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Global

Bologna, Italy
June 3, 2006

During the third week of May 2006, Professors Karla Simon and Leon Irish will be taught Comparative Civil Society Law at the University of Bologna. They were part of the program for the Master's Degree in International Studies in Philanthropy (MISP).
More information see the news section.

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.

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.

Central and Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union
March 2006
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.

Hamburg, Germany

On May 30, 2006 Prof. Karla Simon presented a paper entitled: "NPO Governance - Recent Developments in Countries Around the World: Experiences with the American Law Institute Project on NPO Governance, Regulatory Reform in Japan and the Ongoing Debate in China," at the Max Planck Institute for Comparative and International Private Law in Hamburg, Germany.
More information see the news section.

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.
More information and conference details are available at Conference on U.N. Reform Details.

April 3, 2006

A conference on UN Reform will be held at Catholic University School of Law on April 3, beginning at 9:30 AM. Two topics will be addressed – the proposed Human Rights Council and the newly established Peace-Building Commission.
More information and conference details are available at Conference on U.N. Reform details.

March 14, 2006
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.

February 22, 2006

ICCSL hosted a cocktail party in Georgetown in honor of Dr. Frits Hondius, the former General Counsel of the Council of Europe and long-time supporter of ICCSL.

February 14, 2006

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."

International Conference on Nonprofit and Charity Law

Prof. Karla Simon will be participating in an International Conference on Nonprofit and Charity Law to be held in Beijing, China, on December 14-15. The conference is sponsored by the Ministry of Civil Affairs and GTZ, the German Association for Technical Cooperation (GTZ).

Comparative Civil Society Law course

Prof. Leon Irish will be teaching the course in Comparative Civil Society Law at Central European University on November 27, 2007.

Removing Obstacles for International Philanthropy

Prof. Karla Simon will speak 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.

Andrew S. Natsios Talk on October 15, 2007

ICCSL will be co-sponsoring a talk by Andrew S. Natsios, President Bush's Special Envoy for Dafur, on October 15, 2007. The event will be held at the Catholic University of America, Columbus School of Law at 5 PM.

Brown Bag Lunch on Civil Society in China
Event delayed. New information will be posted as soon as it is available.

The World Bank will host a Brown Bag Lunch on the Legal Framework for Civil Society in China, to be conducted by ICCSL. Further information about attending the meeting can be obtained from Sun Limei, lsun@worldbank.org.

Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies Presentation
March 26, 2007

Prof. Karla Simon and Dr. Leon Irish will be making 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 will discuss developments with regard to legal protections for civil society in China.

ABA Section of International Law

Washington, DC
May 1 - 5, 2007

As part of the American Bar Association's International Law Section Spring Meeting, a panel will be held by the International NGOs and NPOs Committee, which will feature developments in the laws and regulations regarding not-for-profit organizations in Russia and the former Soviet Union, Latin America, and China. The meeting will be held in Washington, DC from May 1-5, at the Fairmont Hotel. Further information about the event will be made available in April.

North America, September 2006


The Project to Create a Harmonized Legal Framework for Unincorporated Nonprofit Associations in North America of the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws met on Friday, September 8, and Saturday, September 9, 2006, at the Marriott Key Bridge Hotel in Arlington, VA. Dr. Lee Irish of ICCSL will attend as a representative of the International NGOs and NPOs Committee of the Section of International Law of the American Bar Association.

Ghana

August 2-3, 2006

A workshop was held in Accra, Ghana to discuss the District Registration Act and changes that need to made in the draft documents.

Global - ISTR Conference 2006

July 9-12 Bangkok, Thailand

ICCSL was involved in three presentations at the ISTR Conference, held in Bangkok on July 9 -12, 2006. Dr. Irish and Prof. Simon also participated in the Asia-Pacific Regional Meeting and in the organizing session for the Legal Issues Affinity Group (in formation). The conference was large and well-attended; it included many interesting panels and opportunities for good discussions outside the formal meetings. In addition, for the first time ever, the Keynote Speaker was a lawyer - Prof. Mark Sidel of the University of Iowa College of Law.

