Table of Contents
Articles
Should the Rules Governing Foundations be Placed in a Civil Code?
By Ulrich Drobnig
Strategic Options for Building the Chinese NGO Sector in an Open World
By Li-Qing Zhao
The Regulation by Public Bodies of Charities in Scotland and Northern Ireland
By Dr. Christine R. Barker and Dr. Kerry J. O’Halloran
Legislation for Non-Profit Organizations in the Republic of Moldova [Russian]
By Ilya Trombytsky
Endowments of Foundations Receive Contributions from the State Privatization Fund of the Czech Republic
By Petr Pajas
A Canadian Charity Tribunal: A Proposal for Implementation
By Arthur B.C. Drache, Q.C. with W. Laird Hunter
Case Notes
Asia Pacific:
the Philippines
European Court Cases:
European Court of Human Rights (Turkey) | European Court of Justice (Belgium)
Newly Independent States: Belarus
South Asia:
India
Western Europe:
Ireland
Country Reports
Asia Pacific:
Australia | China | Japan | Korea | New Zealand | the Philippines | Taiwan | Vietnam
Central and Eastern Europe: Regional | Bosnia and Herzegovina | Croatia | Czech Republic | Kosovo | Montenegro | Slovakia
Latin America:
Argentina | Chile | Colombia | Uruguay | Venezuela
Middle East and North Africa: Iran | Israel | Palestine
Newly Independent States: Azerbaijan | Belarus | Kazakhstan | Moldova | Turkmenistan | Ukraine | Uzbekistan
North America:
Canada/ the United States
South Asia:
India
Sub-Saharan Africa:
Cameroon | South Africa
Western Europe:
France | Germany | the Netherlands | Portugal | Turkey | the United Kingdom
International Developments
Recognition and Protection of NGOs in International Law
By Frits Hondius
NGOs for Transparency and Against Corruption
By The Europhil Trust
International Grantmaking
Grantmaking and Embargoed Countries: An Overview Using Kosovo as a Case Study
By Timothy S. Burgett and Timothy R. Lyman
Dissolution Dos and Don'ts
By Karla W. Simon
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Case Notes: Newly Independent States
Belarus
Belorussian Republican Club of Electors
On November 15 the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) of Belarus lost a case in court on the claim on registration of a public association. The Supreme Court obligated the MoJ to register the public association “Belorussian Republican Club of Electors”.
The Belorussian Republican Club of Electors is a transformed All-Belorussian Club of Electors, the re-registration of which had been rejected by the the MoJ.
The MoJ rejected to register the Belorussian Republican Club of Electors based on three reasons: (1) the name of the association is calling for temporary character of activities of the association and this temporary character is not indicated in the charter and application for registration; (2) the charter does not contain provisions, that each citizen has the direct right to participate in elections and the organization needs a power of attorney from a citizen in order to represent his interests in elections; and (3) the charter claims that the association is authorized to carry out activities which are in the competence of the state electoral commissions and, partially, political parties.
At the court proceedings the public association Independent Society of Legal Research, Olessia Vidruk, represented the Club as a public counsel for the defense. Mr. Andrushko represented the Ministry of Justice. The public defender requested the Supreme Court to obligate the MoJ to register the Belorussian Republican Club of Electors. This was the first time since after the re-registration campaign was started (January 1999) that the MoJ lost a case on registration (re-registration) of a public association.
The state prosecutor disagreed with the decision of the Supreme Court. It is not clear yet if he will appeal the court’s decision.
For more information regarding the re-registration of NGOs in Belarus, please contact Natalia Bourjaily, ICNL Program Director for NIS. E-mail: nbourj@icnl.org, In Washington: tel. (202)624-0766 ; fax: (202)624-0767, or Elena Tonkacheva, Director of the Independent Society for Legal Research. In Minsk: tel. (0172) 365517, fax: (1072) 853999.