This law aims at safeguarding the right to freedom of establishing the associations and non-governmental organizations in the Kingdom of Cambodia in order to protect their legitimate interests and to protect the public interests as well as to promote the partnership cooperation between the associations and the non- governmental organizations and the public authorities.
The purposes of this law are to determine the formalities to legally recognize the associations or non-governmental organizations as well as to establish the relationship between the associations and/or non-governmental organizations and the public authorities for the development of the Cambodian society.
This law has a scope of application to the associations and non-governmental organizations, which conduct the activities within the Kingdom of Cambodia, except provided by provisions of a separate law.
The terms used in this law define as follows:
A domestic association refers to a membership organization 
established under the laws of Cambodia by natural persons or legal entities aiming at representing and protecting the interests of their members without generating or sharing profits.
A domestic non-governmental organization refers to a membership non-governmental organization, including foundations, established under the laws of Cambodia by natural persons or legal entities aiming at providing funds and services in one or many sectors without generating or sharing profits.
A foreign association or non-governmental organization refers to a legal foreign non-governmental organization established outside the country aiming at conducting activities to serve public interests without generating profits.
An association refers to both domestic and foreign associations.
Non-governmental organization refers to both domestic and foreign
non-governmental organization.