Commentary on Parts Part 1: Charities Scottish charitable incorporated organisation
64.Chapter 7 (sections 49 to 64) establish a new legal form that charities may wish to adopt. The Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation (SCIO) is a legal form designed specifically for charities to enable them to become a corporate body, without having to become a company or industrial and provident society. SCIOs will be regulated by OSCR.
65.Section 49 and 50 set out the basic mandatory requirements for a charity to become a SCIO. A SCIO is a corporate body and shall have a constitution, a principal office in Scotland and more than one member. The constitution of a SCIO must state its name and purposes and contain provisions about the membership and the trustees. Unlike a company limited by guarantee, the members of a SCIO will have no liability to contribute to the assets if it is wound up. The Scottish Ministers may make regulations specifying further matters relating to a SCIO’s constitution.