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News Archive
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Past News Items from 2010
Venezuela
December 2010
Restrictive Legislation Adopted by National Assembly
The National Assembly, which is dominated by supporters of President Hugo Chávez, has passed a bill banning foreign financing for nongovernmental organizations and political parties,
adding to a series of measures that critics say are intended to stifle dissent. The law approved by the National Assembly on 21 December 2010 puts in jeopardy human rights groups and other organizations
that get money from abroad, critics say, in part because it authorizes fines of as much as double the amount received by political parties or civic organizations. It is one of many contentious laws that Mr.
Chávez’s government is pushing through in the final weeks of the current assembly, in which there are only a token number of opposition lawmakers. A new legislature with a much larger opposition bloc will
take office 5 January 2011. The law specifies that it applies to groups that defend "political rights." It also establishes penalties for groups that invite foreigners who publicly give "opinions that offend institutions of the
state" or that offend senior officials. Organizations can be fined for such statements, and political parties can be fined and prevented from participating in elections for five to eight years.
Cambodia
December 2010
The first draft of the proposed NGOs Law for Cambodia has been posted to the Document Center.
Turkmenistan
December 2010
OSCE Review of Religion Law Published
A new OSCE ODIHR review outlines many provisions of the restrictive 2003 Religion Law in Turkmenistan that fail to accord with Turkmenistan’s international human rights commitments.
It proposes changes to bring the Law into line with them. The review was requested by the Ashgabad Centre of the OSCE in July 2009, and finally completed in June 2010, though not made
public on the OSCE Legislationline website until 6 December 2010; it is now available at
http://www.legislationline.org/documents/id/16060.
Venezuela
December 2010
New Law Limiting Activities of "Political" NGOs Pending in Parliament
A report published in El National says that a new law targeting "political"
NGOs and those receiving foreign funding has been taken up by the parliament in Venezuela and has passed its first reading. The Parliamentary Committee on Defense introduced the bill specifically to limit activities
of NGOs dedicated to the "defense of political rights" or other "political objectives." If enacted the law would preclude these organizations from possessing assets, or receiving any income, from foreign sources.
Noncompliance with the law could lead to a fine of double the amount received from the foreign source. In an earlier article
the paper editorialized against a "severe" law on international cooperation proposed by
President Hugo Chavez to limit work by NGOs with international funding.
Australia
December 2010
High Court Overrules Revocation of Exemption Based on "Political" Activity
In a major decision, Australia's highest court has ruled a nonprofit organization that sought to promote the effectiveness of international aid qualified as a tax-exempt "charitable institution"
even given the "political" nature of its goals and activities. In Aid/Watch Incorporated v. Commission of Taxation,
the High Court of Australia reversed a lower court's decision upholding the revocation of tax exempt status for Aid/Watch.
According to the opinion, Aid/Watch "is an organization concerned with promoting the effectiveness of Australian and multi-national aid provided in foreign countries by means which include investment programs,
projects and policies." After carefully considering both the meaning of the term "charitable institution" as used in the applicable tax statutes and whether a "political" purpose or activity of changing government policy
through public education disqualified an organization from being classified as such an institution under Australian law, the Court concluded that "the generation by lawful means of public debate . . . concerning the
efficiency of foreign aid directed to the relief of poverty, itself is a purpose beneficial to the community within the fourth head of [Commissioners for Special Purposes of Income Tax v.] Pemsel [1891 AC 531]."
The Court further concluded that "in Australia there is no general doctrine which excludes from charitable purposes 'political objects' . . . ." The opinion is of particular interest not only because of its ramifications for
charitable organizations in Australia but also for its consideration of the laws governing political activity by charities not only in that country but also in the UK, Canada, and the United States.
Canada
December 2010
Charity Law Update Published by Carters
The Carters law firm in Toronto has published its November/December 2010 Charity Law Bulletin, which includes analysis of many interesting recent developments regarding charities and NPOs in Canada.
China
December 2010
Karla Simon has published a piece in Alliance magazine regarding fiscal impediments to charitable giving in China. It is available in the Documentation Center
United States
November 2010
Charity Navigator Looking for Ways to Better Evaluate Charities
Charity Navigator, perhaps the largest online source for evaluating nonprofit groups, recently embarked
on an overhaul to offer a wider, more nuanced array of information to donors who are deciding which organizations they might help.
The New York Times reports that its reinvention coincides
with the growing need of nonprofits to provide more - and broader - information about themselves and their impact in an effort to wean donors off a reliance on administrative-cost ratios and
other financial metrics that have traditionally been used to assess charities. Charity Navigator had been using a system of awarding one to four stars to charities based mainly on financial measures,
like how much organizations spend on fund-raising and the ratio of their administrative costs to their overall revenue. But that focus, on an organization’s expenses in particular, rankled its critics,
who contended that choosing a charity based on its administrative costs was a poor way of making sure donations did the most good. "We weren’t very popular," conceded Pat Dugan, the multimillionaire
founder of Charity Navigator. Now Charity Navigator is looking for a broader perspective on how to evaluate charities, and it has received support for this effort not only from foundations but also from individual
donors.
U.K.
November 2010
Greater Tax Benefits for Wealthy Donors Seen as Crucial
As reported in the Financial Times(registration required for access),
Nicholas Ferguson, chairman of the Institute for Philanthropy, is urging adoption by government of greater tax benefits
for the wealthy in the United Kingdom in order to raise charitable donations to levels in the United States. Otherwise, he argues, governmental efforts to "fill funding gaps" with private donations will fail.
Ferguson advocates the promotion of donor-advised funds and community foundations, the deductibility of donations of "important art works," and the deductibility of annuities in which charities have a remainder interest.
United States
November 2010
High Net Worth Donors Reduced Giving Dramatically in 2009
Merrill Lynch and the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University
have released the
2010 Study of High Net Worth Philanthropy.
The report says that charitable giving by the affluent dropped dramatically in 2009. The study reflects the attitudes and behaviors of more than 800 respondents throughout
the United States with household income greater than $200,000 and/or net worth (excluding the value of their residence) of at least $1,000,000.
The average wealth of respondents was $10.7 million. Half of those who responded had a net worth between $3 million and $20 million. According to the
report, "[A]verage charitable giving by high net worth households decreased between 2007 and 2009....[i]t dropped 34.9% from $83,034 in 2007 to $54,016 in
2009, after adjusting for inflation."
Pakistan
November 2010
Guidance for giving to Pakistan relief efforts published in IJCSL.
Through a partnership with the Aga Khan Foundation and the Pakistan Centre for Philanthropy, ICCSL staff and consultants have prepared a
paper to assist individuals and grant-making foundations in their efforts to provide assistance to Pakistan. At the present time, NGOs and
charities in the country are seeking urgently to address needs resulting from the devastating floods that began in July, 2010. Our hope is
that the timely publication of this guide will facilitate further donations to this worthy cause. The paper is available in the
October 2010 issue of IJCSL.
China
November 2010
Charity Law’s Adoption Delayed
China’s top legislature has decided to postpone the review of the draft charity law until next year, due to the lack of practical experience of charity work and difficulties in balancing the interests of different groups,
a leading legislator said in November, 2010. "The draft charity law had been listed on this year’s legislative agenda, but it has been put off as further discussions and research are still necessary," Chen Sixi, member
of the National People’s Congress (NPC) Standing Committee and deputy director of the NPC Internal and Judicial Affairs Committee, told
China Daily.
In a related story, China Daily provided some analysis for the move.
Wang Zhenyao, former director of the Ministry of Civil Affairs (MCA) social welfare and charities department, said the draft was submitted to the Legislative Affairs Office of the State Council last year for further revision.
"The legislation is highly possible in next three years as both the National People's Congress and the society have a lot of concern on the matter," said Wang, who was in charge of drafting the charity law when he worked
for the ministry. The Legislative Affairs Office introduced a structure of the draft law at a symposium on charity legislation at the end of July, 2010 which mainly consisted of three parts:
- First, the law will make innovations on tax deduction and registration systems to give a looser but more regular environment for charities, especially grassroots ones.
- Second, it will confine the power and responsibility of the government, enterprises and society to assure the voluntary and civil positions of the charity sector.
- Third, it will request that charities operate in a more public and transparent way to guarantee credibility.
Mr. Wang, who now heads Beijing Normal University’s One Foundation Community Research Institute, said the draft also includes regulations about donations of stocks and shares, and about managing the shares. With the recent visit to China by US billionaires Bill Gates and Warren Buffett, many people have called for further reforms of the charity system.
China
November 2010
Self-regulation for Charities to be Implemented in Beijing
In an important development for charity in China, the first management process for the operation of charitable and public-service organizations is expected to be published by the
Capital Philanthropy Federation (CPF) in the name of the charitable industry in 2011. This is also to be known as China’s first "guild regulations for charitable organizations,"
according to People’s Daily Newspaper. The process of certifying process
of charitable organizations will be defined to ensure that charity occurs in accordance with the will of donors as well as to maintain oversight and management funds after the donations
are received. Essentially a means of self-regulation, "the process is not for restricting the development of this industry but for guiding a relative professional method for the charitable industry," said an official from the CPF.
After the implementation of the process, charitable organizations that join the CPF will be required to obey the regulations. According to sources, 43 organizations out of the total of more than 100 charitable and public-service
organizations in Beijing(this includes organizations related to philanthropy and public service) have joined the CPF and the figure will reach 60 in 2011.
Europe
October 2010
EU Probing Property Tax Exemptions in Italy
The EU has opened a probe into property tax exemptions provided by Italy to the Catholic Church and some other nonprofit organizations. According to another report, the issue involves an Italian law that shields these organizations from property taxes even on property used for some commercial purposes, like hostels and athletic clubs.
China
October 2010
Party Elders Call for Freedoms to be Enforced
The China Media Project has reported that on October 11, 2010, 23 Chinese Communist Party elders known for their pro-reform positions,
including Mao Zedong’s former secretary Li Rui and former People’s Daily editor-in-chief Hu Jiwei, submitted an open letter to the
Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, formally China’s highest state body, calling for an end to restrictions on expression in China. The letter urges the Communist Party to abolish censorship and realize
citizens’ right to freedom of speech and freedom of the press. Seizing on the opportunity afforded by the awarding of Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo with the Nobel Peace Prize last week, the letter refers explicitly to
prior statements on reform and free speech made by both President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao. The elders remarked that Article 35 of China’s Constitution as adopted in 1982 clearly states that:
"Citizens of the People’s Republic of China enjoy freedom of speech, of the press, of assembly, of association, of procession and of demonstration."
For more information, click here.
United States
September 2010
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 Prof. Ishwara Bhat and Prof. Karla Simon team-teaching NPO Law at Catholic University.
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United Nations
September 2010
UN Human Rights Council Passes Resolution on Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association
On September 30, 2010, the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) passed a
Resolution on “The Rights of Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and of Association.” The resolution
was co-sponsored by 63 countries and passed by consensus. A cross-regional group, including the Governments of Indonesia, Nigeria, Mexico, Lithuania, the United States, the Czech Republic,
and the Maldives, co-tabled this resolution. The resolution reaffirms that “everyone has the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association,” and that “civil society makes a valuable contribution
to the achievement of the aims and principles of the United Nations.” The resolution calls upon States Parties to the ICCPR to ensure the rights of individuals to assembly and association by taking all necessary
measures to abide by obligations under international human rights law.
China
September 2010
New Human Rights White Paper Issued; References the Internet as Protecting Speech and Access to Information
The Information Office of the State Council, China's cabinet, issued a white paper on Progress in China’s Human Rights in 2009
on September 26, 2010. According to the document, "[w]"ith their right to freedom of speech on the Internet protected by the law, Chinese citizens can voice their opinions in a wide variety of ways on the Internet.
The Internet is given full scope in China, and has become an important channel for people to obtain various types of information and voice their opinions. By the end of 2009 the number of Chinese netizens had reached 384 million, meaning 28.9
percent of the total population had access to the Internet, higher than the world's average level. In the same year there were 3.23 million websites running in China….At the same time, the Internet has become a new channel for the
Chinese government to get to know the public opinion and amass the people's wisdom, and consequently exercise governance for the people and improve its work in this respect. The leaders of China frequently log onto the Internet
to get to know the public's wishes, and sometimes have direct online communication with netizens to discuss state affairs and answer their questions. It has become a common practice for governments at all levels to consult the
public via the Internet before formulating policies of particular importance.
United States
September 2010
Karla Simon quoted in  September 2010
Official outlook continues uncertain for Chinese NGOs
Recent moves in China seem designed to ease regulation for local civil society organizations. However, the attitude towards national-level NGOs that receive external funding remains lukewarm. Local experiments, says a paper by Karla Simon and Hang Gao, are being conducted to eliminate the dual management requirement for small community civic organizations (CCOs) in various ways. These include a modified dual management system, a documentation system and a system of registration and management by local Civil Affairs departments.
To read more click on http://www.alliancemagazine.org/node/3440.
United States
September 2010
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Prof. Karla Simon meets with the research team for her book.
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India
September 2010
Analysis of FCRA Bill by Noshir Dadrawala posted to ICCSL site.
Syria
September 2010
Move to Reduce Support for Islamist Groups
Syria, which had sought to show solidarity with Islamist groups and allow religious figures a greater role in public life, has recently reversed course, moving forcefully to curb the influence of Muslim conservatives in
its mosques, public universities and charities, according to a report published in the New York Times.
The government has asked imams for recordings of their Friday sermons and started to strictly monitor religious schools. Members of an influential Muslim women’s group have now been told to scale back activities like preaching or
teaching Islamic law. And this summer, more than 1,000 teachers who wear the niqab, or the face veil, were transferred to administrative duties. The crackdown, which began in 2008 but has gathered steam this summer, is an effort
by President Bashar al-Assad to reassert Syria’s traditional secularism in the face of rising threats from radical groups in the region, Syrian officials say.
Uganda
September 2010
Constitutional Court Adjourns Case without Action
The constitutional court has adjourned the hearing of the petition by NGOs in Uganda challenging the constitutionality of the NGO Act,
according to an email from HURINET-U. The case was adjourned because there were no judges to hear the matter.
The registrar of the constitutional court informed the NGOs that the judges are in Arusha, Tanzania attending a workshop. The petition brought by Human Rights Network (HURINET -U), the Anti Corruption Coalition (ACCU),
ACODE, DENIVA, NGO Forum, UWONET, Uganda Land Alliance and Environmental Alert seeks a declaration that S.2 and 8 of the Act and the NGO regulations are unconstitutional in as far as they provide for mandatory
registration and operational permits for NGOs which will affect the enjoyment of the right to associate guaranteed under Uganda’s Constitution. The NGO regulations require all NGOs to get written permission from the
Resident District Commissioner (RDC) before an NGO gets in contact with a rural community. The NGOs contend that this violates the freedom of movement and association and has far reaching impact on the ability of
NGOs to deliver services especially to communities where government has failed. They also challenge the power of the NGO Board to deregister or dissolve an NGO without going through a judicial process. The registrar
of the Constitutional Court did not set a new date for hearing as this in his words "depends on the next available time."
United States
August 2010
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Work on Prof. Karla Simon’s book continues.
CUA law student Anqi Yang and Chinese activist Wan Yanhai at an interview/meeting to discuss difficulties facing civil society organizations in China for the book being written by Prof. Karla Simon.
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United States
August 2010
Arrival of Professor P. Ishwara Bhat
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Professor P. Ishwara Bhat has arrived to teach as a Fulbright Visiting Professor and Scholar at Catholic University of America’s Columbus School of Law. He is one IJCSL’s Contributing Editors and has recently published an article in the Journal. ICCSL programming this autumn will feature foreign NPO scholars, including Prof. Bhat. |
India
August 2010
New Version of FCRA Passes Parliament
The Hindu reported that Parliament has given its stamp of approval to the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Bill, 2010. The Bill seeks to regulate the acceptance and utilization of foreign contributions, prohibiting the acceptance and utilization of
foreign contributions for activities detrimental to the national interest or national security. Minister of State for Home Ajay Maken said the Bill had sufficient provisions to ensure that genuine non-governmental organizations involved in developmental activities will not suffer.
Bolivia and Ecuador
August 2010
Efforts Underway to Clamp Down on NGOs
According to a report published by the Americas Program, there is conflict brewing between indigenous rights groups and the governments in Bolivia and Ecuador.
"These people are gringos who are coming here with NGOs. Take it somewhere else. These people's stomachs are full enough", said the president of Ecuador, Rafael Correa,
in reference to the protesters who belong to the National Confederation of the Indigenous in Ecuador (CONAIE). Evo Morales said almost the same thing: "Since the Right can't find arguments for
opposing the process of change, it’s using rural, indigenous or original people leaders who have been paid off in special favors by NGOs." Morales is using the 2007 Decree on International Cooperation
to clamp down on foreign, particularly American, for NGOs. It is available in Spanish on the ICCSL website at
http://www.iccsl.org/pubs/Bolivia-Decree_on_International_Cooperation_2007.pdf.
Pakistan
August 2010
Delivery of Foreign Aid:
Lessons for Disaster Relief in Pakistan
A FREE, ABA non-CLE teleconference (with an optional onsite component)
presented by the
Asia-Pacific Committee
September 1, 2010
12:00 p.m. - 1:30 p.m. EDT/ 5:00 p.m. – 6:30 p.m. BST/6:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. CET
The devastating floods in Pakistan have displaced more than 14 million people and killed at least 1,600. In a memorandum the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, warned that its capacity and that of other UN and international agencies to respond to the crisis created by the flooding was being "tested to the limits." The situation in Pakistan highlights a critical issue in the international development sector: how can the U.S. and other members of the international community distribute disaster relief effectively and efficiently and still ensure accountability?
China
August 2010
ICCSL posts new Update on Civil Society, Charity and Giving in China on its website
Vietnam
July 2010
New Association Regulations Effective July 1, 2010
The revised Decree 45 (2010) on the Organization, Activities, and Management of Associations,
was promulgated on April 21, 2010, and took effect on July 1, 2010. The new Decree governs the registration, operations, and activities of associations at national, provincial, municipal, and sub-provincial levels.
As explained by Mark Sidel in a recent article on the subject in the International Journal of Not-for-Profit Law, by issuing
the regulation the Ministry of Home Affairs responded to calls from government regulators and the associations themselves for a more detailed regulatory document. The World Bank and other donors also requested that
the associations serving as their grantees have access to better and clearer regulations. Some procedures have been changed from Decree 88 (2003), but procedures remain extremely complicated and make it difficult
for the associations to actually become registered. Such requirements include a pre-registration process involving the creation of a board to apply for registration.
China
July 2010
China Foundation Center Launched
The Wall Street Journal’s Realtime China Blog reported that some of China’s most recognized philanthropic
leaders have gathered in Beijing for the launch of the China Foundation Center, a new organization that aims to help increase the transparency of Chinese charitable groups, which have sometimes
struggled with public suspicion of mismanagement and even corruption. The organization looks to bolster trust in Chinese foundations by making information about their activities available to the
public - thus hopefully encouraging more participation in charitable work. The center’s website will initially archive data
on more than 1,800 foundations across China. Chinese and international
philanthropic leaders gathered for the launch ceremony, including Peter Geithner, father of the U.S. Treasury secretary and a former longtime leader in the Ford Foundation, and Xu Yongguang,
founder of Project Hope, China’s largest non-governmental social welfare group. Many of them described the new organization’s launch as mirroring crucial steps taken to improve the transparency of
the charitable sector in the U.S. in the 1950’s.
Global
July 2010
Prof. Karla W. Simon has posted her article in the International Lawyer to her SSRN webpage. The article is a "year-in-review" summary of developments
during the year 2009 regarding civil society organizations around the world. The article is accessible both in hard copy and
on the internet.
Those wishing a hard copy reprint should contact Prof. Simon directly at simon.karla@gmail.com.
United States/Israel
July 2010
West Bank Settlements Supported by Tax Exempt Funds from the U.S.
As the American government seeks to end the four-decade Jewish settlement process and foster a Palestinian state in the West Bank, the
American Treasury helps sustain the settlements through tax breaks for donations to support them. A New York Times examination of public records
in the United States and Israel identified at least 40 American groups that have collected more than $200 million in tax-deductible gifts for Jewish settlement
in the West Bank and East Jerusalem over the last decade.
The Times reported on this investigation in a July 7, 2010 article,
noting that the money goes mostly to schools, synagogues, recreation centers and the like, legitimate expenditures under the tax law. But it has also paid for more legally questionable
commodities: housing as well as guard dogs, bulletproof vests, rifle scopes and vehicles to secure outposts deep in occupied areas. In some ways, American
tax law is more lenient than Israel's. The outposts receiving tax-deductible donations - distinct from established settlements financed by Israel’s government - are
illegal under Israeli law. And a decade ago, Israel ended tax breaks for contributions to groups devoted exclusively to settlement-building in the West Bank.
