cy pres doctrine
- noun
- /siː ˈpreɪ ˈdɒktrɪn/
- Jargon
:
doctrina cy pres
- When the original charitable purpose became impossible, the court applied the cy pres doctrine to redirect the funds.
Examples
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The cy pres doctrine aims to honor a donor's intentions even when circumstances have changed.
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The cy pres doctrine is important.
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Lawyers often invoke the cy pres doctrine when interpreting a will that cannot be carried out as written.
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The cy pres doctrine is crucial!
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The judge applied the cy pres doctrine to ensure the charitable intent was honored.
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Using the cy pres doctrine, the court modified the distribution of the trust to fulfill the donor's wishes.
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When the original purpose of the donation could not be executed, they resorted to the cy pres doctrine for guidance.
Synonyms
A rule letting a court give money to a similar charity when the original wish cannot be followed
A court changes a gift meant for a charity so the giver's main wish still happens
Surface Forms
Morphology
cy + pres + doctrine
Opaque: the core element 'cy pres' is an archaic Anglo‑French legal formula rather than compositional English words, so its meaning cannot be derived from the listed constituents. Even if a learner knows 'doctrine,' the specialized legal sense ('apply a donor's intent as closely as possible') is jargonistic and unpredictable, making the expression opaque to a B1 learner.
Etymology
Cy pres doctrine comes from old French words cy pres meaning 'as near as possible'. When a gift in a will or trust cannot be done exactly, judges choose a similar purpose so the donor's wishes are followed, which is why the doctrine means to carry out intent 'as closely as possible'.
