The United Reformed Church disclaims any property or any share in any property to which it might be entitled as a result of a church named in Schedule 2 to this Act having left the Union.
(1) In this section “the Baxter trusts” means—
(a) the trust originally comprising heritable property established by Miss Mary Ann Baxter and registered in the Books of Council and Session on 25th June 1884; and
(b) the trust for the appointment of a professor at the college established by Miss Mary Ann Baxter and registered in the Books of Council and Session on 14th December 1884;
and includes any lawful amendments made to the trusts.
(2) On and from the date of unification any reference in a trust deed of the Baxter trusts to a Congregational Church or to the Union, the Evangelical Union or the Congregational Union shall be deemed to include a reference to the United Reformed Church.
(3) The provisions of subsection (2) of this section shall not have the effect of bringing into operation any destination-over or any rights of pre-emption, redemption, reduction, resumption, irritancy, forfeiture or any other rights to enforce conditions contained in such a trust deed vested in any person or persons.
(1) In any case where the General Assembly passes a resolution permitting a concurring church to secede from the United Reformed Church then, as and from the date of such resolution, the property of any such church shall be held upon the same trusts and for the same purposes as it was held immediately before the date of unification.
(2) For the purposes of this section “property” means, in relation to any such church as is referred to in subsection (1) of this section, property held in trust for, or for the purposes of, or in connection with, any such church.
Any question arising under this Act as to what corresponds to any association, recognised body, charity, class of members, committee, court, institution, members, minister, ministry, office, officer, purpose, society, concurring church or non-concurring church, shall be determined by a single arbiter appointed by the President of The Law Society of Scotland, and the award of such arbiter shall be final:
Provided that the said President shall not be liable for the payment of the arbiter’s fee or the costs of the arbitration.
Nothing done by a trustee in preparing or procuring, or in pursuance of, or otherwise in connection with, the Proposals for Unification or the provisions of this Act, including any act pursuant to, or in compliance with, the unifying process set forth in the Proposals for Unification shall constitute, or shall have constituted, a breach of trust by that trustee.
In the event of there being at any future time no separately identifiable Synod of Scotland within the Structure of the United Reformed Church, all gifts, rights, powers and responsibilities expressed in this Act to devolve upon and to be administered and discharged by the Synod of Scotland shall during any such time devolve upon and be administered and discharged by the General Assembly or by such other council of the United Reformed Church as the General Assembly may from time to time determine.
Nothing in this Act and nothing done in the exercise of powers thereby conferred shall relieve any property or any person from any liability or responsibility to which they would otherwise be subject in respect of any mortgage, charge, standard security, incumbrance, lien, bond or obligation.
Nothing in this Act shall affect any power of Her Majesty or the court to alter the trusts of any recognised body or charity.
(1) Section 19 (Appointment of trust corporations) of the Act of 1972 shall have effect as if—
(a) in subsections (1) and (3) for the words “church lands” there were substituted the words “church property”;
(b) in subsection (4) for the definition of “church lands” there were substituted the following definition:—
““church property” means any property held for the purposes of the United Reformed Church or any local church;”.
(2) Section 21 (Seceding churches) of the Act of 1981 shall have effect as if in subsection (3) for the reference to the [1960 c. 58.] Charities Act 1960 there were substituted a reference to the [1993 c. 10.] Charities Act 1993.
(3) Section 30 (Application to Scotland) of the Act of 1981 shall have effect as if there were substituted the following section:—
“30 This Act shall extend to Scotland, and in the application thereof to Scotland—
(a) the expression “mortgage” includes a standard security, an assignation, transfer or disposition ex facie absolute and any contract qualifying the same, a bond and disposition or assignation in security, a cash credit bond and disposition or assignation in security, an assignation in security and any real right or burden of whatever kind in the nature of security;
(b) the expression “will” includes a trust disposition and settlement and any instrument taking effect on the death of any person whereby any part of his estate is disposed of, or under which a succession thereto arises; and
(c) for Schedule 2 to this Act there shall be substituted the provisions of Schedule 1 to the United Reformed Church Act 2000.”.
(4) Paragraph 1 of Part I of Schedule 2 to the Act of 1981 shall have effect as if there were substituted the following paragraph:—
“1 The trustees shall permit the premises to be used for all or any of the following purposes and all proper ancillary purposes namely:—
(a) The public worship of God according to the principles and usages for the time being of the United Reformed Church;
(b) The instruction of children or adults; or
(c) The promotion of other charitable purposes not inconsistent with the principles and usages aforesaid;
such use to be primarily by the members of the local church or any other church which may supersede it as a result of amalgamation or regrouping and to be directed by the Church Meeting acting with due regard for the recommendations of the Elders' Meeting and those other Councils of the United Reformed Church which exercise oversight of the local church.”.
(5) In the Act of 1972 and the Act of 1981, the expressions “Provincial Synod” and “Synod of the province” shall, in relation to property in Scotland and property in Wales, mean the National Synod of Scotland or the National Synod of Wales, as the case may be.
(6) In the Act of 1981, the expression “District Council” shall, in relation to property in Scotland, mean the area council within whose area such property is situated.
Her Majesty may by Order in Council provide that all or any of the provisions of this Act shall extend—
(a) to any of the Channel Islands;
(b) to the Isle of Man;
with such exceptions, adaptations and modifications (if any) as may be specified in the Order.
The costs, charges and expenses preliminary to and of and incidental to the preparing, applying for, obtaining and passing of this Act shall be paid as to half by the Union and as to half by the United Reformed Church.