Now controversy over the settlements is sharpening, and the issue is sure to be high on the agenda when President Obama and the Israeli prime minister,
Benjamin Netanyahu, met in Washington in early July. Although supporting political activities is illegal for U.S. charities, money somehow seems to end up in the
hands of settlers' seeking to engage against the government's policy and rid the West Bank of Palestinians.
United States
June 2010
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Prof. Karla Simon recently made a presentation at the European China Law Studies (ECLS) conference in Copenhagen, Denmark.
The presentation was based on a paper that Prof. Simon and CUA Research Fellow 2009/10 Hang Gao have in preparation entitled
Opening the Space: New Developments for China’s Community Organizations.
Prof. Simon also recently published a short paper on the ICCSL website dealing with two recent developments in the Chinese regulation of civil society, including new rules with regard to access to foreign funding.
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India
June 2010
New Revisions to Direct Tax Code Proposed
Under the latest proposal from the Finance Ministry, a Revised Discussion Paper suggests the following changes affecting charities and NPOs will be made in the Direct Tax Code (DTC).
- NPOs already registered under the Income-tax Act, 1961 and holding valid registration on the date on which DTC comes into effect, would not be required to apply for fresh registration under the DTC. However, they would be required to provide additional information to facilitate the administration of the new provisions;
- Up to 15% of the surplus or 10% of gross receipts, whichever is higher, will be allowed to be carried forward to be used within three years from the end of the relevant financial year. In other words, indefinite accumulation of up to 15% of gross receipts as is prevalent will not be allowed;
- The term "charitable purpose" will be retained in place of "permitted welfare activity" proposed earlier;
- Donations by an NPO out of its accumulated surplus to another NPO will not be considered as an application for "charitable purpose;"
- A basic exemption limit will be provided and the surplus in excess of such limit will be subject to tax;
- The cash method of accounting will be retained since it is simple to follow and easy to administer;
- The Central Government will be empowered to notify any non-profit organization of public importance as an exempt entity;
- Currently NPOs are allowed unlimited carry forward of unspent balance to the next financial year. It is proposed not to allow this;
- NPOs will no longer be allowed to accumulate funds for up to 5 years;
- Donors will not be able to enjoy 100% deduction for donations made to projects approved under section 35AC; and
- Business activity, even if incidental, will not be allowed for NPOs established for a "charitable purpose" but falling under the category, "advancement of any other object of general public utility."
Vietnam
June 2010
New Article Provides Interesting Comparisons with China
Mark Sidel has published an interesting article on the development of the laws and regulations affecting civil society organizations in Vietnam, a country that ICCSL has been following for several years.
One worthwhile aspect of the paper is that it provides a means of comparing Vietnam and China as they continue on their quest to find ways to regulate civil society that are consistent with their political systems.
United States
June 2010
ACLU Report Details Undermining of Muslim Charities Since September 11 Attacks
The fight against terrorism has dealt a harsh blow to Muslim charities and interfered with their donors’ religious freedom, a new report by the American Civil Liberties Union concludes.
The New York Times story says that the report details "statutes that it describes as overly broad and enforced in a discriminatory manner, coupled with a lack of due process, have starved Islamic charities
of money and impeded Muslims' ability to fulfill zakat, their religious requirement to make charitable donations. The report is based on interviews with more than 100 Muslim community leaders as well as experts
on antiterrorism laws and regulations." Though it gives no estimate of the decline in donations to Muslim groups after the September 11 attacks, the report notes that nine Islamic charities have closed since then.
China
June 2010
New Regulations Analyzed
Prof. Karla Simon has published a short, non-academic paper on the recent developments (SAFE regulations on foreign grants and Yunnan regulations on INGOs) regarding CSOs in China,
which is now available on the ICCSL website.
United Kingdom
June 2010
New Government Appointments Focus on Civil Society
The new U.K. Government has appointed Nick Hurd as the Minister for Civil Society and Nat Wei as Government advisor on the Big Society in the House of Lords, according
to an announcement from the Cabinet Office. Charities
Aid Foundation’s (CAF’s) chief executive John Low has praised the new government's focus on civil society. Speaking to
Cabinet Office staff, Nick Hurd, alongside the Minister for the Cabinet Office Francis Maude, has announced that Government policy will focus on three fundamental issues:
- Making it easier to run a charity, social enterprise or voluntary organisation
- Getting more resources into the sector: strengthening its independence and resilience
- Making it easier for sector organisations to work with the State
John Law stated as to Nat Wei that he is “encouraged that Nat Wei has been elevated to the Lords to support Government’s development of the Big Society agenda - his inspired leadership at Teach First amply
demonstrates his ability to harness the power of civil society and corporate engagement to make a lasting difference in communities up and down the country.
United States
May 2010
Karla Simon Quoted in WSJ China Blog
Stanley Lubman, one of the pre-eminent legal scholars of China, recently quoted two of Prof. Karla Simon's papers in
his blog for the Wall Street Journal. "The latest crackdowns reflect only one of various currents in Chinese government policy toward NGOs. A useful analysis by Karla Simon, an expert on China's NGOs, describes a complex regulatory structure and inconsistent administrative patterns. (Karla W. Simon, Regulation of Civil Society in China: Necessary Changes After the Olympic Games and the Sichuan Earthquake Fordham Int’l L. Journal, vol. 32, 2009, 943). Simon also notes that "Experiments have been conducted in outsourcing social services and reforming the registration system to move toward doing away with the "dual management" system. (Karla W. Simon and Hang Gao, Opening the Space: New Developments for China’s Community Organizations.)"
The latter article, which is posted as a "work in progress" to the Social Science Research Network (SSRN) has made several "top ten" download lists in recent weeks.
China
May 2010
NGO "Clamp-down" story on NPR
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=126821399
This story from NPR’s Morning Edition on May 14, 2010 (by Anthony Kuhn) is the best analysis we have read or heard about the "clamp-down" on NGOs. It quotes extensively from Deng Guosheng,
who heads the NGO Center at Tsinghua. It also quotes Xu Zhiyong from Gongmeng, which was closed down last July. Xu says he wants now to be more strategic in what he does and that he will no
longer accept foreign funding. Prof. Deng also mentions the local level efforts to make it easier for certain NGOs to register.
Israel
May 2010
The ICCSL analysis of second draft NGOs Law has been posted to the web.
The ICCSL comments on first draft NGO law are also available.
These comments were part of a successful campaign to avert the adoption of the first law.
ICCSL is involved in ongoing efforts to persuade the Knesset not to change the legal framework for associations (Amutot) in Israel.
United States
April 2010
Israel
April 2010
New Law Proposed in Knesset
On April 28, 2010, 19 Knesset members from both the coalition and opposition proposed a law that would forbid the registration of organizations "if there is a reasonable basis to
conclude that the organization is providing information to foreign bodies or is involved in lawsuits abroad against senior officials in the government in Israel and/or officers in the Israeli
army regarding war crimes." Existing organizations found to engage in such activity would be shut down. A group of ten Israeli human rights organizations has published a response to
the bill, saying that it "violates international treaties and the Universal Declaration on Human Rights," and that it "seeks to conceal information or suspicions of a crime." An English translation
of the law is available here. More information about the legal developments
is available here.
Tibet
April 2010
Yushu Earthquake-Related Developments
Times Online reports that the leading Tibetan intellectual, a writer, publisher and philosopher long seen as close to
China’s ruling Communist Party, has been arrested after organizing private donations for this month’s earthquake in Yushu. Tra Gyal, better known by his penname of Zhogs Dung, was detained in Xining, capital of the western province
of Qinghai, where the April 14, 2010 tremor killed more than 2,000 people, Tibetan sources said. Half a dozen police picked him up from his office at the Qinghai Nationalities Publishing House, took him to his home and carried out a
meticulous search of his study, taking him away at about 10.00pm. The officers returned in the early hours of the morning and removed two computers, written documents and pictures and came back again at about 3.30am to show
the writer’s wife a formal arrest warrant for her husband. Other sources attribute his arrest to the fact that a group of prominent Tibetan intellectuals based in Qinghai’s Xining province had written an open letter of condolence to the
victims of the disaster. Shogdung was one of the signatories of this open letter (in his real name Tra Gyal) and it was published on his blog. The open letter expresses condolences and at the same time is critical of the Chinese
government in their handling of the earthquake relief efforts. In a related development, Buddhist monks who had been delivering most of the aid to earthquake victims in its immediate aftermath were asked to return home so that
professionals could offer aid, according to the New York Times.
Egypt
April 2010
Foreign Policy has a story detailing the facts about a potential new law governing NGOs have sent a shudder through Egypt's civil society.
A group of more than 41 NGOs have banded together to oppose the legislation, warning it could be used not only to curtail their activities, but also restrict the ability of groups such as the National Coalition for Change led by Muhammad
ElBaradei from campaigning for reform. The new law is also cause for alarm for the Obama administration, whose own change of policies towards some U.S. funding of Egyptian NGOs is seen by activists as having sent the wrong signal
to the Mubarak regime. If the U.S. is serious about its declared support for Arab civil society, now is the time for the administration to show its hand. The alarm in the Egyptian NGO community revolves around a bill drafted by the Ministry
of Social Solidarity that could become law within months should the government decide to send it to parliament. The NGO coalition warns that the government is rushing a bill which would “limit the activities of human rights organizations or
shut them down completely by criminalizing all forms of unregistered civic organization...[with] ramifications for some of the most important political reform movements (such as the National Association for Change, Kifaya, April 6th Youth
and others).” It warns that the bill would establish "unprecedented control over civil society worse than the crackdown that followed the July 1952 revolution which nationalized political, partisan, syndicate and civic action."
China
April 2010
NGOs Permitted to Assist with Yushu Earthquake Relief and Recovery Efforts
 On April 14th 2010 several earthquakes struck the Yushu Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in Qinghai province, the largest of which had a magnitude of 7.1.
Initial eyewitness reports from the prefecture government seat Jiegu (Jyekundo) speak of extensive damage to houses and many wounded and dead.
Official figures at time of writing are over 600 dead and 8,000 wounded, with more casualties expected because of the extreme cold and the winds.
The Ministry of Civil Affairs said about 15,000 houses had collapsed and 100,000 people need to be relocated. The area sits at around 4,000 metres (13,000 feet) and is very poor.
The Yushu Prefecture government has requested aid in the form of medical personnel, medical supplies, and temporary shelters (i.e., tents and blankets).
Additional supplies and medical teams will be sent once an operations base has been established in Yushu.
There is already a solid network of medical personnel in China prepared to depart for Yushu, and gifts of cash are the easiest and quickest way that one can help out.
Gifts of supplies are more difficult and time consuming to receive, and most supplies needed can be bought in the provincial capital, Xining.
Sichuan Quake Relief (SQR) is sending a team from Chengdu to work with the Yushu prefectural government and locally based NGO Plateau Perspectives to carry out wider needs assessments and help coordinate NGO relief activity.
Updates will be posted on the SQR website and at dedicated website yushuearthquake.com (mirrored at yushuearthquakerelief.com).
Other NGOs that are involved include Qinghai Earthquake Appeal (QEA). Funds will be allocated to local NGOs that are involved in emergency response and relief efforts.
They need to buy medical supplies, tents, blankets, food, and water, etc. Supplies need to be purchased in Xining and nearby cities and delivered by trucks to Yushu.
See www.Tibetanvillageproject.org for updates and to make donations.
Egypt
April 2010
Ministry Has Prepared New NGO Law Said to be Very Repressive
The Ministry of Social Solidarity has completed a draft for a new NGO law.
According to the latest leaked copy, the bill is more restrictive and draconian than repressive law already in place.
The new bill is expected to pass into law with the approval of the government parliamentary majority in the coming month.
A press release by 41 NGOs published on the Euro-Med Human Rights Network website suggests that the haste to pass
the bill is attributable to a desire to undermine civil society efforts to monitor the upcoming parliamentary and presidential elections.
Following the abolition of judicial supervision of elections in the last round of constitutional amendments and the government’s refusal
to allow international monitors, this step will facilitate further dishonest elections conducted without any meaningful oversight.
Some articles of the new bill aim to limit the activities of human rights organizations or shut them down completely by criminalizing all forms
of unregistered civic organization. The bill promises to institute unprecedented control over civil society worse than the crackdown that followed the
July 1952 revolution which nationalized political, partisan, syndicate and civic action. It is clear that goal of the bill is to tighten the stranglehold on NGOs and other civic organizations.
China
April 2010
Report on Support for Charities in China Released by MCA
China received more than 33 billion yuan ($ 4.83 billion U.S.) in donations in 2009, according to a government charity report released April 8, 2010. The report, jointly released by the Department of Social Welfare and Promotion of
Charities under the Ministry of Civil Affairs (MCA) and the China Charity and Donation Information Center, said donations included more than 22.7 billion yuan in funds and goods worth more than 10.5 billion yuan. Domestic and
overseas enterprises were the major donors, contributing more than 13 billion yuan to the total, according to the report. Overseas donations amounted to 4.5 billion yuan. More than 40 percent of the donated funds were for
education, a survey showed.
United States
March 2010
Master in International Studies in Philanthropy
United States
March 2010
Leading Developments in Chinese Law Conference
China
March 2010
New Regulation of Foreign Donations Now Effective
The Notice (No. 63 [2009]) of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange on "Issues concerning the Administration of Foreign Exchange Donated to or by Domestic Institutions" became effective March 1, 2010.
Although the regulation states that it was promulgated "to improve the administration of donated foreign exchange and facilitate the donated foreign exchange receipts and payments," many CSOs and academic leaders
are concerned about the tenor of the regulation, according to the South China Morning Post. It requires that "receipts and payments of foreign exchange of domestic institutions shall
be transacted through a donated foreign exchange account, which shall be set up at the designated foreign exchange banks ("Banks") and incorporated into the foreign exchange account management system by the Banks."
In addition, an application to set up a foreign exchange account for a donation must be accompanied by “a certificate of registration of the overseas non-profit organization (with its Chinese translation attached).”
Israel
March 2010
Draft Legislation Introduced in Knesset to Reclassify Charities Receiving Funding from Political Entities
Members of the Knesset introduced legislation to reclassify charities (Amutot) as non-public institutions for tax law purposes. The amendment will jeopardize access by such entities to other foreign funding if it goes into effect. The proposed amendment to the Law on Amutot is under attack by Israeli charities. ICCSL is currently analyzing the legislation on behalf of Israeli charities.
South Africa
March 2010
Corporate Governance Code Applicable to CSOs Now in Effect
The King III Code of Corporate Governance has become effective in South Africa. In a change from the King II Code promulgated in 2009, King III says that it applies to "all entities regardless of the manner and form of incorporation or establishment and whether in the public, private sectors or non-profit sectors."
According to the drafters, the principles contained in the report have purportedly been drafted so that "every entity can apply them and, in doing so, achieve good governance." It is debatable whether that is true - the Code is full of rigorous requirements that are relevant to companies (and was originally intended to cover corporations regulated by the new Companies Act). Whether it should be applicable to CSOs without some recognition of their special issues and, in many cases, small size, remains questionable. ICCSL will be publishing an article about the King III Code in the April issue of IJCSL.
Uganda
March 2010
Critical Comments Made on Proposed Amendments to Press and Journalism Act
The members of the Article 29 Coalition, a voluntary network of media organisations and associations with a mandate to promote media freedom and professionalism in journalism, and our allies have strongly objected to the spirit and content of the proposed amendments to the Press and Journalist Act Cap 105 of 2000 and have expressed their comments, including the following:
- Some of the proposed newspaper licensing conditions, such as "proof of existence of adequate technical facilities" and the "social, cultural and economic values of the newspaper" violate constitutional guarantees of freedom of expression and are subject to abuse. A person or legal entity should be free to publish a newspaper whether they have state-of-the-art technology or not;
- Contrary to the provisions of Article 29 of our constitution, licensing of newspapers will amount to licensing the very fundamental freedom of expression that is guaranteed in the constitution. Licensing of newspapers is an archaic control mechanism which has been used by regimes that do not appreciate the role of the media in enhancing the public good. These amendments are reminiscent of the Zimbabwean Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act (AIPPA) of 2002 that was effectively used de-license critical newspapers in that country using the licensing requirement; and
- Particularly disturbing is the Media Council’s powers to revoke a newspaper’s license based on publishing material that is "prejudicial to national security, stability and unity," "injurious to Uganda’s relations with her neighbours or friendly countries," and that "amounts to economic sabotage." The criminalisation of the publication of such material is very dangerous as such provisions are prone to subjective interpretation.
United States
March 2010
States and Localities Revoking Charity Tax Exemptions to Gain Revenues
A report in the New York Times says that faced with steep declines in tax revenue,
an increasing number of states and localities are considering eliminating various tax exemptions for nonprofit groups. A bill before the Hawaii Legislature, for instance, would require charities to pay a 1 percent
tax, and Kansas is considering making them subject to sales taxes. Revoking the nonprofit organizations' exemptions from property taxes is also under scrutiny in several counties in Kansas, as well as in Pennsylvania.
And last fall, Minneapolis made charities subject to the fees it charges businesses and residents for streetlights in hope of gaining an additional $155,000, an exercise Jon Pratt, executive director of the Minnesota Council of
Nonprofits, describes as "looking under the sofa cushions." In most cases, churches would be exempt from the tax measures, but all other nonprofit groups, including private schools and colleges, would be affected.
City and state officials say they have no choice.
United States
February 2010
Half a Century of Asian Law - Speaking Engagement
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Prof. Karla Simon was an invited speaker at "Half a Century of Asian Law: A Celebration of Prof. Jerome Cohen,"
on February 19, 2010, held at GWU Law School. The conference marked the 80th birthday of the noted NYU Law School professor. Her paper, "Two Steps Forward One Step Back - Developments in the Regulation of Civil Society Organizations in China", was listed on SSRN's Top Ten download list for Asian Law. The article appeared in the October 2009 issue of IJCSL.
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United States
February 2010
Two Steps Forward One Step Back - Developments in the Regulation of Civil Society Organizations in China
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Professor Karla Simon's paper, "Two Steps Forward One Step Back - Developments in the Regulation of Civil Society Organizations in China",
was recently listed on SSRN's Top Ten download list for Asian Law. The article appeared in the October 2009 issue of IJCSL. Professor Simon has
accepted an invitation to address a conference "Leading Developments in Chinese Law Conference,"
to be held at UCLA School of Law on March 5, 2010.
She was also an invited speaker at "Half a Century of Asian Law: A Celebration of Prof. Jerome Cohen," on February 19, 2010.
The conference marked the 80th birthday of the noted NYU Law School professor.
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India
February 2010
Changes in Fiscal Environment in Proposed Budget
According to an email received from Noshir Dadrawala (noshir101@gmail.com),
"The amendments proposed in the new Budget under the Income Tax Act concerning charitable organizations are soft and at places even encouraging." Here are the Highlights:
- Implementation of the Direct Tax Code (DTC) has been postponed by a year and may be introduced only from April 1, 2011;
- A Goods & Services Tax (GST) may also be introduced from April 2011;
- The Finance Act 2008 had changed the definition of “charitable purpose” such that "Advancement of any other object of general public utility" would not be considered as "charitable purpose" if it involves carrying on of any activity in the nature of trade, commerce or business or any activity of rendering any service in relation to any trade, commerce or business for any fees or other consideration. The Finance Bill 2010 has attempted to provide some relief with retrospective effect from the 1st day of April, 2009 by exempting the aggregate value of the receipts from such activities up to ten lakh rupees;
- A small amendment has been proposed in sub-section (3) of section 12AA of the Income Tax Act such that the Commissioner, if satisfied that the activities of a trust or institution "which has obtained registration at any time under section 12A [as it stood before its amendment by the Finance (No. 2) Act, 1996]"are not genuine or are not being carried out in accordance with the objects of the trust or institution, as the case may be, he shall pass an order in writing canceling the registration of such trust or institution.
- In section 35(1) it is proposed that the words "scientific research association" be changed to just "research association" and that the tax deduction allowed under this section be enhanced from "one and one-fourth" to "one and three-fourth"
- The service tax continues to be retained at 10 per cent to pave the way for GST. However, certain services, hitherto untaxed, are expected to be brought within the purview of the service tax levy. These new services will be notified separately
United States
February 2010
Supreme Court Hears Arguments in Important Freedom of Association and Expression Case
The Humanitarian Law Project and its president, Ralph Fertig, a retired United States administrative law judge, want to provide training in peaceful dispute resolution to the Kurdistan Workers' Party,
which has waged a separatist guerrilla campaign against the Turkish government, and to advise the group on how to petition the United Nations and other international organizations for relief. They
were prevented from doing so under sections 302 and 303 of the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act ("AEDPA") and its 2004 amendment, the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act ("IRTPA").
The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, in Holder v. Humanitarian Law Project, rejected
the broadest challenges to the law but ruled that some of its provisions - making it illegal to provide "training,"
"expert advice or assistance" or "service" - are unconstitutionally vague. That ruling improved the law, but there is room for improvement. Lawyers for the plaintiffs argue that it is still so broad that it could encompass
anything from publishing an opinion piece written by a spokesman for a terrorist group to filing a friend-of-the-court brief in support of L.T.T.E. in this lawsuit.
