Law Reform Commission Releases Consultation Paper on Liability of Clubs and Societies

LUCY MACKAREL

The Law Reform Commission published a consultation paper regarding the liability of clubs, societies and other unincorporated associations and are calling for volunteers to respond. According to the commission “an unincorporated association, such as a club, does not have legal personality. It is simply the group of members. That makes it difficult to prosecute the club. It is possible that all the members of the club could be found guilty of an offence.”

This new consultation paper is a part of the commission’s fifth programme of legal reform that examines issues to do with civil and criminal liability, matters of compliance and enforcement of regulations surrounding non-profit unincorporated associations, such as the clubs and societies on campus.

Clubs and societies are not completely without options if they want to give themselves more protection. As it stands right now, one way to do so is to register as a CLG. The issue is that the existing options are not appropriate for everyone, especially a university society or club. The Law Reform Commission has said that “the company limited by guarantee (CLG), provided for by the Companies Act 2014, is an existing mechanism that can be used to protect members of unincorporated associations and third parties that deal with them, but acknowledges that there are associated costs and regulatory burdens.”

The College Tribune spoke with the UCD Literary Society about this and they admitted they were unaware of and disappointed by the laws surrounding liability and the society.

“We did not know that individuals rather than the society are liable to lawsuits, and we think it’s appalling. Society-work is essentially free community service offered by students who are passionate and want a better social sphere for their peers and themselves. It’s essential to campus life and is often time consuming and requires sacrifices. It’s an affront to leave, what is ultimately, volunteers in such a vulnerable position.” UCD Literary Society mention they would be willing to fill out the survey that the Law Reform Commission put out and welcome any changes to how the law stands as of now.

The Law Reform Commission proposed three possible models of reform to address this. The first is changing the law to create “non-profit registered associations.” If an association registered it would become a separate entity to its members in the eyes of the law. The second model would require an unincorporated association to fit certain criteria to become a separate legal entity from its members. The final model involves changing the laws themselves, instead of making the club a legal entity.

If your club or society is concerned or would like to give your insight about the potential reform, responses can be sent by email to unincorporatedassociations@lawreform.ie or by post to Law Reform Commission, Styne House, Upper Hatch Street, Dublin 2, D02 DY27.