Dr. Irish and Prof. Simon each moderated session of the conference; they also participated in a "Panel Presentation on Legal Issues Affecting Civil Society in Asia." Dr. Irish spoke about developments in Bangladesh, while Prof. Simon presented her research on Japan. Other participants on the panel were Andrew White, who discussed the use of the ancient waqf form as an instrument of modern civil society in Pakistan (the paper is available in the April 2006 issue of IJCSL at page 7), and Prof. Ishwara Bhat of the University of Mysore in India. Prof. Bhat spoke about recent developments in the legal framework for civil society organizations in India. The University of Mysore is the APCCSL partner for South Asia. The papers of Dr. Irish and Prof. Simon will be published in law reviews in the coming months.

The Legal Issues Affinity Group, which was suggested by Prof. Sidel, came together over lunch on Tuesday. There are photos of the meeting on the website. More information about the group are available from Prof. Simon, who has agreed to serve as secretary to the Affinity Group. There will also be an article about the group in the ISTR Newsletter. Anyone who wishes to join the listserve should contact Prof. Simon.

Photos of the event are posted in the Photo Gallery.

China
July 5 - 7 2006

CCEL Conference at University of British Columbia

The Ministry of Civil Affair's Central Legislation Office (CLO) has been tasked with drafting a new China Charity Enhancement Law (CCEL), which is hoped to be prepared and promulgated before 2008. This is a significant development for China as the Beijing 2008 Summer Olympics will herald a "coming out party" for China and the desire to show the world that China is advancing in the development of the not-for-profit and charity sectors. A joint project between University of British Columbia (UBC), Beijing Normal University (BNU) and the (CLO), has been developed to provide international academic assistance as China prepares to draft new charity laws. The results will be the basis for the development of a Green/White Paper on the China Charities Enhancement Law which will be used for national consultation. Differentiating between public benefit or charity activities of NPOs in China and other activities was proposed in ICCSL's Report China's Tax Rules for Not-for-Profit Organizations. This development is thus particularly welcome, as it signals a move toward enhancing the current legal environment for civil society organizations and allowing them to access resources to address issues that need urgent attention, such as poverty, economic dislocation of minorities, etc. The Chinese delegation is led by Mr. Wang Lai Zhu, Director of the Legislative Affairs Branch of the Ministry of Civil Affairs' Central Legislation Office.

Bologna, Italy
June 3, 2006

During the third week of May 2006, Professors Karla Simon and Leon Irish will be taught Comparative Civil Society Law at the University of Bologna. They were part of the program for the Master's Degree in International Studies in Philanthropy (MISP). MISP offers courses on the Nonprofit Sector, Issues in Philanthropy, Volunteerism, Social Justice Philanthropy, Philanthropy and Religion, etc. taught by it own faculty (including e.g., Prof. Giuliana Gemelli) as well as well-known Italian scholars and practitioners (e.g., Alceste Santuari and Andrea Maltoni) and scholars and practitioners from around the world (e.g., Ben Gidron, Rupert Strachwitz, and Peter Walkenhorst). There were 20 students in the class, coming from a variety of countries (e.g., Brazil, Ethiopia, India, Israel, Italy, the United States, and Zimbabwe). Profs Simon and Irish will provide continuing input for the program and oversee research and internships for some of the students.

Photos from the course can be found in the Photo Gallery

Hamburg, Germany

On May 30, 2006 Prof. Karla Simon presented a paper entitled: "NPO Governance - Recent Developments in Countries Around the World: Experiences with the American Law Institute Project on NPO Governance, Regulatory Reform in Japan and the Ongoing Debate in China," at the Max Planck Institute for Comparative and International Private Law in Hamburg, Germany. She and Dr. Irish were invited to visit the Institute and the Bucerius Law School not only to give the lecture but also to participate in round-tables on legal reform issues affecting the not-for-profit sector in Germany and the United States. The lecture was attended by many students and academics from Germany, as well as visiting scholars and students from China and India.

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