United States
January 2010
Karla Simon paper published
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Karla Simon's article on the new legal framework for civil society organizations in Japan has been published as the lead article in the Journal of Japanese Law.
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Iraq
January 2010
New NGO Legislation Passes Parliament
ICNL announced the passage of a new Law on Non-Governmental Organizations for the Republic of Iraq. The new law, which awaits the final signature of Iraqi President Jalal Talabani,
will replace Coalition Provisional Authority Order Number 45. According to ICNL’s analysis the new Law on Non-Governmental Organizations is a significant improvement upon both CPA
Order 45 as well as the draft law first introduced in the Iraqi parliament in March 2009. ICNL has produced a table that summarizes several of the most important provisions.
This is available at http://www.icnl.org/knowledge/news/2010/01-25.htm
Euro-Mediterranean Region
January 2010
Survey on Freedom of Association Published
The Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Network (EMHRN) has published its third survey on Freedom of Association in that region.
The premise of the survey of the state of freedom of association in the Euro-Mediterranean region is that freedom of association constitutes a
right that is absolutely essential, along with freedom of expression, to the exercise of virtually every other civil and political right, and to the
advancement of economic, social and cultural rights. The Survey reports that the period since the last EMHRN survey, in December 2008,
has seen little or no improvement in the state of freedom of association in any country in the Euro-Mediterranean region, and in some
respects continued deterioration of the ability to exercise this right. In virtually every country covered, there are thousands of associations,
a great many of them charitable in nature, and for the most part these organizations do not experience problems with the authorities unless they are
affiliated, or suspected of being affiliated, with opposition political movements. The hand of the government as a general rule is heaviest, in terms of legal
restrictions and official harassment, when it comes to human rights organizations as well as other groups advocating for changes that can affect the exercise
of political power, including the power of security services.
Past News Items from 2009
Philippines
December 2009
A Legal Matrix for Civil Society in the Republic of the Philippines has been added to the Documentation Center.
China
December 2009
Clarifications Issued on Tax Exempt Income for NPOs and Donor Deductibility of Charitable Gifts
The Ministry of Finance (MoF) and the State Administration of Taxation (SAT) issued two circulars in November to clarify the tax treatment of CSOs/NPOs and to provide rules for donors to them. Both circulars are retroactive to January 1, 2008, the effective date of China’s new Enterprise Income Tax Law. With respect to the former, Circular [Caishui] 122 says that exempt items include gifts, state subsidies, membership fees, interest on bank accounts, and other income as determined by the MoF and the SAT. The second Circular [Caishui] 123 describes the procedures whereby CSOs/NPOs seeking to qualify themselves as appropriate donees of tax deductible contributions can do so. It also describes attributes of such NPOs, including rules putting into effect the non-distribution constraint. The latter is a reissuance of a Circular first issued in 2007, which is described in detail in Karla W. Simon, Regulation of Civil Society Organizations in China: Necessary Changes after the Olympic Games and the Sichuan Earthquake, and which was re-published in IJCSL. The translated texts of the circular on income tax exemption (122) as well as the one on eligibility for tax deductibility of donations (123) are available in Documentation Center.
United States
November 2009
Visit of Chinese Delegation to ICCSL
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ICCSL hosted a Chinese delegation to the United States, comprised of government officials and CSO leaders.
The aim of the delegation was to discuss the role of civil society in environmental protection. Our discussions also ranged over a number
of civil society issues, including new developments with regard to the documentation system for a local entity to begin work for public benefit and the proposed charity law.
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Philippines
November 2009
Philippines Study Tour Completed in November
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The third and final Study Tour conducted by ICCSL for the Aga Khan Development Network involved delegations of Pakistanis and Afghanis.
Under the leadership of Dr. Leon Irish of ICCSL and Mr. Richard Holloway of AKDN, the group was hosted in Manila by
CODE-NGO, a Philippines NGO network,
which is really a network of networks. CODE put together a wonderful and extremely illuminating Study Tour, which is described in more detail here.
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Russia
November 2009
Incentives for Charities Promised by Medvedev
The New York Times reports that President Dmitri A. Medvedev has called for tax incentives and other measures to assist Russia’s beleaguered nonprofit groups, which have come under government pressure in recent years. Mr. Medvedev, promoting policies that he hopes will modernize the country, said in a meeting with human rights advocates that new laws would not alleviate all the problems the groups faced, but that they would certainly help. “Our main goal is the support of the authority of nonprofit groups in society, and the attraction to this sector of more talented people and philanthropic resources,” Mr. Medvedev said. “We need to stimulate philanthropy and create a stimulus or a motivation for volunteers who toil for such organizations.” The government has sought in recent years to establish more control over nonprofit groups, especially those that receive foreign assistance. Mr. Medvedev’s mentor, Prime Minister Vladimir V. Putin, the former president, has at times portrayed the groups as little more than tools that the West uses to meddle in Russia’s affairs. Under Mr. Putin, the groups were subjected to new regulations, as well as increased scrutiny that they have sometimes characterized as harassment. Charities and other nonprofit groups have also not prospered in Russia because there is less of a tradition of giving here. In Soviet times, the Communist Party was supposed to take care of societal needs, so a philanthropic sector barely existed. And current tax regulations do not encourage charitable donations or charitable activity, as they do in many countries, including the United States.
India
November 2009
Greater Scrutiny of NPO Financial Activities Announced
Non-profit organizations (NPOs), whether registered as charitable trusts, temples, churches or mosques, NGOs, educational institutions or societies, etc.
will not only have to disclose the sources of their funds, but also will be scrutinized for large monetary transactions. This change in the law has been introduced
by an amendment to the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) 2002,
notified in the Official Gazette on November 12, 2009 to bring NPOs within the purview
of the law. Earlier, the entities that fell under the ambit of the law included only fund companies, banking companies, financial institutions, and housing finance companies.
The amendment now says any company registered under section 25 of the Indian Companies Act, 1956, and/or as a trust or society under the Societies Act, 1860, or
any similar state legislation, will be brought within the purview of PMLA. "Money laundering in India was rampant through NGOs and charitable trusts. The majority of
industrialists and even some top politicians were using NGOs to launder their black money back into the country. The amendment would prove an effective tool in the
hands of authorities and would take the veil off the racket," said Mumbai-based lawyer Bhushan Bahal.
Europe
November 2009
Ruling Against Crucifixes in Classrooms Generates Discussion and Dismay
Italy has reacted furiously after the European Court of Human Rights ruled in Lautsi v. Italy that crucifixes should not be displayed in the country’s schools, reports the Telegraph.
The Vatican expressed "astonishment" and "regret" about the decision. The landmark judgment could force a Europe-wide review of the use of religious symbols in state-run schools. A chamber panel of seven judges in Strasbourg said the display of crucifixes, which is common but not mandatory in Italian schools, violated the principle of secular education and might be "disturbing" for children from other faiths. It upheld a complaint filed by Soile Lautsi, a Finnish woman with Italian citizenship, who complained that her children had to attend a state school in northern Italy which had crucifixes in every classroom. The court awarded her 5,000 euros (£4,470) in "moral damages," which will have to be paid by the Italian government. The court stopped short of ordering authorities to remove crucifixes from all state-run schools and the long-term implications of the ruling were unclear. Italy says it will appeal to a Grand Chamber.
International
October 2009
On October 28, 2009, a program on "Trends & Recent Developments in Regulating Non-Governmental Organizations" was held at the American Bar Association International Law Section Meeting. The moderator was Leon Irish of ICCSL and Prof. Karla Simon was one of the speakers. Her slides and further information on the program are available here.
France
October 2009
Scientology Convicted of Fraud by French Court
A French court has convicted the French branch of the Church of Scientology of fraud and fined the organization almost $900,000. However, the court stopped short of granting the prosecution's demand to ban the church entirely. The church said it would appeal. The verdict was among the most important in several years to involve the group, which is registered as a religion in the United States but has no similar legal protection in France where it is considered a sect. The court decision marks the first time that the church itself -- and not individual church members -- had been tried and convicted. According to the New York Times, The case was brought by two former members who said they were pushed into paying large sums of money in the 1990s, pressed to sign up for expensive "purification courses" and harassed to buy a variety of vitamins and other forms of pharmaceuticals, plus electronic tests to measure spiritual progress. One woman said she had been pressured into spending more than $30,000. The major fines were rendered against the Scientology Celebrity Center in Paris and a Scientology bookstore. Six group leaders were convicted of fraud, with four given suspended sentences of 10 months to two years. One of them, the group’s leader in France, Alain Rosenberg, was given a two-year suspended sentence and fined $44,700. Two others were given only fines, of $1,490 and $2,980.
England & Wales
October 2009
Charity Commission Decision Overturned by Tribunal
Third Sector reports that the Charity Commission's decision to remove a trustee of a Tamil temple in south London has been overturned by the First-tier Tribunal (Charity).In only its second verdict, the tribunal panel, formerly known as the Charity Tribunal, rejected all seven of the commission's reasons for removing Nagendram Seevaratnam as a trustee of the Sivayogam temple in south London and decided unanimously he should be reinstated immediately. The seven reasons included claims that Seevaratnam had failed to take sufficient steps to dissociate himself and the charity from the Tamil Tigers. The tribunal said that rumors about links had not been in wide circulation and the Commission had failed to show it would be reasonable for anyone to believe them. The tribunal agreed with the commission that Seevaratnam, who declined to give oral evidence, had been a dominant trustee but said that did not constitute misconduct or mismanagement in its own right and arose because of his professional background, language skills and his status in the religious and cultural life of the charity. It accepted that Seevaratnam had shown misconduct and mismanagement in various ways, but disagreed with the commission that his removal was necessary to protect the assets of the charity. The tribunal said it was also “most concerned” to hear that evidence submitted to the commission by Seevaratnam demonstrating he had implemented adequate procedures for selecting and monitoring recipients of funding in Sri Lanka had not even been translated. A spokeswoman for the commission said the regulator would respond fully to the findings once it had had time to consider the judgment in detail.
Australia
October 2009
The Tax Laws Amendment (2009 Measures No 4) Bill 2009 has passed the Australian Senate and is now awaiting royal assent. The Assistant Treasurer has issued a media release regarding the amendments in the Bill - see No. 049 Important philanthropic tax law reforms pass through parliament. The Bill amends the tax law to improve the integrity of prescribed private funds (PPFs). The amendments among other things:
- rename PPFs as private ancillary funds (PAFs)
- move the full administration of those funds under the authority of the Commissioner of Taxation (the Commissioner)
- allow the Commissioner to endorse PAFs as deductible gift recipients (DGRs)
- give the Treasurer the power to make legislative guidelines about the establishment and maintenance of PAFs
- give the Commissioner the power to impose administrative penalties on trustees that fail to comply with the guidelines and to remove or suspend trustees of non-complying funds.
The Government of Australia has now published the Private Ancillary Fund Guidelines 2009, which are effective from 1 October 2009. They set minimum standards for the governance and conduct of a private ancillary fund and its trustee.
Russia
October 2009
Restrictions on Registration for Religious Organizations not in Russia for Fifteen Years Struck Down by European Court of Human Rights
In a case of great importance, the European Court of Human Rights ruled unanimously in favor of two Scientology religious groups in Russia (European Court of Human Rights: Case # 7683601 and 32782/03), finding that they have the right to be registered as religious organizations under Russian law. This decision determines that members of the Church of Scientology of Surgut and the Church of Scientology of Nizhnekamsk have the right to religious freedom and freedom of association pursuant to Articles 9 and 11 of the European Human Rights Convention. In 1997, the Russian government passed laws preventing religious organizations from forming legally unless they could prove they had been in existence in their respective state(s) for 15 years. Such a law obviously discriminates against religions not established in a state for 15 years and has now been ruled as unlawful by the European Court of Human Rights. In reaching this decision, the Court "established that the applicants were unable to obtain recognition and effective enjoyment of their rights to freedom of religion and association in any organizational form. The first applicant could not obtain registration of the Scientology group as a non-religious legal entity because it was considered to be a religious community by the Russian authorities. The applications for registration as a religious organization submitted by the first and second applicants as founders of their respective groups ... were denied by reference to the insufficient period of the groups’ existence. Finally, the restricted status of a religious group for which they qualified ... conveyed no practical or effective benefits to them as such a group was deprived of legal personality, property rights and the legal capacity to protect the interests of its members and was also severely hampered in the fundamental aspects of its religious functions. Accordingly, the Court finds that there has been an interference with the applicants’ rights under Article 9 interpreted in the light of Article 11."
China
September 2009
Study on Outsourcing Released on World Bank Website
The World Bank has released the study conducted by ICCSL entitled "Outsourcing Social Services to CSOs: Lessons from Abroad." It is available here. The study involved a collaboration between Dr. Irish and Prof. Simon of ICCSL and Dr. Lester Salamon of Johns Hopkins University. The report was completed in June, 2009.
England & Wales
September 2009
CIO Consultation Report Published
Publication of the joint Cabinet Office/Charity Commission
response to
the consultation on the
Charitable Incorporated Organization (CIO), a new legal form for charities, was announced September 17, 2009.
The CIO is the first incorporated legal form designed specifically with the needs of charities in mind. The CIO
will be available only to charities and will add to the existing range of forms that charities can use. Responding
to the consultation on how the CIO will work, the Government and the Charity Commission have agreed to make a number
of important changes to the initial proposals including:
- ensuring a robust duty of care by removing a proposal that CIO trustees could in some circumstances take less responsibility for their charity’s activities
- tightening up rules on access to personal information in the registers of trustees and members that CIOs will have to maintain, and
- replacing a number of minor criminal offenses for administrative failings with a power for the Charity Commission to direct rectification.
Iraq
September 2009
CSOs Gear Up for Campaign Against Draft Law
The UN’s Programme on Governance in the Arab Region (POGAR) reports that Civil Society Organizations
in Iraq are rejecting a draft law that regulates their work. Citing Al Hayat,
POGAR says that the Iraqi government published in early 2009 a draft law for regulating
the activities of non-governmental organizations. The draft law met wide criticism at that
time because it imposes heavy monitoring on the activities of more than 8500 operating in Iraq.
The Iraqi government ignored all criticisms and referred the draft law to parliament for approval.
The head of the Committee on Civil Society Organizations in the Iraqi parliament, Mrs. Ala Talabani, said
that the draft law is very unfair and that the parliamentary committee wrote down many observations concerning
the draft law that will be discussed in the new legislative session. Mr. Falah Alousi, a member of the "Rafidain Peace"
NGO said that the draft law seeks to put NGOs and human rights organizations under severe supervision by state
agencies, and also aims to interfere in the affairs of civil society organizations. He added that most NGOs have
reservations against article pertaining to funding. The draft law stipulates that before establishing an NGO, the
"Ministry of Civil Society Organizations" must approve the source of funding of that NGO. However, the draft law
did not set criteria for acceptable funding, thereby rendering the Ministry’s approval arbitrary and selective.
On the other hand, a high ranking government official said that the draft law was prepared by the government after
it received information about the lack of organizational structures and work mechanisms of some NGOs; the lack of
experience to build a proper NGO by others; in addition to turning of some NGOs into a personal venture by only
appointing relatives and friends. Still, other NGOs were extensions of political parties and religious, sectarian or
ethnic movements. The official added that many Iraqi NGOs are lacking in democratic practice and their leading bodies
are not chosen through election; many also do not make any initiatives and are poor at the intellectual and practical
levels. On the other hand, many Iraqi civil society organizations are preparing to wage a vast campaign against
the draft law when the parliament’s begins its discussion of the draft law. CIVICUS, the international civil
society organization, has already prepared comments on the draft legislation
, urging that it not be adopted in
its current form.
Zambia
September 2009
Repressive NGO Bill Signed by President
AllAfrica.com reports that Zambian
president Rupiah Banda has signed legislation regulating the operations of civil society, sending shock waves through the sector,
which fears its independence will be severely compromised. Presidential assent means the 2009 NGO Bill, withdrawn in 2007 after
widespread protests by civil society and opposition parties, now only needs gazetting to become legislation that will require
"the registration and co-ordination of NGOs" and can “regulate the work, and the area of work, of NGOs operating in Zambia."
Dickson Jere, a special assistant to the president for press and public relations, confirmed in a statement: "His Excellency the
President Mr Rupiah Banda has assented to 13 Bills, which were recently passed by the National Assembly, including ... the
Non-Governmental Organisations Bill." The new stipulations will compel NGOs to re-register every five years and submit
annual information on their activities, funders, accounts, and the personal wealth of their officials; failure to comply
could result in the suspension or cancellation of registration. On 28 August 2009 civil society organizations held an
emergency meeting in the capital, Lusaka, to plan a response to the looming regulations, which the NGOs have termed "unconstitutional."
"We have already resolved to carry out a peaceful demonstration next week on 4 September 2009 in Lusaka, and there are arrangements
going on so that people in the provinces also carry out the protests. I think the court action [a proposed injunction] is
a definite intervention as well, but we are still talking," an NGO worker, who declined to be identified, told IRIN News Service.
Zambia
September 2009
ICCSL to Assist ABA in Organizing "NGO Law" Task Force
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CUA law students assisting with the project - Thierry Ghatas, Shirley Chim, Laura Dorey, Kristina Hernandez, Jessica Woods, Anna Bristle and Angela Kondowe.
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In order to facilitate the development of comments on the new and proposed "NGO" laws in Zambia
and Iraq by an American Bar Association Task Force, ICCSL is making documents received so far
available on its website. The Task Force is being formed by the International NGOs and NPOs
Committee of the Section of International Law. Members of the Human Rights and Africa
Committees of the International Law Section are also expected to join. Law students at
various law schools will assist with the drafting efforts.
The Comments will be based on a model used previously for comments on
Zimbabwe’s Draft
Changes to the NGO Law (developed by ICCSL). Members of the Task Force will also
consult the book prepared by ICCSL for the Open Society Institute in 2004: Leon Irish,
Robert Kushen & Karla Simon,
Guidelines for
Laws Affecting Civic Organizations.
The new law in Zambia has been passed by the Parliament and signed by the President,
but the comments are designed to assist the NGOs in Zambia in their resistance to
the legislation through court action. Comments by Mandeep Tiwana of CIVICUS are also
available for the Task Force, and CIVICUS has agreed to partner with the ABA and ICCSL
on this and the Iraq project.
The Draft NGO Law in Iraq is still working its way through the Iraqi parliament and has
been severely criticized by local CSOs as violative of their freedom of association.
The Iraqi government, however, evidences concern about a lack of transparency and accountability
of many NGOs working in Iraq. CIVICUS has also provided ICCSL with its comments on the Iraqi Draft.
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Zanzibar
August 2009
Zanzibar's NGO Policy is now available online in the Documentation Center.
China
August 2009
Authorities Release Activists and Withdraw Tax Evasion Charges
The New York Times reported on August 23, 2009 that Chinese authorities
unexpectedly released three political activists from detention on Sunday,
including one whose case had drawn worldwide attention. Officials offered no
reason for the releases, but they occurred one day after the new American ambassador to
China, the former Utah governor Jon M. Huntsman Jr., arrived in Beijing. The government
made it clear it has also suspended criminal tax-evasion charges that were made last week
against one of the freed men, Xu Zhiyong, a well-known public-interest lawyer, that could
result in a prison sentence of seven years were he convicted. “It is difficult to say” whether
the charges against him remain intact, Mr. Xu told The Associated Press after his release. Mr. Xu,
36, and a co-worker, Zhuang Lu, were released more than three weeks after they were seized in their
homes on July 29. The other activist released published a Uighur website that has remained closed.
India
August 2009
New Direct Taxes Code 2009 to Affect Charities and Nonprofit Organizations
First, in terms of the definition of charitable purposes, the Code replaces the term "charitable purpose" with the term "permitted welfare activities."
"Permitted welfare activities" has been defined to mean any activity involving relief of the poor, advancement of education, provision of medical relief,
preservation of environment, preservation of monuments or places or objects of artistic or historic interest and the advancement of any other object of
general public utility. The scope of Section 2 (15) of the Income Tax Act has been broadened. Prior to this amendment, "Charitable purpose" included:
"relief of the poor, education, medical relief and the advancement of any other object of general public utility." Finance (No.2) Act 2009 has now added:
"preservation of the environment (including watersheds, forests and wildlife) and preservation of monuments or places or objects of artistic or historic
interest." Advancement of any other object of general public utility will not include any activity in the nature of trade, commerce or business, or any
activity of rendering any service in relation to any trade, commerce or business, for a fee or for any other consideration, irrespective of the nature of
use, application or retention of the income from such activity. The finance ministry has uploaded on its website (www.finmin.nic.in) the draft Direct Taxes
Code, a discussion paper, a comment on the code, and a place for people to respond to it.
