The International Journal
of Not-for-Profit Law

Volume 2, Issue 4, June 2000

Dear Readers,

This issue, June 2000, marks the last issue of the second volume of IJNL. As we bring this issue to a close, we are gratified that interest in the Journal continues to be so significant. On the other hand, we continue to seek ways to make it more useful to its readers. We are therefore going to launch additional efforts to encourage reader feed-back over the course of the next few months.

Several important developments have occurred during the past quarter, and are reported on in this issue:

1. The Egyptian Law that was adopted last year has been struck down by the Egyptian Supreme Court. Although the decision is on procedural grounds and thus does not touch on the important questions presented by the content of the law, this decision has been hailed by the NGO community.
2. On a more problematic note, however, we report on the arrest and detention of noted Egyptian NGO activist, Saad Eddin Ibrahim.
3. The Supreme Court of the United States announced its decisions in two freedom of association cases, one of which (Dale v. Boy Scouts of America) may be expected to have fairly far-reaching impact.
4. NGOs and government in Ghana are developing a new NGO policy in a collaborative process, and that document is available on our web site.
5. The administrative direction regarding NGO registration in Kosovo is being implemented.
6. Two tax regimes for NGOs are being significantly amended– in Germany and in South Africa.
7. A major conference, with international participation, was held by the NGO sector in Nicaragua.
8. The Charities Aid Foundation has published a book to encourage giving and NGO–partnering in China.
9. The impact of the re-registration requirement of the 1995 law “On Public Associations” in the Russian Federation has been assessed, and the facts of improper procedures in that process are coming to light.
10. Scotland is developing new rules regarding “charities.”
11. A new discussion paper has been published by the International Accounting Standards Committee on the development of international accounting standards for gifts, grants, and other donations.
12. addition, the issue includes a variety of materials in the various departments.

One of the important themes in this issue, as in earlier ones, is the development of standards of good practice for when a legal system can and should prescribe special rules requiring more burdensome reporting by certain classes of NGOs. As Scotland develops new law on charities, as a model law for “public benefit organizations” is being conceived in Central and Eastern Europe, and as Ghana looks at ways to define “NGOs” differently from “companies,” we can see around the world numerous attempts to grapple with how the distinctions should be made. Another important and over-arching theme in this regard, is what kind of regulatory structure works best both for certifying new organizations and overseeing their activities. The papers and country reports in this issue discuss various ways to accomplish both registration and oversight. Reader comments on the various solutions would be most welcome.

Best regards,

Karla Simon and Lee Irish, General Editors