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Glite Dictionary
rule of cy pres

rule of cy pres

9.9
A court changes a gift meant for a charity so the giver's main wish still happens
  • noun
  • /ruːl əv saɪ prɛs/
  • Formal
translation icon : regla de cy pres
  • The court applied the rule of cy pres to redirect the trust funds when the original charity ceased to exist.

Examples

  • Thanks to the rule of cy pres, the donor's intention was honored even though the specific project could not be completed.

  • Under the rule of cy pres, the court can modify the terms of a will.

  • Legal scholars debated whether the rule of cy pres was appropriate in this particular case.

  • The rule of cy pres allows for flexibility in charitable donations.

  • The judge invoked the rule of cy pres to ensure that the charitable intention was honored despite the original plan being unfeasible.

  • In her will, she specified the rule of cy pres so that her gifts would still benefit a similar cause if her first choice was no longer viable.

  • When the charity's mission became impossible to fulfill, the trustees relied on the rule of cy pres to distribute the funds as the donor had envisioned.

Synonyms

cy pres doctrine
vsrule of cy pres
  • Jargon
9.9

A legal rule that lets courts change gifts so they follow the giver's wishes when the original plan is impossible

is the same idea but framed as a guiding legal principle not court action
cy pres
vsrule of cy pres
  • Jargon
9.9

A rule letting a court give money to a similar charity when the original wish cannot be followed

emphasizes carrying out intent closely beyond just court authorization

Surface Forms

rule of cy pres singular
rules of cy pres plural

Morphology

rule + of + cy + pres

This is a specialized legal term of art containing the archaic/Norman-French element 'cy pres' which is not a transparent English lexical combination; knowing 'rule' and 'of' does not allow a learner to infer the complex legal meaning about substituting charitable intent. The sense is technical and requires legal knowledge or prior exposure, so a B1 learner who only knows the constituent words would not be able to derive the meaning.

Etymology

The legal phrase rule of cy pres comes from old French words cy and pres, which mean 'as near as possible'. When someone left money for a specific purpose but that purpose could not be done, judges would change the gift to something similar to keep the giver's wish, so the phrase means 'to carry out a giver's wish as closely as possible'.