Second, in terms of the calculation of taxes for nonprofit organizations, Chapter IV of the draft Direct Taxes Code contains "Special Provisions Relating
to Computation of Total Income of Non-profit Organisations." Some of the important features of this chapter are as follows:
- The new regime will uniformly apply to all non-profit organizations irrespective of the nature of their activities.
- An organization will be treated as a non-profit organization if:
- It is established for the benefit of the general public;
- It is established for carrying on permitted welfare activities;
- It is not established for the benefit of any particular caste;
- It is not established for the benefit of any of its members;
- It actually carries on the permitted welfare activities during the financial year and the beneficiaries of the activities are the general public;
- It does not intend to apply its surplus or other income or use its assets or incur expenditure, directly or indirectly, for the benefit of any interested person;
- Any expenditure by the organization does not inure, directly or indirectly, for the benefit of any interested person;
- The funds or assets of the organization are not used or applied, or deemed to have been used or applied, directly or indirectly, for the benefit of any interested person;
- The surplus, if any, accruing from its permitted activities does not inure, directly or indirectly, for the benefit of any interested person;
- The funds or the assets of the non-profit organization are not invested or held in any associate concern or in any prescribed form or mode;
- It maintains such books of account and in such manner, as may be prescribed;
- It obtains a report of audit in the prescribed form from an accountant before the due date of filing of the return in respect of:
The accounts of the business, if any, carried on by it;
(B) The accounts relating to the permitted welfare activities; and
- It is registered with the Income-tax Department as required by the Code.
There are also complex rules for the computation of income of non-profit organizations; the generally applicable tax rate is 15%. Surprisingly, the gross receipts to be taken into account include contributions, unless they are designated as being made to the endowment. In addition, passive investment income is included. On the other hand, the amounts paid out to carry out “permitted welfare activities” or capital expenditures for such purposes are deductible from gross receipts in order to arrive at the income of an organization.
United States
August 2009
Prof. Karla Simon has become a Contributing Editor of the Nonprofit Law Prof. Blog, blogging principally on international issues.
Poland
July 2009
Study Tour to Poland Completed
  
From July 27 to July 31, 2009 Dr. Leon Irish conducted the second of four study tours for the Aga Khan Foundation.
On this one, he led teams from Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan to Poland, to study the developments with regard to the enabling
environment for civil society in that country. The host organization was the Foundation for the Development of Polish
Agriculture, one of the oldest post-Communist CSOs in Poland, having been founded in 1988.
South Africa
July 2009
Study Tour to South Africa Completed in July
 
ICCSL led a Study Tour on behalf of the Aga Kahn Foundation to learn about the enabling environment for
civil society in South Africa and to assess needs and concerns about those legal and fiscal framework issues in
East Africa. The four East African jurisdictions represented - Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zanzibar - each sent
teams of NGO representatives and government officials. Also joining the tour were Grace Isharaza, Regional Rep for the
AKF Civil Society Programme in East Africa, and Ricardo Wyngaard and Peter Hendricks, South African NPO lawyers. Ricardo
was the local facilitator.
More pictures and further description of the tour can be found here.
Zambia
July 2009
Restrictive NGO Legislation Introduced in Parliament
IRIN news service has reported that Zambia joined a growing list of countries seeking to restrict civil society through controversial legislation.
Although one of the stated objectives of the Zambian bill is to enhance the transparency, accountability and performance of NGOs, questions regarding the
motives behind this push by the Movement for Multiparty Democracy (MMD) government, which has held power in the country since 1991, are being raised.
Key provisions of the bill restrict the independence of NGOs and subject them to excessive and unwarranted controls. If the bill becomes law it would empower the Interior Minister to form a 10-member board, comprised of government members and two representatives from civil society, which would "receive, discuss and approve the code of conduct [of NGOs], and ... provide policy guidelines to NGOs for harmonizing their activities to the national development plan of Zambia." A more detailed analysis of the provisions of the bill in Zambia is available here.
Azerbaijan
July 2009
Azerbaijan’s parliament adopted a new law on non-governmental organizations, but eliminated several controversial
amendments that were widely opposed by IFEX members and other international human rights groups,
the Institute for Reporters'
Freedom and Safety (IRFS) and RFE/RL's Azerbaijan Service report. NGOs and international rights groups argued that the amendments would
increase the government's control over civil society and media organizations in Azerbaijan. The rejected proposals would have banned NGOs that
received more than 50 percent of their funding from abroad; required all NGOs to register with the state, or else face a fine of up to 50,000 New Manats
(US$62,200); and prohibited NGOs from operating nationally if they didn't have branches in one-third of Azerbaijan's administrative units. IRFS says
some restrictive amendments remain, such as foreigners with permanent residency in the country not being allowed to found NGOs, foreign NGOs being
prohibited from operating unless their activities are based on a "relevant international contract," and unions having to notify the state of its members and
changes to membership.
England & Wales
July 2009
The Charity Commission has published its "Emerging Findings" on Public Benefit Assessments, required under the 2006 Charities Act.
They are already exceptionally controversial, with many suggesting that the attempt to remove charity status from fee-charging private schools
is "war" by the Commission against them. One of the schools adjudged not to be operating for public benefit, St. Anselm’s, a boarding preparatory
school in Bakewell, Derbyshire, has only 200 pupils. Although it had made attempts to use its facilities to help local schoolchildren, it probably
would have to raise fees in order to provide more bursaries to poorer children. This newest drive by the Charity Commission to improve fairness is said
by the Sunday Times to inevitably involve more discussions at a policy level.
China
June 2009
China Visit June 2009
Prof. Lester Salamon of the Center on Civil Society of Johns Hopkins University joined Prof. Karla Simon of the Columbus School of Law of the Catholic University of America and Dr. Leon Irish, President of ICCSL, in a visit to China in early June. The principal purpose was to have a seminar at the World Bank's Beijing office to discuss the draft report "Outsourcing Social Services to CSOs: Lessons from Abroad," which was prepared for the Ministry of Civil Affairs.
Click here for more details and photos from the 2009 China visit.
Russia
June 2009
Duma Passes New NGO Law
According to BarantsObserver.com, just a week after Russian President Dmitry Medvedev
introduced the re-written law on Russian non-governmental organizations, the law passed
the State Duma in the first reading. BarentsObserver.com wrote last week that the re-written
text to the law could make fewer hurdles for Russian NGOs. The law has more relaxed restrictions
on the civic groups than the legislations introduced by former president Vladimir Putin in 2006.
Voting on the law in the State Duma, Communist party Deputy Sergei Obukhov said President Dmitry Medvedev
had proposed the bill Wednesday to appease Obama, who will visit Russia in early July. "Not everything that
is good for Obama is good for Russia," Obukhov said, according to The Moscow Times. The law passed with a
vote of 391 to 57. Commenting the bill last week, President Medvedev said the number of audits would be reduced
for non-profit organizations to once every three years. The list of documents authorities are allowed to ask for
checks will be restricted, and registration procedures will be simplified.
Canada
June 2009
New Not-for-Profit Corporations Act Passed
On 22 June 2009, the Standing Senate Committee on Banking, Trade and Commerce made its Third Report back to the Senate
and recommended no amendments to
Bill C-4,
the new Canada Not-for-Profit Corporations Act. As a result, Bill C-4 passed its
third reading in the Senate on 23 June 2009 and received royal assent on the same day. The provisions of this new Act though are
not yet in force, and will only come into force on a day or days still to be fixed by order of the Governor in Council. Bill C-4
has been the topic of previous Charity Law Bulletins issued by Carters.ca, with updates on its progress over the years outlined in various
Charity Law Updates. As a result of its recent passage, the new Act represents the first substantive changes in the law governing
federal not-for-profit corporations in over 90 years.
United States
June 2009
ACLU Report Details Undermining of Muslim Charities Since September 11 Attacks
The fight against terrorism has dealt a harsh blow to Muslim charities and interfered with their donors’
religious freedom, a new report by the American Civil Liberties Union concludes. The New York Times story says
that the report details "statutes that it describes as overly broad and enforced in a discriminatory manner, coupled with a lack of
due process, have starved Islamic charities of money and impeded Muslims’ ability to fulfill zakat,
their religious requirement to make charitable donations. The report is based on interviews with more than
100 Muslim community leaders as well as experts on antiterrorism laws and regulations."
Though it gives no estimate of the decline in donations to Muslim groups after the September 11 attacks, the report
notes that nine Islamic charities have closed since then.
Lao PDR
May 2009
International NGOs Welcome New Law Allowing Local NGOs to Register and Operate as Independent Entities
International aid groups have welcomed a decision
by the Lao government to allow local NGOs to register and operate as independent entities for the first time. By November 2009, Lao citizens will
be able to apply to form NGOs after the Decree on Associations was signed by Prime Minister Bouasone Bouphavanh and announced on 11 May 2009.
The decree will be effective within 180 days. Two or more people can now establish a local NGO under the new law, which “provides a guideline
for Lao officials as they consider applications,” a UN statement said. The decree provides a clear legal framework for membership-based groups,
in contrast with a more ad hoc registration process, which often depended on connections. Although international NGOs can do much in the country,
local NGOs were often more attuned to the local culture, as well as needs at the community level, according to Luke Stephens, country director of
the Irish-based NGO Concern Worldwide.
Ethiopia
May 2009
World Bank Extends $540 Million Loan and Says Country Should Ease Regulations on NGOs
Nasdaq reports that
the World Bank extended
$540 million to develop basic services in Ethiopia and stated that the country
should ease its regulations on NGOs. Ethiopia adopted a controversial aid law early this year, under which any local group
drawing more than 10% of its funding from abroad would be classified as foreign and subjected to tight government control.
The classification would effectively ban such associations from working on issues related to ethnicity, gender, children's rights, and conflict resolution. The $540 million is meant for basic services covering education, health, agriculture, water, and road projects under a three-year scheme. The World Bank replaced its former scheme of direct budgetary support to Ethiopia soon after the disputed 2005 parliamentary elections there, which foreign observers said fell short of international standards.
Egypt
May 2009
EOHR Again Subjected to Harassment
On April 27, 2009, the Egyptian Organization for Human Rights (EOHR) received a letter from the Egyptian Ministry of Social Solidarity, Masr-El-Kadima district authority,
in which it was warned that the organization risks to be subjected to closure and dissolution for violating Law of Association No. 84 of 2002 because it had allegedly
received unauthorized foreign funding. The Euro-Mediterranean Organization for Human Rights
reported that the organization suspects that the Ministry’s action was instigated following the regional conference entitled "Information is a right for all," organized in
Cairo jointly
by EOHR and the Centre of Media Freedom in the Middle East and North Africa (CMF MENA), Morocco, on January 27-28, 2009, which focused on freedom of expression, as well
as the right to a free flow of information. Six months prior to the conference EOHR had submitted to the authorities notice of the event as well as a request to receive
funds from its partner institution in Morocco, in order to cover expenses for the conference. However, since no response had been received from relevant authorities
within the time frame as provided by law, the request was deemed implicitly approved and both organizations proceeded with the organization of the event.
Europe
April 2009
ECtHR Decision Guarantees Freedom of Information as Being Encompassed within Freedom of Expression
In a landmark decision on 14 April 2009,
the European Court of Human Rights of the Council of Europe found in
favor of Tarsasag a Szabadsagjogokert, the Hungarian Civil Liberties Union, in
its complaint against the Hungarian government over a submission to the Hungarian Constitutional Court filed by a member of parliament concerning drug policy.
This is the first time the European Court of Human Rights has unanimously recognized that freedom of expression, as mandated by Article 10 of the
European Convention
of Human Rights, also includes the right to information from public bodies. Like the Inter-American Court decision Reyes v. Chile, the European Court of Human Rights
has affirmed that the right to information is essential to free expression. Because the government holds the "information monopoly," according to the Court's decision,
"the law cannot allow arbitrary restrictions which may become a form of indirect censorship."
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United States
March 2009
Prof. Karla W. Simon has published the lead article in the Stein Center/Leitner Center Colloquim papers published in the February 2009 issue of the Fordham International Law Journal. Her article, titled "Regulation of Civil Society in China: Necessary Changes after the Olympic Games and the Sichuan Earthquake" will also appear in the April issue of IJCSL.
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Australia
March 2009
Productivity Commission to Study Contribution of Sector to Australian Society
The Deputy Prime Minister, the Hon Julia Gillard MP, the Assistant Treasurer, the Hon Chris Bowen MP, and the Parliamentary Secretary for Social Inclusion and the Voluntary Sector, Senator the Hon Ursula Stephens, today announced that the Productivity Commission will examine the contribution of the not-for-profit sector to Australian society. The announcement fulfils an election commitment to maximize the sector’s contribution to social inclusion, employment and economic growth, by leveraging off the Productivity Commission’s Study. The Commission has been asked to assess how the not-for-profit sector’s contributions to Australian society are currently measured and whether these measures can be improved. The Government has also asked the Commission to identify ways to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of community organizations, and to consider options for improving the delivery of government-funded services by these organizations. The Commission is required to provide a final report by the end of 2009.
European Union
February 2009
European Court of Justice Rules on Tax Deductions for Cross Border Gifts
The European Court of Justice ("ECJ") ruled that a tax deduction for cross-border gifts is encompassed by the free movement of capital guaranteed by European Community law. Where a body recognized as charitable in one Member State satisfies the requirements imposed for that purpose by the law of another Member State and where its object is the promotion of the very same general public interests, so that it would be likely to be recognized as charitable in the latter Member State, the authorities of the latter Member State cannot deny that body the right to equal treatment for tax deductibility solely on the ground that it is not established in its territory. To view the press release, please click here. To view the Court's decision, please click here.
United States
January 2009
First Freedom Award Recognizes Friend of ICCSL
Brigham Young University law professor, W. Cole Durham, Jr., received the prestigious 2009 International First Freedom Award for extraordinary advocacy of religious freedom. The First Freedom Center recognized Professor Durham on January 15, 2009 in Richmond, Virginia in conjunction with National Religious Freedom Day. Each year, the First Freedom Center recognizes an individual for their work in advancing freedom of conscience and basic human rights for people of all faiths, traditions and cultures.
Cayman Islands
January 2009
The Law Reform Commission has proposed new legislation that would establish a Charities Commission to regulate charities as well as implement Recommendation VIII of the Financial Action Task Force on Nonprofit Organizations. The Bill and the Discussion Paper are available in the Documentation Center.
Ethiopia
January 2009
Repressive CSO Law Adopted
UNHCR and Amnesty International reported that the Ethiopian parliament adopted a potentially repressive new law which could criminalise the human rights activities of both foreign and domestic non-governmental organizations (NGOs). The Charities and Societies Proclamation law (CSO law) is designed to strictly control and monitor civil society in an atmosphere of intolerance of the work of human rights defenders and civil society organisations. The law has not been translated into English, but previous drafts of the CSO law imposed strict government controls and harsh criminal penalties on NGOs. The final text of the law is not expected to substantially differ. The Ethiopian government claims the CSO law addresses perceived inadequacies in the existing legal regime, promotes financial transparency and accountability, and provides “proper” administration and regulation of civil society. But it goes far beyond what should be necessary to legalize NGO standards.
China
January 2009
Developments in the Charter 08 Movement
In December 2008, on the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, more than 300 Chinese intellectuals and human rights activists issued
"Charter 08," a document calling for more democracy in China. Based on Charter
77, issued in 1977 in Czechoslovakia, the document now has over 700 signers,
including Beijing University Professor He Weifeng and members of the prestigious Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. The publication of Charter 08 has been
met with considerable consternation by China's power elite, with some sources
reporting that Hu Jintao has himself taken charge of efforts to stamp out the
movement behind it. The document calls for an independent legal system, freedom of association, human rights protection generally, equality of peoples, and
a republican form of government. In response to CPC pressures, it has now
been reported that
the party organization at Beijing University Law School has moved against Charter 08 and urged students to refrain from being involved with the movement.
Past News Items from 2008
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China
December 2008
China's president Hu Jintao met honorees at the China National Charity Conference, held in Beijing in December 2008.
For more information on the conference and an additional photo, please go to News Archives.
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Japan
December 2008
The new legal framework for Japan’s civil society organizations went into effect On December 1. It replaces the old and outdated Civil Code system for public
benefit associations and foundations with a new system, including a national level "charity commission." For discussions of the new system, please read the
articles by Tatsuo Ohta and Morihisa Miyakawa in IJCSL.
Latin America
November 2008
Latin America - Due Process of Law Foundation (DPLF) Publishes Report on Situation of Victims after Transitional Justice Processes in Guatemala and Chile
Even though criminal prosecutions and reparation programs have been implemented in a number of Latin American countries to
address grave human rights violations, very little has been done to evaluate their effectiveness. In fact, in some of these
countries, it has been a couple of decades since these violations took place and the first responses to the calls for justice were taken.
Nevertheless, there is a noticeable scarcity of studies --focused on the victims-- that measure how and if these programs have met the victims'
needs and expectations. For this reason, DPLF organized in late 2007 a meeting to explore what would need to be done to study this issue and promote
a dialogue by bringing together experts on transitional justice and reparations mechanisms to discuss the current conditions of the victims in selected
countries. Preliminary conclusions and recommendations for future study arrived at during this meeting are now available in
a published report in Spanish.
Ethiopia
October 2008
The Ethiopian government has submitted the controversial draft legislation for Civil Society Organizations (CSO law) to the parliament.
The draft has been strongly criticized as a document that criminalizes human rights activity of non-governmental organizations and seriously
undermines civil society groups in Ethiopia. While the government claims that the CSO law is to strengthen democratic institutions and ensure
constitutional rights of citizens, Human Rights Watch (HRW) warns that the bill violates both the Ethiopian constitution and several international
agreements, including regional African treaties and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
United States
October 2008
Professor Karla W. Simon and Dr. Leon Irish presented a paper on October 3, 2008 at Fordham Law School. The venue was the China Colloquium sponsored by the
Louis Stein Center for Law & Ethics and the Leitner Center for International Law and Justice. Prof. Simon’s paper – Legal Reforms for Civil Society Organizations
in China after the Olympics and the Sichuan Earthquake – offers a perspective on ways in which the Chinese government can enhance the space for civil society as it seeks
to address social and economic development in the 21st Century. The paper will be published in the January 2009 issue of the Fordham International Law Journal.
China
September 2008
New "Charity and Social Welfare Department" established at MoCA
A new department to promote charity and social welfare was set up on 11 September 2008 under China’s
Ministry of Civil Affairs, reports the People’s Daily, quoting Xinhua. The department will deal with the
welfare lottery, charity activities, donations, and welfare projects for the elderly, disabled and children,
a ministry statement said. The department will also draft rules on volunteer affairs and work on a nationwide
volunteer network. It is also entrusted to make a regulation on running the welfare lottery and managing the
welfare fund raised through the lottery. It will work out plans on how to spend the money on charity programs.
Jordan
September 2008
Controversial Societies Act Published in Official Gazette; May Be Amended.
The Jordan Times reports that civil society representatives and activists said
they were still hopeful that the government will either draft a new NGOs law or amend the controversial 2008 Societies Law, recently endorsed by Parliament and a Royal Decree.
The new Act was published in the Official Gazette on 16 September 2008. Premier Nader Dahabi has said the government is considering amending the controversial law, although it
had already been endorsed by Parliament. "If the government finds there are valid reasons, it will reconsider the 2008 Societies Law," he said during a meeting with
representatives from charity societies. He noted that one of the potential options for the government is to add new amendments to the law and present it to the Lower
House under emergency status. Prior coverage of the legislation can be found in IJCSL-N for
August 2008.
United States
September 2008
Fact Sheets Provide Concise Explanations About How "War on Terror" is Affecting Charitable Activities
On 15 September 2008, the Global Nonprofit Information Network (GNIN) released seven fact sheets to provide information about how the policies of the "War on Terror" have affected charitable activities. GNIN was launched in March 2007 by Urgent Action Fund, Grantmakers Without Borders (GWOB), and OMB Watch to foster information sharing focused on counterterrorism measures affecting the nonprofit sector and global civil society. The fact sheets are available on the GWOB website, and they reflect the analysis in the article on this issue published in the last issue of IJCSL.
United States
July 2008
The Revised Uniform Unincorporated Nonprofit Associations Act was adopted by the Uniform Law Commission at its Annual Meeting in Big Sky, MT in July 2008. ICCSL principals Dr. Leon Irish and Prof. Karla Simon participated in the Drafting Team as representatives of the ABA Section of International Law.
Global
July 2008
Charity Law and Social Policy Released by Springer
Springer has recently released Charity Law and Social Policy, by Kerry O’Halloran, Myles McGreogor-Lowndes, and Karla W. Simon, which appraises the factors to be taken into account in aligning charity law with social policy in six common law jurisdictions.
The aim of the book is to assess ways in which the law can facilitate the environment for appropriate charitable activity to meet important social policy concerns, such as alleviating poverty, addressing health care needs, eliminating racial and other discrimination, and meeting other needs of under-resourced and under-represented communities.
