The International Journal
of Not-for-Profit Law

Letter from the Editors

Dear Readers,

As you will recall, the last issue was a “Special Issue” of the Journal, but with this issue we return to our usual format. The issue includes country notes and articles from various regions of the world on a set of varied topics. Among them are the following:

1. A comparison of the legal developments affecting civil society in Northern Ireland and Scotland, by Dr. Kerry O’Halloran of the University of Ulster and Dr. Christine Barker of the University of Dundee.
2. Discussions of developments in Moldova and the Czech Republic by Dr. Ilya Trombitsky and Dr. Petr Pajas, respectively.
3. An analysis of the role of Chinese NGOs by Li-Qing Zhao, one of the research associates of the newly founded NGO Research Center at Tsinghua University.
4. A story about the ongoing initiative to reform the fiscal environment for NGOs in South Africa, prepared by SANGOCO.
5. Information about continuing developments in Latin America by the Regional Coordinating Editor for Latin America, Antonio Itriago M. of Venezuela.
6. A story about a December decision of the European Court of Human Rights which affirms the importance of the freedom of association.
7. A paper about grant-making to “embargoed” countries, which was originally published by the Council on Foundations, by Timothy S. Burgett and Timothy R. Lyman.

These stories and others contribute to the wide range of information available in this issue of IJNL. Thanks so much to all of our authors and editors for their continued support in making the Journal a valuable information resource!

In addition to the news items and analytical articles in the Journal, ICNL is pleased to announce another new publication that will support efforts to improve the enabling environment for civil society and the freedom of association. Through the kind support of the Himalaya Foundation in Taiwan, the Chinese version of the 1997 Discussion Draft of the World Bank Handbook on Good Practices for Laws Relating to Nongovernmental Organizations has been published online and in hard copy. For further information about the Himalaya Foundation and the launch of the Chinese Handbook, please see the stories under Taiwan and China in this issue of the Journal. The Chinese Handbook is available on the Himalaya Foundation site at www.tpic.org.tw and will shortly be available on the ICNL site. Hard copies of the Chinese Handbook can be obtained from the Himalaya Foundation.

ICNL is also pleased to announce that it has received several new grants within the past three months to support its “Database, Journal, and Support for International Grantmaking Project.” These grants are intended to further the development of its database and on-line library and its ongoing updating and publishing endeavors, including the Journal. The new funders include: the American Express Company, the AT&T Foundation, the Ford Foundation, the Helen Bader Foundation, and the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. They join the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, the Open Society Institute, the World Bank, USAID, Counterpart Foundation, and the Wallace Global Fund, all of whom have provided support for the project in the past.

We are, of course, always interested in receiving additional information and articles about events involving the enabling environment for civil society and the freedom of association. Readers who are interested in contributing should contact the Journal editors by email to daitken@icnl.org.

Lee Irish and Karla Simon

Copyright © 2008 The International Center for Not-for-Profit Law (ICNL)
ISSN: 1556-5157