The International Journal
of Not-for-Profit Law
Volume 3, Issue 2, December 2000
A publication of the International Center for Not-for-Profit Law
Articles
Church and State Relationships in German "Public Benefit" Law
By Dr. Christine R. Barker
Evaluating Tax Incentives for Donations to Public Benefit Organizations
By Paul Bater
Freedom of Association: Recent Developments Regarding the "Neglected Right"
By Leon E. Irish and Karla Simon
The Government of Israel's Control of NGOs: Legal Dilemmas and Structural Constraints
By Nitza Nachmias and Amiram Bogot
Reviews
Introduction to the Non-Profit Sector in the Balkans
By Jenny Hyatt
The Third Force
By Ann M. Florini
Reviewed by Karla Simon
Weak Democracy and Civil Society
By Imco Brouwer
Reviewed by Sam Charron
Case Notes
Central and Eastern Europe:
Poland
Latin America and the Caribbean:
Venezuela
Middle East and North Africa:
Egypt | Tunisia
North America:
the United States
Newly Independent States:
Moldova| Russia
Country Reports
Asia Pacific:
Regional | Australia | the Philippines
Central and Eastern Europe:
Hungary
Latin America and the Caribbean:
Regional | Dominican Republic | Guatemala | Peru
Middle East and North Africa:
Bahrain | Israel | Palestine | Yemen
Newly Independent States:
Kazakhstan | Ukraine
North America:
the United States
Sub-Saharan Africa:
Ghana | South Africa
Western Europe:
Belgium | France | Germany | Ireland
International Grantmaking
Conducting Overseas Site Visits
By Victoria B. Bjorklund and Jennifer I. Goldberg
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Letter from the Editor
Dear Readers,
Welcome to the second issue of Volume III of IJNL.
This issue comes to you a bit late due to our hectic schedules over the holidays. We always want to deliver the best possible publication to you, our readers, and that takes our undivided attention - attention that could only be given in January. So here we are with the December issue at the end of January.
It is important to note that because three of our featured country notes refer to recent events. One is the relaxation of certain requirements under the Foreign Contributions (Regulation) Act (FCRA) in India so that voluntary organizations aiding victims of last week’s earthquake can receive foreign funds more readily. The second is the release on the 17th of January of the proposed list of “public benefit” purposes for both income tax exemption and deductibility of charitable contributions by the South African Revenue Services (SARS). The third is the signing, late this month, of the new law “On Non-commercial Organizations” (NCO Law) in Kazakhstan.
These stories are significant – the one from South Africa because it represents an attempt to carefully delineate the concept of “public benefit.” This is the critical criterion for allowing tax benefits for NGOs in countries around the world – and it is receiving a lot of attention. We will be featuring a series of articles on this subject over the course of the next several issues. (Another related story in this issue comes from Myles MacGregor-Lowndes, our Regional Contributing Editor, about the Australian inquiry into “definitions of charity.”)
The second story, from India, while set in the context of a horrible natural disaster, is good for civil society. Although the relaxation of the FCRA rules is limited, as our Regional Contributing Editor Noshir Dadrawala points out, it is nevertheless important that it has occurred. Perhaps it signals a loosening of the restrictions for a longer time – we certainly hope so.
The third story is important because the new law is one of the few laws of Kazakhstan that was initiated by Parliament. The drafting of the “NCO Law” was an open and transparent legislative activity. Public comments were solicited and accepted from a number of sources, and a public hearing was conducted to allow NGOs to present testimony. For further information on the content of the new law, please see the country report.
Other highlights of this issue include:
- There is a new draft law from the Dominican Republic, sent to us by the Alianza of NGOs. This new draft is presently under discussion on the website of the Marco Legal del Tercer Sector web site www.mlts.org (in Spanish, Portuguese, and English)
- Saad Ibrahim’s trial has been going on, and many prominent people have testified in his behalf; the trial has now been adjourned until February 17.
- Fely Soledad has written a country report about the Philippine Council for NGO certification that looks critically at developments since the Council started its work.
- Emmanuel Akwety and Paul Opoku-Mensah have written a country report about developments in the process of creating a new NGO policy for Ghana.
- Recent proposed changes in the Hungarian “1% Law” are highlighted in a country report by Zsolt Aradsky.
- There is a case note about the failure to register the Salvation Army in Moscow, as well as a case note about the decision of the Supreme Administrative Court in Poland taxing investment expenditures by the Polish Science Foundation (as well as a discussion of proposed ways to change the outcome).
In addition, we have included three articles by prominent civil society activists and legal scholars of the sector. All in all, this issue is quite a rich one.
We hope you will enjoy reading the various articles, country reports, book reviews, and other materials! Please send us any comments and suggestions you may have.
Best regards,
Karla Simon and Lee Irish, General Editors
ICNL is grateful to those who have supported this publication, including the United States Agency for International Development, the World Bank, the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the Ford Foundation, the Open Society Institute, the Wallace Global Fund, the Helen Bader Foundation, the Compton Foundation, the American Express Foundation, the AT&T Foundation, the GE Fund, the Rockefeller Foundation, the Counterpart Foundation, the Aga Khan Foundation, the Asian Development Bank, and the Eurasia Foundation.