Turkey
July 2008
Turkey’s Constitutional Court decided on 30 July 2008 not to ban the ruling Justice and Freedom Party AKP,
which had been accused of undermining the country’s secular system. But the judges did cut half the AKP’s treasury funding for 2008.
The AKP, which won a huge poll victory in 2007, denies it wants to create an Islamist state by stealth. It called the case an attack on democracy.
The powerful military, on the other hand, sees itself as the guardian of the modern secular state founded by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. The Court President,
Hasim Kilic, said the financial sanctions imposed on the AKP were a "serious warning" to it. It is also relevant that the Court was deeply split, with six
judges favoring the ban. Seven would have been needed to uphold it.
Zimbabwe
June 2008
New Update June 27
The Standard reported on 22 June that war veterans and Zanu PF youth militia continue to block relief agencies and HIV and
Aids service organizations from accessing areas in dire need of aid in rural and peri-urban areas. This is despite recent assurances
from the government that the NGOs could resume their humanitarian operations, the national association of NGOs has said. The government
three weeks ago suspended all NGO licenses, accusing them of being conduits of foreign interference in Zimbabwe's politics. But there was
an apparent about-turn on the blanket ban last week, with the government announcing that more than 400 organizations working in the HIV/AIDs
sector would be allowed to operate after local and international NGOs protested at the ban. NANGO's spokesperson Fambai Ngirande said it was
still impossible for the organizations to operate.
Turkey
June 2008
Headscarf Availability For Women Attending University Overturned
The Turkish military has been quick to endorse the 5 June 2008 ruling of the country’s Constitutional Court annulling the attempts by the ruling Justice
and Development Party (AKP) to create a legal framework for lifting the ban that currently prevents women wearing headscarves from attending the university.
Reports in the Eurasia Daily Monitor indicate that the Constitutional Court ruled that two constitutional amendments introduced by the AKP were invalid, as they
violated the principle of secularism enshrined in the constitution as one of the unchangeable characteristics of the Turkish Republic. On 9 February 2008 the AKP
had changed Article 10 of the constitution, which guarantees equality before the law irrespective of language, race, color, sex, political opinion, philosophical
belief, religion, or sect, to include a commitment ensuring all citizens equal access to all public services. The government also amended Article 42 on the right to
education to include a phrase preventing anyone from being denied access to education except for a reason openly stated in law. For prior coverage, see the February
2008 issue of IJCSL-N.
Zimbabwe
June 2008
Clarification Issued on Suspension Order For NGOS/PVOS
The Government of Zimbabwe wrote on 13 June 2008 to all NGOs/PVOs to give clarification on the order to suspend the field operations of all NGOs/PVOs.
In a press release on its website, NANGO, the National Association
of NGOs, states that according to the letter of clarification from the Acting Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare,
Sidney Mhishi, the suspension of field operations on 7 June 2008 does not imply banning or deregistration of PVOs/NGOs. This latest communiqué from the government
appears to contradict the position stated by the Deputy Minister of Information, Bright Matonga, which was carried in the government’s official newspaper, The Herald,
of 7 June 2008. The statement published there had indicated that government had suspended all licenses of NGOs and would require them to re-apply for re-registration.
The clarification notice indicates that the only issue at stake is PVOs/NGOs engaging in political activities.
China
May 2008
Major corporate and individual donors who made significant contributions to the May 12, 2008 Sichuan Earthquake relief efforts were honored at the conference.
Law makers are working with professionals, major not-for-profit organization leaders and volunteers to issue new laws in order to encourage charitable donations
and to develop a healthy charitable system in China.
United States
May 2008
Vermont Legislation on L3C's Becomes Effective At End Of May
Vermont has recently become the first state in the nation to enact a statute permitting a new form of organization: the low-profit limited liability company ("L3C").
This form of organization is intended to blend elements of for-profit and nonprofit corporations. The entity can produce some profits, but must have a purpose to pursue
social benefits. The statute's supporters noted it would be particularly useful as a form of organization for an entity wishing to signal to private foundations that it
would be an appropriate recipient of program-related investments. As entities may form in any state, now that the L3C is available in Vermont, organizations across the
country may choose to try this new organizational structure. Of course, using the L3C form may still be risky for many charities, as questions still remain about how the
IRS will regard the L3C.
China
May 2008
New Open Government Regulations Become Effective
In a move that Chinese officials claim is intended to combat corruption, increase public oversight and participation in government, and allow citizens access to government-held information,
the State Council on April 5, 2007, issued the first national Regulations on Open Government Information (OGI Regulation), which took effect May 1, 2008. Implementation begins at a time
when the need for greater transparency in the areas of environmental health, land disputes, disease, and food, drug, and product safety has become apparent. The time lag between issue and
effective date provided citizens and government departments a one-year preparatory period.
For more information on the development, please visit the Congressional-Executive Commission on China website.
England and Wales
May 2008
The Charity Commission has published the 2008 Charity Commission Study into Public Trust and Confidence in Charities. This is based on independent research conducted by Ipsos MORI which shows there has been an increase in public trust and confidence since the research was last undertaken in 2005. The research looks at what drives public trust and confidence, and includes research on the percentage of people that give money, goods or time to charities, and what people's perception of charities is. The Commission has also produced some initial analysis of issues that the research raises.
Download a pdf copy of the report with an executive summary, the Commission’s initial analysis and its press release.
United States
May 2008
New Model Nonprofit Corporations Act Exposure Draft
There is a June 1, 2008, deadline for comments on the ABA Business Law Section’s January 2008 Exposure Draft of the revised Model Nonprofit Corporations Act.
The exposure draft is available on the ABA website: Part 1 and Part 2. The Task Force will meet on June 14 to review and discuss comments, and will thereafter produce
a final version that, upon review and approval by Committee Leadership, will be posted to the Committee website on or before July 31.
India
April 2008
BUDGET TO AMEND DEFINITION OF "CHARITABLE PURPOSE"
In the amendments to the Income Tax Act proposed in the 2008-09 Budget by the Government of India,
the Finance Minister seeks to amend the definition of charitable purpose to "exclude entities carrying on regular trade,
commerce or business or providing services in relation to any trade, commerce or business and earning incomes from claiming
that their purposes also fall under 'charitable purpose.' Genuine charitable organizations [are] not to be affected in any way."
This means that the proposed amendment will not affect organizations involved in activities such as relief of the poor, medical relief,
and education. A more technical explanation of the proposed amendment can be found in the Documentation Center.
North America
April 2008
ICCSL renewed its partnership with the University of Bologna in April, 2008
Dr. Leon Irish and Prof. Karla Simon taught the Comparative Civil Society Law for the Master in International Studies in Philanthropy (MISP) Program at the University of Bologna in April, 2008.
United States
April 2008
April 14, 2008: Broken Trust author speaks at Catholic University
Prof. Randall Roth of the University of Hawai’i’s Richardson School of Law spoke at the Catholic University of America's
Columbus School of Law on April 14 at 2 PM. He discussed his book "Broken Trust," which was reviewed in the July 2007 issue of IJCSL. For more details, please contact Prof. Karla W. Simon.
England and Wales
March 2008
A tribunal allowing charities to challenge decisions made by the sector regulator has opened. The Tribunals Service will administer the appeals.
The Charity Tribunal, which were created under the Charities Act 2006, are designed to be informal, independent and provide a free way for appeals to
be taken, according to the government news network press release.
Carry-over onto the news page Before the launch of this service, charities in England and Wales had to go through the High Court to dispute decisions.
The President of the Tribunals Service will be supported by five legal members and seven non-legal members. They are currently being recruited by the
Judicial Appointments Commission for appointment by the Lord Chancellor. The Tribunals Service expects legal members to be in place in the spring and
the latter in the summer.
More about the Charity Tribunal and the Rules applicable to it is available on the Tribunals Service website.
Ethiopia
March 2008
 After a long two years and five months in prison, the two Ethiopian anti-poverty campaigners Daniel Bekele and Netsanet Demissie were released from prison on 28 March 2008. Daniel and Netsanet were the last two people who remained detained in the high profile treason trial that originally charged 131 journalists, politicians, and civil society leaders with a range of charges from genocide to treason. They were among thousands who were detained following protests accusing the government of rigging the 15 May 2005 parliamentary elections. Daniel, who is a Board member of ACCSL, has now been returned to his family. ICCSL and ACCSL, along with their many partners such as ActionAid, CIVICUS, etc., welcome the release of Daniel and Netsanet.
North America
March 2008
On March 14 and 15, 2008, Dr. Leon Irish and Prof. Karla Simon attended the meetings of the Uniform Law Commission (formerly NCCUSL)
on the Harmonization of the Unincorporated Nonprofit Associations (UNA) project. They were representing the International Law Section of
the ABA. This project, which will produce a draft Unincorporated Nonprofit Association Act for the United States, consists of members from the
Uniform Law Conference of Canada (ULCC) and the Mexican Center on Uniform Law.
Pictures from the event are available in the Photo Gallery.
North America
March 2008
New Hampshire Supreme Court Upholds Charitable Status for Artist Colony in Face of Private Benefit Challenge
In an interesting state law opinion relating to the federal "public benefit" doctrine,
the New Hampshire Supreme Court concluded in Peterborough v. MacDowell Colony, Inc.
(Download Peterborough.pdf) that an organization that operated an Artist Colony in
Peterborough was entitled to state tax exemption as a charitable organization.
United Nations
Arab Charter on Human Rights Enters into Force
United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour issued the following statement on 24 January:
"In this celebratory year of the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, I welcome the 7th ratification required to bring the Arab Charter on Human Rights into force….Regional systems of promotion and protection can further help strengthen the enjoyment of human rights, and the Arab Charter on Human Rights is an important step forward in this direction.
The next vital step will be to ensure that the body that will monitor the Charter, the Arab Committee for Human Rights, is independent and properly resourced so as to be effective and efficient. The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights is committed and stands ready to support the States Parties to the Charter in ensuring that core values of human rights are upheld."
England and Wales
January 2008
The Charity Commission for England and Wales has published its new guidance on the meaning of public benefit under the Charities Act 2006.
Entitled "Charities and Public Benefit," the guidance addresses "what charity trustees should consider in order to show that their charity’s aims are for the public benefit."
Past News Items from 2007
Ethiopia
December 2007
Daniel Bekele and Netsanet Demissie Convicted and Sentenced; May Soon be Paroled
An ActionAid International Press Release for 26 December 2007, states that the anti-poverty campaigners Daniel Bekele and Netsanet Demissie, detained in Ethiopia in 2005 and convicted on 24 December, after a two-year trial, were given prison sentences of two and a half years each. Since they have already spent more than two years in detention, there is a strong possibility that they will be freed on parole in the next few days. In an unusual move, the sentencing judge praised both men for their work to solve the political impasse that followed the 2005 elections and described them as “courageous citizens promoting peace and the rule of law.”
China
December 2007
The implementation regulations for the Enterprise Income Tax were published on December 6, 2007 by the State Administration of Taxation. The unofficial translation of Articles 51-53, relating to the qualifications for the deductibility of "charitable donation expenditures" are found in the Price Waterhouse Coopers unofficial translation of the Implementation Regulations.
Further analysis of the implementation regulations and other developments in China will be found in the upcoming issues of the IJCSL-Newsletter and IJCSL.
Ethiopia
December 2007
Ethiopian anti-poverty activists Daniel Bekele and Netsanet Demissie will remain in prison for at least two more weeks. Judges in Ethiopia’s High Court delayed their verdict for the third time in two months, postponing it until 24 December 2007. In delaying the verdict, the court announced that one of the judges is ill and must be replaced. The postponement is to allow the replacement judge to familiarize himself with the case.
United States
November 12, 2007
Removing Obstacles for International Philanthropy
Prof. Karla Simon spoke at a conference on "Removing Obstacles for International Philanthropy" to be held at the University of Utrecht (Netherlands) on November 12, 2007. Information on the event and other speakers can be found at here.
The slide presentation is available here.
Ethiopia
October 2007
Anti-poverty activists Daniel Bekele and Netsanet Demissie heard on 9 October 2007 that they must remain in prison for at least another six weeks, as judges in Ethiopia's Federal High Court delayed the verdict until 22 November 2007, bringing their total detention to over two years. Both activists are recognised by Amnesty International as prisoners of conscience. In delaying the verdict, the judges explained that the prosecution had submitted closing statements to the court one month later than expected, not allowing the judges adequate time to make a decision.
Germany
October 2007
The October Newsletter of the Maecenata Institut announced that on 21 September 2007 the German Bundesrat (Upper House of Parliament) concluded its consideration of the "Law for Further Strengthening of Civic Participation."
The Institut's analysis of the law is available along with the full text of the law (in German.)
The new legislation, which makes many changes in tax privileges, including increasing the statutory limit on deductible donations from 5 % or 10% to 20% for all public benefit organizations, is effective from 1 January 2007.
United States
September 2007
IRS Investigation of Church "Electioneering" Concluded
On 10 September 2007, All Saints Episcopal Church in Pasadena, CA learned that the IRS investigation of its tax exempt status was ended. It received a letter from the IRS that simultaneously closed the dormant examination-without challenge to the Church's tax-exempt status and without the audit ever actually taking place -and concluded without explanation that the sermon in question constituted intervention in the 2004 Presidential election. This has left the Church in an unsettled position, and it has asked that the IRS be investigated. More information is available on the Church's website.
Peru
September 2007
Peru's Constitutional Court Rules Portions of "NGO Law" Unconstitutional
In an opinion rendered on August 29, 2007 and published on the website of the Constitutional Court in September, the Constitutional Court of Peru has held unconstitutional in part the Law on NGOs or ONGs (Ley No. 28875, creating the Agencia Peruana de Cooperación Internacional (APCI) -- "On creation of a national system of centralized cooperation" ). The law would have required that NGOs register with the APCI to be able to carry out projects within Peru. The constitutional challenge was brought by Luis Miguel Sirumbal Ramos and 8,438 citizens and members of Congress.
United Nations
September 17, 2007
On 13 September 2007, the UN General Assembly adopted a landmark declaration outlining the rights of the world's estimated 370 million indigenous people and outlawing discrimination against them - a move that followed more than two decades of debate. The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples has been approved after 143 Member States voted in favor, 11 abstained and four - Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United States - voted against the text. A non-binding text, the Declaration sets out the individual and collective rights of indigenous peoples, as well as their rights to culture, identity, language, employment, health, education and other issues.
Europe-China
September 2007
ICCSL has joined the European China Law Studies Association (ECLS), and members of the Board attended the first Conference of ECLS, which was held at the Max Planck Institut for Private International Law in Hamburg, Germany on August 31 and September 1, 2007. Issues discussed included research about the role of civil society and human rights in China's current development and problems faced by researchers from outside China. Participants came from many European countries, China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong, and included, in addition to ICCSL's representatives, two other people from the United States. These were Prof. Benjamin Leibman of Columbia University, who conducts research and writing on China's court system, and Randy Peerenboom, who has written CHINA'S LONG MARCH TO THE RULE OF LAW, a definitive text on recent rule of law developments in China.
Ethiopia
August 2007
Further Detention of Activists
On 3 August 2007 ActionAid announced that Daniel Bekele policy manager of ActionAid Ethiopia, and Netsanet Demissie, general manager of the Organization for Social Justice in Ethiopia, will now spend two more months in prison awaiting the verdict, while the court takes its annual recess.
A day earlier Daniel and Netsanet concluded their defense, after calling 29 witnesses and presenting 300 pages of documentary evidence. The prosecutors asked for time to consider the verbal and written evidence before presenting their concluding remarks. The judges agreed and said that the prosecutors must present a final written submission by 26 August and the defense should respond in writing by 31 August. The court will reconvene on 8 October, at the beginning of the new legal year, to give judgment.
Ramesh Singh, chief executive of ActionAid said: "This further delay comes as a big disappointment when we were so near to the end of the process."
Russia
August 2007
Supreme Court Upholds Political Party Ban
A report published in the New York Times for 8 August 2007 indicates that the Supreme Court of Russia upheld the Moscow City Court's ban of the National Bolshevik Party as an extremist organization. The small fringe party has gained notoriety for its vocal and theatrical antigovernment demonstrations. The group's leader, the writer Eduard Limonov, said in a telephone interview that he did not expect the latest ruling to affect its activities, including participation in the Other Russia coalition, a loose movement of anti-Kremlin forces that includes the former chess champion Garry Kasparov. "They will not shut us up," Mr. Limonov said. "We have no fear." He said the party would appeal the ruling to the European Court of Human Rights.
China
July 2007
 China Development Brief Censored by Government
Writing in the online Wall Street Journal for 11 July 2007, Nick Young has reported on the censorship of both the Chinese and English versions of China Development Brief. This follows a visit to CDB's Beijing office by a joint delegation of a dozen officials from the Beijing Municipality Public Security Bureau, the Beijing Municipality Statistical Bureau, and the Beijing Municipality Cultural Marketing General Legal Implementation Team. For more information click on http://online.wsj.com/article/SB118415339710263160.html?mod=googlenews_wsj.
New information added to Document Center
July 2007
Among the items recently added to the Document Center are the following:
Afghanistan
Media Law as passed by Wolesi Jirga
Arab World
Arab Declaration on Democracy
Ethiopia
June 2007
Trial of Daniel Bekele and Netsanet Demissie Continues
Daniel Bekele and Netsanet Demissie, charged in one of Africa's largest treason trials in recent years in Ethiopia, are still awaiting verdicts in their cases. Ten out of originally over a one hundred accused await their verdicts in prison, including Daniel and Netsanet. On 11 June 2007, in the trial's first verdicts, 38 journalists and opposition politicians were found guilty. The 10 remaining accused are due to appear in court again on 12 July 2007, to present their defense. Trial observers have suggested that the trial could be over as early as the end of July.
Daniel and Netsanet, who are both recognised by Amnesty International as prisoners of conscience, were arrested and detained in November 2005. The defendants face six charges, including attempted genocide and treason. Specifically, Daniel and Netsanet are charged under Article 238(2) of the criminal code with "the crime of outrage against the constitution and the constitutional order." The charge can carry the severe punishments of life imprisonment or death. Both Daniel and Netsanet have been denied bail, even after appealing to the Supreme Court.
Daniel and Netsanet were coordinators of the Global Call to Action against Poverty (GCAP) in Ethiopia. Daniel Bekele worked as head of the policy department of ActionAid International Ethiopia. He is a director of ACCSL, the African Centre for Civil Society Law. Netsanet Demissie is the founder of Organisation for Social Justice in Ethiopia, a local non-governmental organisation which assisted in monitoring the May 2005 election.
Sources: http://danielbekele.blogspot.com/, http://www.civicus.org/new/media/CIVICUSPressActivistsdemandimmediaterelease-Ethiopian.doc
China
June 2007
The Unirule Economics Research Institute [Tiance Jingji Yanjiusuo], China's independent economics think tank, released its report on human economic rights in China on 11 June 2007. In his introduction to the report, Institute Director Mao Yushi noted that institute scholars work groups had been working on the report for two years. One of the sections of the report deals with the role of civil society organizations (NGOs) in enforcing human economic rights in the fields of health, employment, shelter, and education, noting that they are hampered by their lack of real independence and inability to engage in effective advocacy. The entire report is available in Chinese with English abstracts on the Institute's website. The section on CSOs is available in the Documentation Center.
India
June 2007
Voluntary Sector Policy 2007
Government adopts new Policy on the Voluntary Sector, which includes important clauses on recognition of shares etc. as a deductible donation, simplification of FCRA, simplification of registration norms for non-profit companies, an optional central law for registration and operation on an all-India basis, setting up a self-regulatory agency by the sector, simplified norms for bilateral funding for NPOs, and internet access of accounts of NPOs receiving Government funding. Several income tax proposals were not, however, included.
To read the document click here
May 2007
American Bar Association's International Law Section Spring Meeting
At the Spring Meeting of the American Bar Association's International Law Section, the International NGOs and NPOs Committee presentation focused on Recent Developments in International NGO Activities: Building Credible Self-Accountability Principles in an Age of Increasing Government Regulation. The speakers included Dr. Eduardo Bertoni, Executive Director of the Due Process of Law Foundation (discussing Péru and Venezuela); Prof. Robert C. Blitt, Associate Professor of Law, University of Tennessee (discussing Russia); and Prof. Karla W. Simon, Professor of Law, Catholic University of America (discussing China). The panel was moderated by Karen A. Hudes of the World Bank's Legal Department.
China
April 2007
New Listserve Established; Materials On Recent Legal Developments Made Available
Through the resources of the Catholic University of America School of Law, a new listserve has been established.
ChinaNPOLaw is an unmoderated listserve available to persons interested in civil society developments in China.
ICCSL has posted a memorandum to the listserve describing recent developments affecting the legal and fiscal framework for NPOs in China.
Persons interested in subscribing should send an email to LISTSERV@LISTS.CUA.EDU with the following in the body of the email: SUBSCRIBE CHINANPOLAW.
If they experience any problems, they can email CSLHelp@law.edu, and they will be manually added to the list.
