The International Journal
of Not-for-Profit Law

Volume 16, Issue 1, September 2014

In this issue, the International Journal of Not-for-Profit Law looks at regulations and their impacts on civil society in varied settings. Eric Gorovitz, an attorney specializing in nonprofit and tax-exempt legal issues, outlines proposed regulations that seek to clarify the permissible political activities undertaken by “social welfare organizations” in the United States. Next, Mária Svidroňová and Helena Kuvíková of Matej Bel University (Slovakia) analyze the Slovak Republic’s tax regime, specifically the tax assignation mechanism, and its effect on civil society organizations. Renzo Rossi, an attorney and postdoctoral research fellow at Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore (Piacenza, Italy), considers the European Commission’s proposed European Foundation Statute and its influence over Italian legislation.

We feature two additional articles as well. Lucas R. Arrivillaga and Georg von Schnurbein of the Centre for Philanthropy Studies at the University of Basel (Switzerland) evaluate Switzerland’s legal framework governing foundations, with particular attention to its principles concerning transparency. Jussi Laine assesses the contemporary understanding of civil society and recommends placing greater emphasis on organizations’ functions rather than their forms.

We are grateful, as always, to our authors for sharing their expertise. And we invite readers and their colleagues to share their own expertise: We welcome manuscripts addressing legal aspects of civil society, philanthropy, and not-for-profit organizations around the world.

Stephen Bates
Editor
International Journal of Not-for-Profit Law
sbates@icnl.org