The Charity Commission has provided some clarity as to the timeframe for charities planning to appeal its decisions to the Charity Tribunal.

The timeframe varies according to the type of decision made by the Charity Commission; in some cases the clock will start ticking for organisations to appeal to the Tribunal from when the original decision was made, and in other types of matters the countdown begins from the ‘decision review decision’.

Following a query from the Charity Law Association, Stephen Roberts of the Charity Commission outlined the distinction:

When the Commission has rejected an application for registration ‘subject to a decision review’, the appeal may only be lodged on the outcome of the decision review. In contrast, charities wishing to appeal to the Tribunal against a Commission inquiry or decision to make a scheme may do so from the time that scheme is made or inquiry has been opened.

A charity has 42 days to lodge an appeal after a decision, or 'decision review decision', has been sent to it, or published on the Charity Commission website.

Charity Tribunal president Alison McKenna also noted that the Charity Tribunal is permitted to give appellant charities extra time to lodge an appeal following an internal review of the decision.