Anyone interested in receiving the recent memo should contact Karla Simon.
Russia
April 2007
Under a 10 April 2007 decree signed by Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov, a single, new form for religious organizations will permit them to comply with the information reporting requirements of the January 2006 NGO Law. Forum 18 also reports that the decree extends the deadline for the submission of their accounts to 1 June 2007. Forum 18's reporting on the new form and what it requires can be found on its website.
China
March 2007
Discussion of developments on legal protections for civil society in China
Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies
Prof. Karla Simon and Dr. Leon Irish made a presentation at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) on March 26, 2007. Invited by Dr. Mike Lampton, Dean of the Faculty and Director of the China Program, Dr. Irish and Prof. Simon discussed developments with regard to legal protections for civil society in China.
Book Review Published
March 2007
Prof. Karla Simon's review of Marion Fremont-Smith's book GOVERNING NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS: FEDERAL AND STATE LAW AND REGULATION was published in the March 2007 issue of the NONPROFIT AND VOLUNTARY SECTOR QUARTERLY.
China
March 2007
An article published by china.org.cn on January 20, 2007 reports that corporations and individual donors will now be able to claim tax deductions for donations to any licensed non-profit public welfare organization.
The new policy was announced by the Ministry of Finance and the State Administration of Taxation on 18 January 2007. It is consistent with proposal made by ICCSL in a report submitted to the World Bank in 2004.
At present only donations to about 20 major charity organizations are tax deductible. In addition, the Notice describes procedures for claiming deductions as well as the necessity for the issuance of receipts by the NPO
receiving the donations. These also reflect ICCSL's recommendations.
China
March 2007
Corporate Income Tax Law revised to Increase Deductions for Donations to Public Welfare Organizations
The National People's Congress, the highest legislative body of China, revised the corporate income tax law on 17 March 2007, making foreign companies and domestic companies essentially equal for tax purposes. According to a news article published by XINHUA, while the document was still in draft form, one revision raises the percentage limits for a company's charitable donations to 12 percent. Under prior law, domestic companies had only been able to deduct up to 3% of profits, while foreign companies were subject to a 10% limit. Taken together with the easier procedures for making such contributions, which were highlighted in January, it is hoped that the measure will encourage more companies to make donations to public welfare organizations. The law is due to take effect on 1 January 2008.
OSI Guidelines
March 2007
From March 2007, hard copies of the Open Society Institute's GUIDELINES FOR LAWS AFFECTING CIVIC ORGANIZATIONS (co-authored by Leon Irish, Robert Kushen, and Karla Simon) will no longer be available from OSI. Most of the remaining copies in English and Spanish will be housed with ICCSL and available upon request to simon@law.edu. Copies in other languages will continue to be downloadable from the ICCSL website.
Report on Harmonization Project for Unincorporated Nonprofit Associations Available
March 2007
Leon Irish, the ABA Section of International Law's representative to the NCCUSL project on harmonization of the laws governing unincorporated nonprofit associations (UNAs) in North America), has made his report of the 23 and 24 February 2007 meeting in Portland available. more available here.
Afghanistan
February 2007
Media Law Under Discussion in the Wolesi Jirga
A report published in RFE/RL on 2 February 2007 indicates that the Mass Media Law is currently under discussion in the Religious and Cultural Affairs Commission of the Wolesi Jirga (People's Council). President Karzai had issued this law as a decree before the legislature came into being in 2005, and it is now under review for enactment by the legislature. Aspects of the law have led to criticism, including ways in which the law protects freedom of expression (as guaranteed by the Constitution of Afghanistan), but seemingly limits such protection in the name of protecting religion and the tenets of Islam. RFE/RL's reporter, Amin Tarzi says: "Virtually all of that commission's proposed modifications of the existing media law are of a restrictive nature."
England and Wales
February 2007
First provisions of the Charities Act 2006 being brought into Force
The First Commencement Order, which brings the first provisions of the Charities Act 2006 into force, has been published by the Office of the Third Sector within the Cabinet Office.
The principal provisions of the Act that will come into force on 27 February 2007 are outlined in the following discussion.
The Charity Commission
The Charity Commission will be reconstituted as a corporate body with members who will be appointed by the Minister for the Cabinet Office. However, the Act makes it clear that the Charity Commission will not be subject to the direction or control of any Minister or Government department, thus emphasizing its independence.
The primary objectives of the Charity Commission are set out in the Act and include:
- Promoting awareness and understanding of the public benefit requirement
- Promoting the effective use of charitable resources
- Promoting public confidence and trust in charities
- Enhancing the accountability of charities to their donors, beneficiaries and the general public
- Promoting compliance by charity trustees with their legal obligations in exercising control and management of the administration of their charities
Public Benefit
The Act makes it clear that a charitable purpose is one which is for the public benefit.
The Charity Commission will be required to issue guidance in pursuance of its public benefit objective (as above) and promote awareness and understanding of the operation of the public benefit requirement.
The Charity Commission will soon launch its consultation on public benefit with the sector and the wider public so that it can then issue general guidance on what the requirement means.
The Charity Tribunal
The Lord Chancellor will have the power to draft the supporting legislative framework for the Charities Tribunal.
The independent Charity Tribunal will be set up to hear appeals against, and reviews of decisions, directions and Orders of the Charity Commission. It will act as a Court of first instance against decisions of the Charity Commission and it is hoped that it will increase the Charity Commission's accountability to the charities it regulates.
The drafting of the supporting legislation will inevitably take some time and therefore, the Charity Tribunal is not expected to be up and running until at least early 2008.
However, the First Commencement Order enables the Lord Chancellor to start preparing the framework and the supporting legislation for the Charity Tribunal.
Registration of Charities
The First Commencement Order brings into force interim changes to the registration threshold for small charities. A further Order will be issued increasing the compulsory registration threshold from £1,000 to £5,000 gross annual income. However, small charities under the £5,000 threshold will be able to voluntarily register.
Charities' Audits and Accounts
Non-company charities
A charity which is not a company will have to have its accounts professionally audited if it has gross annual income over £500,000; or an aggregate value of assets over £2.8 million and a gross annual income over £100,000.
If a non-company charity's assets are below this income/asset threshold, an independent examiner can be used instead of an auditor.
If a non-company charity's income is above £250,000 then the independent examiner is required to have an appropriate accountancy qualification.
A non-company charity's accounts will not have to be independently examined if their income is below £10,000.
Charitable companies
Charitable companies' accounts will have to be professionally audited if the charitable company has gross annual income over £500,000; or a balance sheet total (aggregate assets) over £2.8 million.
Charitable companies with gross annual income between £90,000 and £500,000 and assets of £2.8 million or less, will not be required to have their accounts audited if they provide an accountant's report.
If a charitable company has income of £90,000 or less, then neither a professional audit nor an accountant's report will be required unless the charitable company's assets are over £2.8 million.
Trustees' Indemnity Insurance
Trustee indemnity insurance indemnifies trustees against personal liability in relation to any breach of trust or duty committed by them in their capacity as charity trustees.
The Order brings into force provisions which enable charity trustees to purchase trustee indemnity insurance without the prior consent of the Charity Commission if the charity's governing document contains no express power enabling them to so do.
However, if the charity's governing document contains an express prohibition against the purchase of trustee indemnity insurance out of the charity's funds, the trustees will still require the prior consent of the Charity Commission to amend this to enable purchase to take place.
The purchase of trustee indemnity insurance must still be in the charity's best interest. For example, it may be deemed to be in the charity's best interest if it is having difficulty attracting new trustees because they are concerned about potential personal liability. This is particularly significant for trustees of unincorporated charities.
New powers for unincorporated charities
The Order brings into force provisions in the Act which gives trustees of all unincorporated charities (e.g. non-company charities) power to pass a resolution to amend the administrative parts of their charity's governing document (e.g. the method and form of holding meetings).
This power will only need to be used if it is not already set out in the charity's governing document. However, in cases where there is no power of amendment, it will enable trustees of unincorporated charities to amend the administrative provisions of the governing document without the prior consent of the Charity Commission.
Japan
February 2007
Charity Commission Appointed
Seven members of the new Charity Commission were appointed by Prime Minister Shinichiro Abe and authorized by the Diet on 21 February 2007. The seven members are:
Ms. Takako AMEMIYA, Professor of Civil Laws
Mr. Morio IKEDA, former President of the Shiseido Co., Ltd
Mr. Toshimi OUCHI, Retired Appellate Judge
Mr. Masayuki SATAKE, CPA, Managing Director of the CPA Association of Japan
Ms. Takako SODEI, Professor of Sociology
Mr. Masayuki DEGUCHI, Professor of National Museum of Ethnology and the former President of ISTR
Mr. Tadatsune MIZUNO, Professor of Tax Law
Two of the commissioners are full-time, while the rest are part-time.
North America
February 2007
The Drafting Committee for the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws (NCCUSL) "Project to Create a Harmonized Legal Framework for Unincorporated Nonprofit Associations in North America" held a meeting in Portland, OR on February 23-24. Dr. Leon Irish attended on behalf of the International Law Section of the American Bar Association.
Tajikistan
February 2007
New Public Associations Law Adopted
On 14 February 2007, the lower house of parliament approved a new law on public associations. Member of Parliament Nurali Rieev says that it is a significant improvement of the previous version adopted in 1998 and now corresponds to international standards. A 16 February 2007 report on the website of the Institute on War and Peace Reporting says, however, that many NPOs have expressed concerns about provisions in the law. For example, Muattar Haidarova, director of the NPO, Society and Law, suggests that this law actually allows the state to exert more control over foreign organizations operating in Tajikistan.
Uzbekistan
January 2007
New Law on Non-governmental Organizations Promulgated
President Islam Karimov signed into law the Law of Uzbekistan "On guaranties of activities of the non-state non-profit organizations" on 3 January 2007. The law was adopted by the Legislative Chamber of the Oliy Majlis on 11 October 2006 and approved by the Senate on 1 December 2006. The text of the law is available in the ICCSL Documentation Center.
China
January 19, 2007
Developments in Tax and Charity Law
An article published by china.org.cn on January 20, 2007 reports that corporations and individual donors will now be able to claim tax deductions for donations to any licensed non-profit public welfare organization. The new policy was announced by the Ministry of Finance and the State Administration of Taxation. It is consistent with a proposal made by ICCSL in a report submitted to the World Bank in 2004. At present only donations to about 20 major charity organizations are tax deductible.
Major developments in the Charity Law were also announced. The draft of the country's first law on charity is expected to be presented to the National Peoples' Congress for examination and approval later this year.
Ge Daosheng, a researcher at the Institute of Sociology with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS), doubted whether the new tax policy could be faithfully carried out at all levels. "The procedures for donors to claim deductions in taxes are often extremely complicated in many places," Ge said.
Experts have called for legislative transparency and less government involvement in charity activities.
The Ministry of Civil Affairs, which has overall responsibility for the nation's charity affairs, said on January 18 that it had finished drafting the Law of Charity and would submit it to the National People's Congress for examination.
The Beijing Times quoted Vice Minister of Civil Affairs Li Liguo as saying the law would encourage any kind of charity or voluntary body to promote public welfare, and would strengthen supervision of charity organizations in their use of donations.
"There has been a strong voice in recent years to promulgate a charity law to standardize charity practices and give people more freedom to participate in public welfare undertakings," said Yang Tuan, a researcher from CASS. However, Yang said the controversial draft might take another two to three years before it becomes law.
India
January 2007
FCRA Bill Delayed by Committee Referral
An AccountAid Capsule for 16 January 2007 reported that the new FCRA Bill, introduced in the Rajya Sabha in December 2006, has been referred to a Standing Committee. This is expected to delay the passage of the new FCRA. The Committee is inviting public representations, and is expected to give its final report by the end of March 2007.
Past News Items from 2006
Prof. Karla Simon and Leon Irish have been invited to participate in a special roundtable on 18 January 2006, sponsored by the Council on Foreign Relations and the New York University School of Law.
India
December 2006
Foreign Contribution Management and Control (FCMC) Bill 2006
Around early November 2006, the Union Cabinet approved the revised Foreign Contribution Management and Control (FCMC) Bill that seeks to regulate NGOs and other organizations which receive foreign funding. This Bill was recently introduced in the Winter Session of Parliament by the Minister of State for Home Affairs - Shri S. Regupathy. This Revised Bill is a much softer version of the original draft Bill which had come under a lot of flak from various organisations and social activists.
The Bill seeks to regulate the acceptance, utilization and accounting of foreign contribution and acceptance of foreign hospitality by a person or an association and repeal the existing Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, 1976 (FCRA).
The salient features of the Bill are as follows:
- The preamble has been reworded to prohibit acceptance and utilization
of foreign contribution or foreign hospitality for any activities detrimental to the national interest.
- Any amount received by any person from any foreign source by way of fee, payment in lieu of certain services rendered, etc. will be excluded from the definition of foreign contribution.
- Organizations of political nature, not being political parties, will be placed in the prohibited category for accepting foreign contribution.
- Association or company engaged in the production or broadcast of audio news or audio visual news or current affairs programmes through any electronic mode or any other mode of mass communication and correspondent or columnist, cartoonist, editor, owner of such Association or company will now be placed in prohibited category for accepting foreign contribution.
- Use of foreign contribution or any income arising out of it for speculative business will be proscribed.
- Administrative expenses have been capped at fifty per cent of the foreign contribution and any such expenses beyond that limit may be incurred only with the prior approval of the Central Government.
- Provision is made to specify the persons who can and the areas where, the purpose for which, and the sources from which foreign contribution can be accepted only with prior permission of the Central Government
.
- Registration will be granted for a period of five years with a provision for automatic renewal for a period of five years to all applicants except those who are defaulters.
- A specified fee will be charged for registration, grant of prior permission and renewal.
- Reasons for rejection of registration/prior permission will be conveyed to the applications to ensure greater transparency and accountability. This will be in harmony with the provisions laid down under the Right to Information Act, 2005.
- Registration certificate can be suspended for a maximum period of 180 days.
- Provisions have been made for cancellation of registration after giving reasonable opportunity for hearing.
- Foreign contribution will have to be received through a single bank account. However, unlike the present Act, the recipient organization would be permitted to open one or more account in one or more Scheduled Banks to utilize the foreign contribution.
- Countrywide information/database about receipt of foreign remittances more than a specific amount, or suspicious transactions received by a person/association through banking channels shall be created, for keeping a watch over receipt and utilization of such foreign contributions.
- Registration received by fraud, misrepresentation or false documents have been made punishable with imprisonment up to 5 years.
- Provision has been made for disposal of assets created out of foreign contribution of defunct/inoperative organizations as per the prescribed procedure.
- Provision has been made for compounding of certain offences under the Bill.
According to Mr. D.S. Rawat, Secretary General, Ministry of Home Affairs, "It is expected that the new law and its effective implementation thorough utilization of tools of information and communication technology (ICT) will put in place a more efficient system to regulate the acceptance, utilization and accounting of foreign contribution in the country by ensuring greater accountability, transparency and simplification".
China
December 2006
Karla Simon finished her last weeks in China with a successful completion of the course she taught at Peking University Law School. She also visited with officials of the Ministry of Civil Affairs to discuss the proposed Charity Law and passed along to them ICCSL's comments on the September 15, 2006 draft law.
Hungary
December 2006
Leon Irish once again taught the Comparative Not-for-Profit Law course at Central European University. The course, which has been extremely well-evaluated by USAID and the students alike, remains very popular and exposes students to important and interesting ideas that they do not have access to in other courses.
China
December 2006
Prof. Karla Simon presented a paper at the Law Faculty of the Southwestern University of Finance and Economics on the "Legal Framework for Civil Society in China."
ICCSL has been continuing it cooperation with the Ministry of Civil Affairs, Peking University, and Tsinghua University in developing new legislation for charities and NPOs in China.
ICCSL participated in a "Corporate Social Responsibility" Roundtable sponsored by the European Chamber of Commerce to discuss ways in which corporate donors in China can become more involved in social and economic development projects.
Tallinn, Estonia
November, 2006
One of the keynote addresses at the conference on "Nordic Civicness Revisited in the Age of Association, organized by the Centre for Civil Society Study and Development (KUAK) at Tallinn University in collaboration with the Network on European Voluntary Associations (EVA)" was presented by Prof. Karla Simon. Dr. Leon Irish also presented a paper at the conference. More information is available at the website http://www.helsinki.fi/project/eva/ncr/index.html.
China
October 29, 2006
Charity Law Progress
The Ministry of Civil Affairs has recently published a draft of the proposed Charity Law, which is circulating within the Ministry for discussion and review. ICCSL has been working with the government to encourage giving in China by stressing
the need for more tax incentives for donations. The report written by ICCSL for the World Bank in 2005 explains the types of tax benefits that are needed and how they can be implemented. A Charity Law Conference sponsored by the
China Charity Federation and the Brigham Young University was held in Beijing on October 27-28. The discussions at the conference focused on issues regarding charity in China, with specific reference to the law, which was distributed to the
delegate sin Chinese and explained by Ministry staff attending. There are ongoing discussions about what the law should contain and how it can be used to stimulate giving and volunteering in China. These issues have been stressed frequently
in the press and remain of significance for China's develoment.
Another relevant issue that came up in the discussions was the transformation of public service units (shiye danwei) into NPOs. As Prof. Simon has stressed in a paper publish last year, the transformation of such entities into NPOs should
take place in an orderly way but only after measures are developed to ensure that NPOs are operating in the public interest.
Europe
October 19, 2006
A book launch was held for the book STEUERN, ZIVILGESELLSCHAFT UND STAAT (TAXES, CIVIL SOCIETY AND THE STATE) to which Prof. Karla Simon was a contributor. The Austrian Society for Social Science Research conducted the launch. The book published in German and English and copies are available by contacting Prof. Juergen Nautz.
Americas
October 11, 2006
The Inter-American Court of Human Rights has released its 19 September decision in the case Claude Reyes and others v. Chile, which upheld the right of access to government information.
This is the first decision of its kind by an international tribunal, and it provides support for claims of freedom of information activists around the world. By holding that Chile had violated Article 13 of the Inter-American Convention on Human Rights (which guarantees the right the freedom of thought and expression), the Court held that the Article contains an implied right of general access to government-held information. Thus, States must adopt legal provisions to ensure that the right is given full effect. The full text of the decision is available in Spanish here and there is an English summary available from freedominfo.org.
Afghanistan
October 2006
Proposed Amendments to NGO Law Released by Ministry of Economy
The Ministry of Economy released on 1 October 2006 draft changes to the current "NGO Law 2005," which it is proposing to introduce in the Parliament. ACBAR, the Agency Coordinating Body for Afghan Relief, has sent the proposed amendments to its members for comments. Suggestions for additional changes and/or revisions in the proposed changes will also be submitted by ICCSL, which is on mission in Afghanistan . The text of the proposed revised law is now available here.
September 26, 2006
International Grant-making
At the invitation of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund and the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Dr. Leon Irish attended a seminar on grant-making in the Peoples' Republic of China. Over lunch, he made a PowerPoint presentation on the Legal Framework for Civil Society Organizations in the PRC. Further information about the event can be obtained from Dr. Peter Geithner, who organized it.
September 2006
New Interest Group Formed at ISTR Bangkok Meeting
During the international conference held in Bangkok in July, the new "Legal Issues Interest Group" (LIIG) met for the first time. It was an auspicious occasion for the group, given that the keynote speaker at the conference, Prof. Mark Sidel, is a lawyer and law professor with a strong interest in legal issues affecting the Third Sector. The more than fifteen people who attended the luncheon meeting of the LIIG represented a broad spectrum of diverse backgrounds and interests. Some were lawyers or legal academics and some have connections to the law because of their interest in accountability and governance issues. A variety of background was also represented, including academics and practitioners from Asia, Africa, Europe, the Middle East, and North and South America.
The LIIIG intends to develop a listserv, which will be open to all ISTR members as well as others who share concerns about the legal framework for the Third Sector and its institutions. Prof. Karla Simon, of the Catholic University of America and the International Center for Civil Society Law, will moderate the listserv. The intent of the listserv is to enable the creation of an open forum for discussions about legal issues affecting the sector. This will be the first such listserv established with such a goal. All subscribers will automatically also become subscribers to the INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CIVIL SOCIETY LAW (IJCSL) and the IJCSL-NEWSLETTER, so that they may be informed of current developments in countries around the world. Members of the LIIG will also be encouraged to publish their papers in IJCSL, which is the only academically- affiliated publication covering all aspects of the legal environment for global civil society.
Persons interested in joining the listserv should contact Prof. Simon at simon@law.edu.
Global
August 20, 2006
International Civil Society Forum for Democracy
Nasira Razvi, ICCSL and APCCSL Associate, has been selected to participate in the International Civil Society Forum for Democracy 2006 (ICSFD 2006), to be held in Doha, Qatar. October 29 -- November 2, 2006. Participation in the ICSFD 2006 also implies participation in the Sixth International Conference of New or Restored Democracies (ICNRD 6), of which the ICSFD is one of three integral parts (governments, parliamentarians, civil society).
