$Cu^{II}$-complexes of N-salicylideneaniline and its derivatives were not light sensitive in most solvents such as acetonitrile. A photo-decomposition occurred upon irradiation in halocarbon solvents such as $CHCl_3$. It has been suggested that such photoreactivity is attributed to the reactivity of charge-transfer to solvent (CTTS) excited state attained upon irradiation. A mechanism has been proposed to account for the results obtained. The complexes have been thermally analysed in nitrogen and static air using thermogravimetry (TG) and derivative thermogravimetry (DTG). The thermal degradation of the complexes proceeds in two or three stages. The kinetic parameters obtained from the Coats-Redfern and Horowitz-Metzger equations show the kinetic compensation effect.