The Human Dignity Trust has won its case against the Charity Commission at the Charity Tribunal, and the regulator has been instructed to add it to the Register of Charities.
The Charity Commission refused to register the Trust, a gay rights organisation, in October 2013, claiming that it was too political to be a charity. The HDT lodged an appeal with the Charity Tribunal which has now ruled in its favour.
The HDT works to support individuals who seek to challenge legislation criminalising consensual sexual activity between same-sex adults in certain countries. It applied to register as a charity in July 2011, and requested a decision review after the Commission refused registration in June 2012.
Jonathan Cooper, chief executive of the HDT, said he was “thrilled” with the ruling.
“It is a huge relief," he said. "It is a huge weight off our shoulders – we can now get on with our job.
“This has been putting us under extraordinary pressure over the last couple of years and we are pleased to be able to get on with upholding human rights.”
The case was heard at the beginning of June and the judgment was released this morning.
In the Tribunal judgement, principle judge Alison McKenna said: “We are satisfied that HDT is established for the purposes of promoting and protecting human rights” and "promoting the sound administration of the law", and that these purposes are charitable.
The Commission had argued that HDT's objects were "too vague".
The judgment warned that this case does not set a legal precedent and would not affect any other organisations.
In a statement the Charity Commission said: “We have always recognised the valuable philanthropic work carried out by the HDT and know that many people around the world have sympathy for its aims and activities and will welcome this outcome."
It added that its reasons for refusing to register the charity were “of a technical legal nature and these are addressed in the decision”.
The Commission added: “We will of course consider the decision in the context of our work to register organisations established to protect human rights and in the context of our guidance to charities.”