Beijing, China
August 13, 2006
The Course Reader for Prof. Karla Simon's autumn 2006 course in Comparative Civil Society Law at Peking University (Bei Da) is now available on the site. She will be teaching the course together with Assistant Professor Jin Jinping. For further information on the course or to obtain permission to use the materials in other courses, please contact Prof. Simon.
Global
August 4, 2006
The Spanish version of the OSI Guidelines (written by ICCSL founders Leon Irish and Karla Simon together with Robert Kushen of OSI) is now available in hard copy. To receive a copy, please send an email to Karla Simon.
Mongolia Update
August 2, 2006
The tax new law in Mongolia was adopted during the first week of July, just before the closing of the Parliament session. It imposes a flat tax and does not impose taxes on any NPOs, regardless of whether they are MBOs or PBOs. The proposed changes in the "NPO Law" are under consideration within the government at present, and the proposals that Dr. Irish worked on in December 2005 are being considered. The new law is on the schedule for the autumn session of Parliament.
Zimbabwe
July 27, 2006
The Institute for War and Peace Reporting says that the NGO Bill is due to be presented in the Parliament of Zimbabwe when the legislative session resumes in August. Taken together with other legislation that will further curtail the rights of citizens to speak their minds and criminalize ordinary civic activities as "terrorism," the package of legislation has been called the equivalent of "martial law."
PM's Wife Risks Kremlin Wrath to Meet Ngos
July, 17 2006
Cherie Blair yesterday risked the wrath of the Kremlin by meeting Russian civil society groups and apparently offering them legal advice in their fight against a law they say will restrict their activities.
Mrs Blair left the G8 summit at the Konstantinovsky Palace in St Petersburg to meet a dozen Russian non-governmental organisations (NGOs). Foreign and local NGOs have come under greater scrutiny from the Russian authorities since a new law came into force requiring many of them to register again with the government. Critics say the new law gives officials arbitrary control over their activities and the ability to shut them down.
While President George Bush met Russian NGOs before the summit, Tony Blair has remained silent about the alleged "rollback of democracy" in Russia.
Mrs Blair said she was interested to hear about the Russian NGO law reforms, and asked the media to leave as "it is quite important the NGOs feel comfortable to be able to speak to me [in private]".
Alexander Petrov from Human Rights Watch's Moscow office attended the meeting. He said: "If the NGO community had some questions regarding the legal analysis of NGO legislation, then she said she would be able to assist with that."
He added that Mrs Blair had offered to advise them which cases to pursue in the European court of human rights. Two other who were at the meeting confirmed the offer. Mrs Blair said she was not yet familiar with the legislation, they said.
Civil G8 Summit statement
Ghana
July 19, 2006
Dr. Leon Irish returns to Ghana for work on the following projects: the Cooperatives Act, the Freedom of Information Act, the proposed District Registration Act, and the proposed "NGO" Act.
KenyaJuly 13, 2006
Sessional Policy Paper No. 1 of 2006 on Non-Governmental Organizations passed the Kenyan Parliament on July 13th. The NGO Policy Paper had been in development since 2001, and was submitted to the Parliament in late 2005. The NGO Council was involved in years past, but had not reviewed or commented in 2005 prior to the paper's submission. The NGO Council Executive Committee will review the Policy Paper immediately and issue a statement in this regard. They are currently in consultations with ICCSL as to international best practices with regard to regulation and self-regulation of the NGO sector.
Uganda NGO Law Update
July 1, 2006
The leading Ugandan NGOs, including the national apex body the Uganda NGO Forum, have filed a petition with President Yoweri Museveni urging him not to sign the recently passed NGO Registration (Amendment) Act 2006, saying it would have a negative impact on the operation of civil society organizations and their role in the region as it heads toward forming a political federation by 2013. They added that the Act includes registration restrictions that might lead to the closure of some currently operating CSOs.
In terms of objections to the Act based on the Treaty of the East African Community (EAC), the report accompanying the petition states that "The spirit of the Treaty establishing the East African Community clearly envisages Civil Society Organisations and the private sector as key actors in the integration process. The treaty recognises that a strong partnership with the Civil Society and private sector is essential in achieving the primary objective of the treaty set out in Articles 5(1) and 5(3). These articles provide that the Community shall ensure the enhancement and strengthening of a partnership with CSO and the private sector in achieving a sustainable socio-economic and political development. Critically reading Uganda's NGO law as amended reveals that the law fails to meet these provisions that the three partner states have agreed to...Uganda NGO law as amended clearly fails to meet this test."
In addition, the report states that, taken as a whole, the new Act does nothing to encourage the development of CSOs in Uganda. Although problems may exist under the currently effective Non-Governmental Organisations Act Cap. 113 (1990) (for example, under the current law, all NGOs are required to register with the NGO Board which then issues a Certificate of Registration to a successful applicant subject to conditions or directions it may deem fit), the new requirements (for example, an NGO must first obtain a permit in order to register) would be retrogressive and serve not only as a bad development for Uganda but for the EAC as a whole.
Other Ugandan NGOs that have joined the petition include the Development Network of Voluntary Organizations (DENIVA), the Human Rights Network Uganda (Hurinet (U)), and the Advocates Coalition for the Development and Environment (ACODE). This story is based in part on an article published in The New Times, Kigali, and posted to the web by AllAfrica.com.
Russia NGO Law Update
July 1, 2006
A 29 June 2006 report by MosNews, an English language Russian news service, indicates that foreign non-governmental organizations are experiencing problems re-registering in Russia after a new law on NGOs came into force April 18. MosNews bases its report on a story published in the business daily VEDOMOSTI.
According to another report by the Russian news agency RIA-NOVOSTI, the Federal Registration Service has disclosed that none of the 40 foreign NGOs that applied for registration after the introduction of the law had managed to complete the process. It said there are currently between 500 and 2,000 foreign NGOs operating in Russia, and that all of them must re-register before October 18 this year.
Views as to the way in which the registration process works differ widely. For example, Sergei Tsyplenkov, executive director of Greenpeace Russia, has been quoted as saying that the new regulations were so ambiguous they gave officials a free hand in dealing with NGOs. The Registration Service, on the other hand, said the new procedure was simple and "purely technical," requiring only that a number of forms be filled out, a task it said foreign NGOs had failed to do.
India
June 24, 2006
INDIA-DRAFT OF NEW GOVERNMENT POLICY ON NPOS DISCUSSED IN THE PRESS
A news story published in the Hindustan Times on 23 June 2006 states that the Government of India is shortly expected to announce a national policy for NPOs. The policy has been formulated by the Planning Commission in consultation with NGOs and the concerned Government agencies. A final draft of the policy is with the Prime Minister for approval.
The AccountAid Team , iin its newsletter for 23 June 2006, suggests that some of the significant regulation-related changes that the policy is expected to announce are as follows:
- Modifying tax and FCRA laws to allow Indian NPOs to expand their programs to outside India;
- NPOs to set up a self-regulatory agency, and also to help formulate a reliable accreditation methodology;
- NPOs to file documents related to constitution, board, membership etc. with the Government, and make them available over the internet;
- Classification of NPOs into public utility organizations (schools, hospitals) and public benefit organizations (NGOs) to help tailor suitable tax-exemptions and incentives;
- Study feasibility of enacting a central law which will offer an option to NGOs to register in order to operate across state-boundaries and also outside India;
- Liberalization of FCRA;
- Tax deductions on donations in the form of shares and stock-options;
- Assess feasibility of liberalizing minimum-spending norm of 85%; and
- Tighter administrative and penal procedures to check misuse of such benefits by "paper" charities.
Ghana
June 15, 2006
GAPVOD launched a new NPO Directory for Ghana, which covers the years 2005 to 2008 and gives accurate information on the number of NGOs that are actively operating and their areas of operation among others.
Japan
June 2006
Developments in NPO Accounting in Japan
New Accounting Standards for Public Interest Corporations Adopted
Review of accounting standards for public interest corporations and adoption of the new Standards
Accounting standards for public interest corporations had not been changed for 19 years after the last amendment in the 1980's, despite changes in the circumstances surrounding the organizations to which they applied. In view of this, a Study Group on Accounting Standards for Public Interest Corporations, set up in the former Prime Minister's Office in April 2000 (switched to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications after the ministerial reorganization in January 2001), began to study ways in which these standards could be changed to bring them more in line with reality. As a result, an "Enumeration of arguments concerning a review of accounting standards for public interest corporations (Interim Report)" was published in December 2001.
Based on the results of this study, and the fact that, in the "Outline of Administrative Reform" decided by the Cabinet in December 2000, measures to improve accounting standards for public interest corporations were also to be studied, and a "Study Group on Accounting Standards for Public Interest Corporations" was set up in March 2002. Consisting of experts under the Managerial Board of Meetings of Cabinet Ministers Related to Supervisory Guidance of Public Interest Corporations, etc., the Group conducted studies over a term of about one year.
In March 2003, the "Report by the Study Group on Accounting Standards for Public Interest Corporations," consisting mainly of "Accounting Standards for Public Interest Corporations (Draft)," was compiled and published. The Report focuses on
- greater transparency of fiscal information,
- clarification of the trustee responsibilities of public interest corporations, and
- simplification of financial statements.
Concerning these Draft Accounting Standards, a "Research Committee on the Draft Accounting Standards for Public Interest Corporations" met in the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications from June 2003. The Committee consisted of experts, and studied directions for application, the timing of application, and other issues, based on trends in the radical reform of the public interest corporation system that were then being considered.
In October 2004, it was officially decided and announced that there would be a revision of the Standards according to the review by the Research Group of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications. In March 2005, the official guidance on the introduction and application of the newly revised Standards was published. In that guidance it was stated that Public Interest Corporations should apply the new Standards as soon as possible for accounting years beginning from April 1, 2006.
As the Standards are quite new, it remains to be seen to what extent the standards will be effectively applied. As the following statistics indicate, not all public interest corporations were able to apply the former Standards.
Application of the prior Standards (as of 2004)
Accounting standards for public interest corporations were first decided in March 1977. They were subsequently reviewed, and the former accounting standards for public interest corporations were decided in September 1985 (and applied from April 1, 1987).
These accounting standards are, in principle, applied to all public interest corporations established under Article 34 of the Civil Code.
The actual state of application of these accounting standards was as follows (as of 2004).
Accounting standards for public interest corporations completely applied:
19,132 corporations (74.1%);
Accounting standards for public interest corporations partly applied:
4,373 corporations (16.9%);
Corporate accounting standards applied:
753 corporations (2.9%);
Others applied (i.e. other accounting standards, such as ministerial accounting):
1,567 corporations (6.1%).
See http://www.soumu.go.jp/daijinkanbou/kanri/pdf/040730_1_g1_e1.pdf.
Japan
June 3, 2006
The Japan Association of Charitable Organizations (JACO) reports that the Reform of the Public Benefit Corporation Law has made significant progress. The debate in the Special Committee of the House of Councilors (the Upper House) was closed on 25 May 2006 and the below-mentioned three bills passed through the House of Councilors on 26 May 2006. As these three bills have now passed the Diet (Parliament), they will become effective as from the date to be designated by an order within two-and-a half-years.
- Bill of the "general incorporated association and foundation law;"
- Bill of the "charitable status recognition law;"
- Bill of the "relative transition, modification & repeal law."
However, these Bills only set up the basic frameworks of the new legal structure for charitable organizations and various important issues to their daily operation are being left to the regulations and/or by-laws to be drafted later. According to the testimony by Mr. Tatsuo Ohta (CEO of JACO), as a witness representing the entire sector of charitable organizations in Japan, it is expected that the intensive involvement by the civil sector in drafting the relative regulations and/or by-laws that will be necessary for implementation of the legislation. This is reflected in the supplementary resolutions not only of the Special Committees but also of the plenary cessions of the Lower and Upper Houses,
In the meanwhile, any official discussion about the Reform of Taxation System on Charitable Organizations will start in the coming autumn, based on the above new legal framework.
Global
Mixed Reactions to Human Rights Council Elections
May 10, 2006
On May 9, 2006, the elections for membership in the UN's new Human Rights Council were held and the reactions to the membership of the new body are mixed, with many human rights organizations expressing concern that so many of the countries elected have at best mixed records on human rights. On the other hand, Human Rights Watch noted the following three factors in favor of the election in its press release:
- New membership standards and election procedures discouraged states with some of the worst records of human rights abuses from even running for election, including recent commission members Sudan, Zimbabwe, Libya, Syria, Vietnam, Nepal, and Egypt, and others of the worst violators, including North Korea, Burma, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Belarus, and Ivory Coast.
- A handful of politically powerful violators were elected, including China, Russia, and Cuba. But major oil producers such as Iran, which has a very poor human rights record, and Venezuela, which declared it was not bound by the council's new standards, were defeated. While Human Rights Watch had expressed opposition to six of the new members on human rights grounds, they account for only six out of 47 seats on the new council.
- Countries campaigned for election in large part by highlighting the contribution they would make to the promotion and protection of human rights. While issuing human rights pledges and commitments was voluntary under the resolution creating the new council, all 64 candidates published written commitments for advancing human rights.
ICCSL joins HRW in stating that the HRC is off to a fairly auspicious start as a result of the election and hopes that the Council develops a good set of standards to apply to the States party to the ICCPR and the ICESCR.
New Translations of OSI Guidelines
May 12, 2006
New Translations of OSI Guidelines. The Russian, Chinese, and the Spanish translations of the OSI Guidelines are now available on the ICCSL site in the Document Center.
Conference on U.N. Reform
April 3, 2006
A conference on UN Reform was held in the Moot Court Room of Catholic University of America's Columbus School of Law on April 3, 2006. Two topics were addressed - the newly established Human Rights Council and the Peace-Building Commission, which is already in formation.
The speakers for the Human Rights Council session included Will Davis, Director of the UN Information Center, Lawrence Moss, Special Counsel on UN Reform at Human Rights Watch, and Ruth Wedgwood, Director of the International Law and Organization Program at Johns Hopkins University's School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS). Professor Karla Simon, who teaches Human Rights Law at CUA and is a member of the National Council of the UNA-USA, moderated the Human Rights Council panel.
The second panel included Peter Gantz, Peacekeeping Advocate with Refugees International, Fr. William Headley, Counselor to the President, Catholic Relief Services, and Dennis Hankins, Deputy Director of the Bureau of International Organization Matters in the Office of Peacekeeping, Sanctions and Counterterrorism in the United States Department of State. Associate Professor Maryann Cusimano-Love of the CUA Politics Department, who is a member of the Catholic Peace-Building Network, moderated the Peace-Building Commission Panel.
Sponsors of the event included the Center for International Social Development of the Catholic University of America, the Comparative and International Law Institute, the International Center for Civil Society Law, and the United Nations Association of the USA's Council of Organizations.
More information and conference details are available at Conference on U.N. Reform deatils.
ICCSL President and ACCSL Associate Participate in ABA Program
April 8, 2006
ICCSL President Dr. Leon E. Irish and ACCSL Associate Mr. Tamuka Muzondo, Director of Policy and Planning for NANGO, the National Association of Nongovernmental Organizations in Zimbabwe, spoke at the American Bar Association's Section of International Law Spring Meeting in New York on April 7, 2006. The program, which was entitled Global Governance: International Organizations' Response to Civil Society's Demand for Accountability, also included Bharati Sadasivam, Senior Policy Adviser, Civil Society Organization Division, UNDP. The session was chaired by Karen Hudes, of the Legal Department of the World Bank, and Chair of the Section's Committee on International NGOs and Not-for-Profit Organizations Committee. The Africa Committee of the Section also co-sponsored the meeting.
The discussions of the panelists focused on issues with regard to how the UN deals with civil society input; how regional groups, such as NEPAD and the African Union address the ways in which civil society; and the problems presented for additional civil society engagement at the UN, following on Secretary General Annan's appointment of the Eminent Persons panel and the failure of the General Assembly to implement the Panel's recommendations. All panelists, the Moderator, and the audience agreed that non-state actors, whether or not they can be deemed representative of constituencies, have expertise that should be brought to bear on policies for social an economic development. One important role of knowledge providers like ICCSL is that they can help both national governments and inter-governmental organizations to create policies for civil society and broader citizen participation.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice Opening Remarks
March 8, 2006
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice delivered opening remarks on the release of the State Department's 2005 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices. Under Secretary Paula Dobriansky and Assistant Secretary for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor Barry F. Lowenkron also gave remarks at the special press briefing and answered questions. The reports in this volume will be used as a resource for shaping policy, conducting diplomacy, and making assistance, training, and other resource allocations. They also will serve as a basis for the U.S. Government's cooperation with private groups to promote the observance of internationally recognized human rights. The reports can be accessed at http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2005/index.htm.
Writing in the latest issue of CEIP's e-newsletter, however, Thomas Carothers warns that many countries around the world are now pushing back against efforts aimed at "democratization." His paper "The Backlash Against Democracy Promotion" can be found in the April/May issue of Foreign Affairs and is available on the CEIP site at http://www.carnegieendowment.org/publications/index.cfm?fa=view&id=18070&prog=zgp&proj=zdrl.
United Nations General Assembly created a new U.N. human rights body
March 15, 2006
The United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday created a new U.N. human rights body by an overwhelming majority, ignoring objections from the United States. Ambassadors broke out in sustained applause when the vote was announced: 170-4 with 3 abstentions. Joining the United States in a "no" vote were Israel, Marshall Islands, and Palau -- but not American allies in Europe or Canada. Belarus, Iran, and Venezuela abstained.
Professional development workshop at the international meeting of ISTR
March 15, 2006
Prof. Leon Irish and Prof. Karla Simon will be giving a professional development workshop at the international meeting of ISTR, which is to be held in Bangkok, Thailand, in mid-July. They will discuss their pioneering Comparative Civil Society Law course, which has been taught in Central Europe, in the United States, and in China, and is due to be taught in Africa and Western Europe in the near future.
Asia Region
March 15, 2006
ICCSL announces the launch of the new Asian Pacific Centre for Civil Society Law (APCCSL) and its new website www.apccsl.org. The Centre will have two nodal locations - the NPO Law Center at Peking University Law School, which will be Co-Directed by Prof. Karla W. Simon beginning in Fall 2006; and the University of Mysore, under the Directorship of Prof. P. Ishwara Bhat (http://www.uni-mysore.ac.in/index.php?m=about). Further developments in Asia with respect to civil society law will be announced on the APCCSL site as well as the ICCSL site.
Canada
March 10, 2006
Final Public Benefit Test Guidelines Released
New CRA Guidelines for "Registering a Charity: Meeting the Public Benefit Test" were released March 10, 2006. Under current law, an organization is only charitable if it meets the definition of charity at common law. Part of that definition requires that in order for an organization to be considered charitable it must be established for public benefit. After having released proposed guidelines on how CRA interprets the public benefit test on July 29, 2005 for consultation, CRA finally released their official guidelines on March 10, 2006. The guidelines are intended to clarify the meaning of the term "public benefit" as CRA understands and how it would apply when CRA makes determinations of charitable status under the Income Tax Act. CRA's document is available at http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/tax/charities/policy/cps/cps-024-e.html.
China
May 5, 2006
Translation: Measures on the Registration of Venues for Religious Activity
Under Chinese law, no one may establish a place of worship without government approval. The Congressional-Executive Commission on China has prepared an English translation of the Measures on the Examination, Approval, and Registration of Venues for Religious Activity, issued by the State Administration for Religious Affairs on April 21, 2005.
English translation of the Measures on the Examination published on the CECC web site.
China
June 3, 2006
Translation: Measures on the Registration of Venues for Religious Activity
The Congressional Executive Commission on China (CECC) has prepared new English translations of five Ministry of Civil Affairs (MOCA) documents establishing controls on NPOs and citizen activities. These and other resources are available at: www.cecc.gov/pages/virtualAcad/CivilSociety/index.php.
Developments in Africa
April 2006
Ethiopia
In a letter to the members of CIVICUS, Kumi Naidoo, its Secretary General wrote about a visit to Daniel Bekele (a member of the Board of the African Centre for Civil Society Law) and Netsanet Demissie, who are being detained by the Ethiopian government on charges of treason.
"Last week, a delegation from the Global Call to Action Against Poverty visited Daniel Bekele and Netsanet Demissie, both civil society leaders in Ethiopia where they have been held in prison for five months. You can read more about the outcome of the visit elsewhere in e-CIVICUS 287 but I wanted to share some of the highlights here.
"We met with various civil society leaders and the families of the political prisoners on the first day of our visit. They painted a very troubling picture of the political space available in Ethiopia at the moment.
"We also succeeded in securing a meeting with the government. During our meeting, the Prime Minister of Ethiopia, Meles Zenawi was cordial and knowledgeable about civil society debates and his knowledge of the development challenges facing Africa were impressive. He explained that he places great confidence in indigenous, membership-based African civil society organisations, as opposed to those which primarily receive overseas funding and have no membership constituency. He did, however, acknowledge that these NGOs often do good work….
"Both Daniel and Netsanet … had lost weight and said that the conditions under which they are being held were far from great but yet they are trying to cope. They have been charged with treason. However, unlike the political prisoners from the opposition political party also awaiting trial, they do not have access to the evidence that the state plans to use against them and which they could use has a basis for the preparation of their own defence.
"From my own knowledge of these two colleagues, I am absolutely certain that there is no basis for the charge of treason. Both of them are human rights activists that have a consistent record of using their legal skills and training as lawyers to advance the interests of the poor in Ethiopia.
Kenya
After coming back into official existence in September 2005, the National Council of NGOs in Kenya is facing a possible reform agenda set out by the Government of Kenya. A report sent out by the Kenya News Agency says that the Government has published a Sessional Paper that will see to a comprehensive review of the legal framework regulating non governmental organizations (NGOs) in the country. The Minister of State for National Heritage said that "The paper due to be presented in parliament, will replace the NGOs Coordination Act of 1990 and will seek to promote stability within the National Council of NGOs." In a speech read on his behalf by the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry during the opening of a three-day workshop on NGO regulation in Naivasha yesterday, the Minister said it is imperative that there is established a stable National Council for self-regulation within the NGO sector. The Minister expressed the government's deep concern over recent wrangles within the NGO Council and appealed
to donors to resume funding to it.
The Council is also embroiled in corruption allegations against many of its members. A report published in the AFRICAN STANDARD on 21 April 2006, states that the National Community-Based Organisations (CBO) Council has presented complaints of massive corruption in the NGO world to the Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission. The Council wants certain Non Governmental Organizations, mostly those involved in health issues, investigated for using CBOs to cover up misuse of donor funds. According to the head of the head of the CBO Council, the non-profit sector has many rogue organizations that mock the system of accountability and regulatory ethics.
Uganda
After several years of discussions and objections from the international community, the Ugandan Parliament on 7 April 2006 passed the Non-Governmental Organisations (NGO) Registration Amendment Bill 2001 which requires NGOs and evangelical churches to renew their registration permits annually. The House also approved a controversial clause that gives security (ISO and ESO) representation on the NGO Board. The NGO community has opposed the clause since 2001, when the Bill was first introduced. The Bill gives the NGO board powers to register or deny registration to NGOs opposed to government policy or whose activities are not in the "public interest." ICCSL's principals worked in Uganda in 2001 and 2002 to try to prevent the adoption of the bill, but obviously to no avail.
Central and Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union
March 2006
Recognition for ICNL's work in Central and Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union.
The founders of ICCSL, Dr. Leon Irish and Prof. Karla Simon, also founded the International Center for Not-for-Profit Law (ICNL) in 1992. In May 1994 (the announcement gives an erroneous date), USAID awarded ICNL a contract to develop the laws affecting not-for-profit organizations in all of Central and Eastern Europe, and later expanded the scope of the work to include parts of the former Soviet Union. Under the leadership of ICNL's first President, Prof. Simon, and its second, Dr. Irish, ICNL successfully implemented these projects for USAID.
Staff serving in the region while Prof. Simon and Dr. Irish were with the organization included Doug Rutzen, now ICNL's President, Steve Klingelhofer, now ICNL's Executive Vice President, Natalia Bourjaily, now ICNL's Vice President for NIS Programs, Dragan Golubovic, now a Program Officer with the European Center for Civil Society Law, Cathy Shea, now a project Director with ICNL, and several others who have moved on to other jobs. Dr. Irish and Prof. Simon are proud of the work that they and their staff were able to accomplish in the region and they gratefully accept USAID's recent acknowledgement of their contributions to law reform in Central and Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union, which is available at http://www.icnl.org/knowledge/news/2006/03-10_NGO_Legal_Reform_Briefer.pdf.
India
Proposal by Finance Minister to disallow deduction for
contributions to some charitable organizations.
March 7, 2006
Indian Finance Minister Mr. P. Chidambaram in his Budget Speech
delivered on February 28, 2006 said, “The Standing Committee on
Finance has expressed concern that many charitable institutions
misuse the provisions of the Income Tax Act. I propose to focus
on one misuse, namely, receiving anonymous or pseudonymous donations.
Accordingly, I propose that anonymous or pseudonymous donations
to wholly charitable institutions will be taxed at the highest marginal
rate. Such donations to partly religious and partly charitable institutions/trusts
will be taxed only if the donation is specifically for an educational
or medical purpose. However, I make it clear that such donations
to wholly religious institutions and religious trusts will not be
covered by the new provision.”
Accordingly, the Finance Minister has proposed a new section 115BBC
seeking to tax any income comprising anonymous donations received
by any university or any hospital or other institutions referred
to under various sub-clauses of Section 10(23C) or any trust or
institution referred to under Section 11.
Amendments have also been proposed in Section 2(24)(iia) so that
voluntary contributions received by any university or other educational
institution or by any hospital or other institution are included
in the definition of income. Section 13 has also been amended such
that the benefit of tax exemption under sections 11 and 12 would
not be available with respect to anonymous donations referred to
in the new section 115BBC.
“Anonymous donation” means any voluntary contribution referred to
in the now amended Section 2(24)(iia) where a person receiving such
contribution does not maintain a record of the identity indicating
the name and address of the person making such contribution and
such other particulars as may be prescribed.
More on the proposed legislation will be available in the April
2005 issue of IJCSL.
India
April 21, 2006
The Foreign Contribution (Management and Control) Bill, 2005 has been posted to the document center.
Japan
March 10, 2006
Japan’s Cabinet approved three draft bills that will reform the regulation of the charitable sector in Japan, as detailed below, and these bills were introduced immediately into the Diet.
- Bill of the “general incorporated association and foundation law,” which consists of 344 articles.
- Bill of the “charitable status recognition law,” which consists of 66 articles.
- Bill of the “relative transition & modification law,” of which only the part of modifying the Civil Code of Japan covers 115 articles.
These bills will be discussed by the Special Committee to be newly organized in the Diet, together with other bills of the Administrative Reforms, and they hopefully will be enacted by the end of June this year and become effective two years later after the enactment.
According to the Japan Association of Charitable Organizations (JACO) these bills only set up the basic frameworks of the new legal structure and therefore various issues that are important to the daily operation of the new Charitable Organizations are being left to the regulations and/or by-laws to follow the enactment of these Bills. JACO also stated that “Japan’s Civil Sector would like to do the utmost hereafter for materializing these regulations and/or by-laws to be truly practical, effective and acceptable to Charitable Organizations.”
Nepal
May 12, 2006
Media crack-down lifted
A report on the University of Pittsburgh Law School's Jurist website says that Nepal's government annulled a media ordinance promulgated by King Gyanendra [official profile] during his 15-month absolute rule to muzzle press that criticized his seizure of power [JURIST report] in February 2005. The ordinance was criticized both in Nepal and internationally as it increased punishment of journalists and banned broadcast of informative programs from independent radios. The law also discouraged cross-ownership in the media sector. National and international media rights groups had termed the ordinance as a "black law" and had asked King Gyanendra to repeal it. Nepal's press freedom situation deteriorated after the enforcement of the ordinance and the international community sent two high-level diplomatic missions to Nepal to protect independent media.
North America
March 15, 2006
Harmonization of NPO Law in North America
Dr. Leon Irish attended, as an Advisor and on behalf of the American
Bar Association International Law Section's Committee in International
NGOs and NPOs , a conference in Portland to discuss a project to
harmonize North American law with regard to nonprofit associations. What had originally been a project to amend the Uniform Nonprofit Association Act has been transformed into a project with this wider purview. The National Committee on Uniform State Laws (NCCUSL) drafting committee will be working with drafters from the Mexican Uniform Law Center and the Uniform Law Conference of Canada to create a harmonized framework for such entities so that the laws of the three countries are, to the extent practicable, consistent. The project is being undertaken with the Uniform Law Conference of Canada and the Mexican Uniform Law Center. It was determined that the new project was consistent with the charge to amend the Uniform Nonprofit Association Act approved by the Executive Committee at the 2005 Annual NCCUSL Meeting. The conference was held from March 17-19, 2006. More information is available here.
Russia
May 17, 2006
Freedom of Religion and Freedom of Association Updates
Forum 18 Reports on Religious Freedom Issues
While the Salvation Army has had the registration documentation for its
Russia-wide organization restored, the legal position of its Moscow branch remains unresolved. The Moscow branch's situation is in legal limbo -- on 1 July 2004 the European Court of Human Rights declared admissible a case filed by the Moscow branch against Russia in 2001. But the case has yet to be resolved. On 17 May a Moscow city official told Forum 18 that he did not know why the local Salvation
Army branch is still without re-registration.
Pastor Viktor Shvedov, of Rostov-on-Don's 600-strong Christ the Saviour
Pentecostal Church, told Forum 18 on 10 April that church members are able to provide social assistance to prison inmates, but they were in 2005 unofficially barred from local children's homes. Before the bar, they had been providing clothes, toys and building materials to the homes. Pastor Shvedov likened the situation to a Soviet joke that a citizen has the constitutional right to do an activity, but is not allowed to do it.
Russia - FOA case deemed admissible in ECHR; proposal for friendly settlement made on April 13.
April 13, 2006
On 2 March 2006 the European Court of Human Rights delivered a judgment of admissibility on the case Sutyajnik v. Russia. "The complaint raises serious issues of fact and law under the Convention" - stated the Court and decided to examine the case on the merits separately.
The case Sutyajnik v. Russia concerns not only violations of the requirement of legal certainty but also 1995 Law On NGOs, which forced all Russian NGOs to undergo re-registration process. The Law is similar to the new Law of 2006 concerning which the Council of Europe has expressed its concern.
The Court asked the parties to submit any further evidence or additional observations they wish and inform it on their position on the securing a friendly settlement by 9 May 2006.
The Sutyajnik v. Russia case is significant for Russian NGOs because of the 1995 law On Non-Governmental Organizations which forced all NGOs in Russia to undergo re-registration process. "This case is not only about right to a fair trial. It's about right to association in Russia. The main purpose of the 1995 Law and the Law of 2006 is to get rid of active human right organizations," the President of Sutyajnik Sergey Beliaev said. "In those years if an NGO had a record of criticism of the Government policy it would have had a hard time when going though a re-registration process and ended up with nothing. We have been fighting this practice for 8 years in domestic courts. In the European Court the Government will not escape responsibility for what it has done to all active human rights NGOs in Russia," he added.
The facts of the case.
The applicant association is a non-governmental organization, which was
registered in 1994 by the Sverdlovsk Regional Department of Justice. In 1995 a new law on non-governmental organizations was adopted. The law required that all NGOs established before 1995 be re-registered before 1 July 1999. The applicant association applied twice for re-registration to the Regional Department of Justice. However, the applications were refused.
The applicant association brought an action against the Department seeking its re-registration. On 17 June 1999 the Commercial Court of the Sverdlovsk Region satisfied the applicant association's claim and ordered the Department to register the applicant association. This decision was upheld by the Federal Commercial Court of the Ural Circuit on 18 October 1999.
On an unspecified date the Vice-President of the Supreme Commercial Court brought an extraordinary appeal (nadzor) against the decisions of 17 June and 18 October 1999.
On 26 September 2000 the Presidium of the Supreme Commercial Court of the Russian Federation quashed the lower courts' decisions by way of supervisory review on the ground that the dispute at issue was outside the competence of the commercial courts. The proceedings were discontinued.
According to the applicant association, on several occasions it applied to the Commercial Court of the Sverdlovsk Region with a view to initiate enforcement proceedings against the Department, but to no avail. The applicant association submits that it was informed about the decision of the Presidium of the Supreme Commercial Court of the Russian Federation of 26 September 2000 only in November 2001.
Decision on admissibility www.sutyajnik.ru/rus/cases/sutyajnik_v_russia/decision.html.
Materials on the case www.sutyajnik.ru/rus/cases/sutyajnik_v_russia.
The proposal made for a friendly settlement by SUTYANJIK can be accessed at http://www.sutyajnik.ru/rus/cases/sutyajnik_v_russia/morovoe.html.
# # #
News Agency Sutyajnik-Press
+7-343-355-36-51
SUTYAJNIK, a non-governmental human rights organization founded in
Yekaterinburg in 1994, is a resource center for many non-governmental public interest groups of the Ural region and provides free legal defense of the rights and interests of citizens and their associations.
http://www.sutyajnik.ru
Transnistria
March 23 2006
Following the examples set by Russia and Belarus, authorities in the breakaway Moldovan region of Transnistria have prohibited the funding of local non-commercial non-governmental organizations by foreign donors. Transnistrian leader Igor Smirnov signed a corresponding decree on March 7, 2006, which was amended on March 23. The presidential decree, "issued to provide for state security of Transnistria," prohibits local non-governmental organizations from receiving money and property from international or foreign organizations, foreign countries, foreign citizens, and anonymous sources. "International and foreign associations, foreign states and foreign citizens may not, either, act as the founders of and participants in establishing non-commercial organizations" according to the decree. Observers in Chisinau presume that this decree will shortly be followed by repressive measures against some NGOs that receive grants from Western structures or are covertly financed from Chisinau.
United Nations
UN Reform
March 6, 2006
A U.N. fund proposed by President Bush to promote democracy around
the world was inaugurated Monday with pledges of $41 million. Bush
urged the creation of such a fund in a speech to the U.N. General
Assembly in 2004, saying it could help countries lay the foundations
of democracy by instituting the rule of law, independent courts,
a free press, political parties and trade unions.
Secretary-General Kofi Annan set up the United Nations Democracy
Fund last July and world leaders endorsed it a few months later.
On Monday, March 6, Annan presided at the first meeting of its 17-member
advisory board, which will select projects in different countries
that strengthen democratic institutions and enhance democratic government.
"This is something that we think could have an impact in the
real world and it's a high priority for the United States to make
this fund a success," U.S. Ambassador John Bolton said.
United States
Tune in to Tax Talk Today on March 14, 2006, for information
on Political Intervention: Do's and Don'ts for 501(c) (3) Organizations.
March 14, 2006
As the 2006 election season begins, section 501(c)(3) organizations,
including charities and churches, are invited for a discussion on
what they can and cannot do when an election campaign is under way.
IRS subject matter experts will explain the rules, provide examples
to highlight acceptable activity, discuss the Service’s Political
Activity Compliance Initiative for the election year, and introduce
new educational materials. Tune in before 2 p.m. EST to avoid any
delays. Visit the Tax
Talk Today Web site for additional information and to view the
“Resource” page for program materials.
Viet Nam
April 21, 2006
Various documents on Viet Nam have been added to the document center.
May 9, 2006
Documents Issued by Democracy Movement Describe Developments
On May 8, 2006 the second issue of Viet Tan Update was published by Viet Tan, the Viet Nam Reform Party. It describes the growing democracy movement and includes the manifestos that have been published and the discussions that have been held. More information on this movement will be found in the June 2006 issue of the IJCSL Newsletter.
Zimbabwe
March 13, 2006
ICCSL Associate Tamuka Muzondo has been appointed to the post of Manager, Research and Policy, with NANGO, the national umbrella organization for NGOs in Zimbabwe. He will continue to work with ACCSL and ICCSL on projects in Africa, and this will assist the focus of his research for a PhD in law at the University of KwaZulu Natal.
February 2006
Global
Nonprofit Law and Philanthropy
Catholic University and Prof. Karla W. Simon joined 57 other law schools throughout the United States in petitioning the Association of American Law Schools to establish a section on Nonprofit Law and Philanthropy. A leader in the field of studies of the legal framework for the not-for-profit sector, Catholic University joins with ICCSL in offering one of the few courses available in countries around the world that provide comparative analysis in this important field.
Tax Treatment of NPOs in the United States, A Comparative Perspective
On February 14, the Center for International Social Development, the Catholic University of America School of Law, and the International Center for Civil Society Law hosted a seminar on the "Tax Treatment of NPOs in the United States, A Comparative Perspective." The seminar is being conducted under the auspices of the "VOLUNTEERISM AND COMMUNITY SERVICE Program, A Multi-Regional Project," administered by the Delphi International Program of World Learning. The visitors attending the seminar have been invited to the United States under the auspices of the Department of State's International Visitor Leadership Program. They come from various countries, including the Czech Republic, Egypt, Estonia, Germany, Ghana, India, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Malaysia, Morocco, Nigeria, Singapore, Slovak Republic, and Tunisia.
Afghanistan
According to a news account published in Radio Free Europe/ Radio Liberty's online version for February 7, 2006, Afghanistan's Economics Minister Mohammad Amin Farhang said the government had taken away the operating licenses of some 1,600 NGOs that had been accused of economic fraud or corruption. In the past year, corruption among NGOs has been a major topic of discussion among Afghan politicians and policymakers.
China
Procurement competition results announced/ICCSL partner
included
(February 21, 2006)
NPOs in China have been chosen by the government to participate
with it in partnerships aimed at poverty alleviation. According
to a news report published by the Asian
Development Bank (ADB) on February 21, 2006, this first ever
competitive procurement will allow six NPOs to work in the pilot
phase of the project. The winners were chosen from 11 proposals
submitted by 16 NPOs; the six chosen range from NPOs based in Jiangxi
Province to internationally-affiliated ones. They will shortly begin
poverty alleviation work in six villages located in three poor counties
in Jiangxi under Phase 1 of the pilot. One of the chosen NPOs is
one of ICCSL's partners in China, the China Association of NGO Cooperation
or CANGO.
Freedom of expression challenges criticized by former high-level
Chinese officials.
(February 15, 2006)
According to a story published on the front page of the February
15, 2006 NEW YORK TIMES and available in its online edition at http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/15/international/asia/15china.html?th&emc=th,
a dozen former Communist Party officials and senior scholars, including
a onetime secretary to Chairman Mao Zedong, a party propaganda chief
and the retired heads of some of the country's most powerful newspapers,
have denounced the recent closing of a prominent news journal and
other acts of censorship. The letter was written on February 2 but
made available to foreign journalists only yesterday, and it has
helped to fuel a growing backlash against censorship in China.
USA
Treasury Guidelines Working Group Submits Comments on U.S. Department of Treasury Anti-Terrorist Financing Guidelines
On February 1, 2006, the Treasury Guidelines Working Group submitted comments in response to the invitation for public comments on the revised "Anti-Terrorist Financing Guidelines: Voluntary Best Practices for U.S.-based Charities" issued on December 5, 2005, by the U.S. Department of Treasury. The comments are available for download here:
http://www.usig.org/PDFs/Comments_to_Treasury.pdf (in PDF). The revised Guidelines are available on the U.S. Department of Treasury website.
The Treasury Guidelines Working Group is a broadly representative group of more than 40 U.S. charities, foundations, religious organizations, corporations, umbrella associations, watchdog groups and advisors. The Working Group was created in the spring of 2004 and is coordinated by the Council on Foundations. The group developed the Principles of International Charity (in PDF), which identifies eight principles to guide the anti-terrorism efforts of charities. The Principles of International Charity were submitted to the Treasury Department in March 2005.
The Treasury Guidelines Working Group requested that the Treasury Department withdraw the revised Guidelines and endorse in their place the Principles of International Charity. The Working Group's position is based on three principal concerns:
- The revised Guidelines contain provisions which suggest that charitable
organizations are agents of the government.
- The revised Guidelines suggest the collection of more information on more
individuals and organizations than did the initial Guidelines.
- The revised Guidelines do much more than offer guidance to charities that
might be helpful in achieving compliance with sanctions administered by the Office of Foreign Assets Control.
Past News Items from 2005
ICCSL News Release
June 17, 2005
Leon E. Irish and Karla W. Simon have each had papers accepted
for presentation at the 4th ISTR Asia-Pacific Region Meeting, to
be held in Bangalore India in November 2005. Prof. Irish will present
on legal framework developments for NPOs in Bangladesh; Prof. Simon
will report on developments in Japan.
News Release
June 14, 2005
ICCSL has finished its comments on the Draft NPO Law for Mongolia
and posted them to the web. For more information see Mongolia
Project.
News about ICCSL
from the ABA-UNDP International Legal Resource Center Annual Report,
2004
TIMOR LESTE
NGO Law (2004)
UNDP/Timor Leste contacted the ILRC with a request for a consultant
to help develop a model NGO regulatory framework for the country.
The experts’ responsibilities included meeting with key stakeholders,
preparing a report, and holding a workshop to discuss the findings.
ILRC received and reviewed twenty applicants and recommended five
of them based on the criteria outlined in the terms of reference.
A two-person team recommended by the ILRC was selected to carry
out the mission.”
The two person selected was made up of ICCSL founders Dr. Leon
E. Irish and Prof. Karla W. Simon; Dr. Irish received a stipend
and Prof. Simon worked as a volunteer according the to ILRC terms
of reference. The report submitted at the end of the mission is
attached.
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Dr. Leon Irish and Prof. Karla Simon taught the first Module of the Fifth Cycle of the 
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