Definition of NGOs

The law does not contain a definition of a “non-governmental organization”. Separate laws are devoted to specific categories of organizations that could be created exercising freedom of association and could come under the notion of “non-governmental organizations”. Different procedures apply for different types of organizations.

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Definition of NGOs

The law does not contain a definition of a “non-governmental organization”. Separate laws are devoted to specific categories of organizations that could be created exercising freedom of association and could come under the notion of “non-governmental organizations”. Different procedures apply for different types of organizations.

Founding of NGOs

New Legal Entities are registered in the Register of Legal Entities upon submittal of certain documents, such as a request to register, a founding act, certificates of authenticity of documents and of compliance with the requirements of law. Certificates of compliance with the rrequirements of law are issued by a notary or, in case of political parties, by the Ministry of Justice. Trade unions are not required to submit such a certificate.

Aims that may be pursued by NGO and rules applicable to members

The aims of the NGO should be clearly indicated in the charter adopted during the creation of the given NGO. Constitution makes it clear that aims and activities of non-governmental organizations may not contradict the Constitution and laws. (Article 35 of the Constitution)

Functioning of NGOs without state registration

The law does not contain a prohibition for an NGO to function without obtaining status of a legal person/without registration. However, in order to be able to operate as a legal person, an NGO is required to register in the Register of Legal Entities.

Registration requirements for NGOs

The procedure for obtaining legal status by an NGO is a procedure of registration as a legal entity. It can be classified as notification procedure because authorization is not necessary. If the conditions required by laws are met, authorities cannot refuse to register an NGO. New Legal Entities are registered in the Register of Legal Entities upon submittal of certain documents, such as a request to register, a founding act, certificates of authenticity of documents and of compliance with the requirements of law. Certificates of compliance with the requirements of law are issued by a notary or, in case of political parties, by the Ministry of Justice. Trade unions are not required to submit such a certificate (Government regulation on Register of Legal Entities, as of 12 November, 2003). The time limit for reviewing the application form is 5 days after submission and the time limit for final registration is 30 days (Article 2.71 of the Civil Code, as of 17 July, 2000). In case of an association the registration fee amounts to 25 LTL. In addition, notaries charge 85 LTL (Lats) for verification of the submitted documents as to their compliance with the requirements of laws and further 10 LTL for verification of every item of data indicated in the request for registration.

Authorized state bodies and NGO registry

The function of maintaining the registry is performed by the state enterprise the Centre of Registers which comes within the scope of regulation of the Ministry of Justice. This information is public (Article 2.71 of the Civil Code).

Denial of registration to NGOs

Registration of a legal person may be refused only for reasons: i.e. shortcomings of the submitted documents of formal and substantive nature (Article 2.68 par.1 of the Civil Code). The registration authorities have to give thorough explanations and a time limit for the applicant to make all necessary improvements and changes in the submitted documents (Article 2.68 par.3 of the Civil Code).

Branch offices of NGOs

To obtain legal status of a branch office, these branch offices have to be registered. The procedure as to verification of compliance of their documents with the requirements of law is analogous to that applied to the main legal entity.

Operational requirements for international NGOs

The procedure for an international or foreign NGO or branch registration is the same as for the local NGOs, described above.

Re-registration requirements for NGOs

NGOs are required to register changes of their founding documents or data contained therein and changes of status of an NGO.

Right of appeal of NGOs

The applicant NGO has the right to appeal to the court the decision of the registration body and claim also compensation if there is a case of unlawful refusal (Article 2.73 of the Civil Code ).

Authorized state bodies granting financial and other benefits to NGOs

There is no single government body to review applications for granting financial and other benefits to an NGO.

Foreign funding of NGOs

NGOs are allowed to receive foreign funding. Various pieces of legislation are applicable, e.g. Law on Charity and Sponsorship.

Tax exemptions to NGOs

There is a descriptive list categories of organisations exempted from property tax. Many NGOs fulfill these requirements and are free of this tax (Article 5 of the Law “On Real Estate Property Tax for Enterprises and Organisations”).

Reporting requirements of NGOs

There is a requirement for branch offices of foreign legal entities to submit to the Register of Juridical Persons an annual consolidated financial report of the main legal entity or organization if such report is required of that legal entity or organization under the laws applicable to it (Articles 2.55 and 2.58 of the Civil Code).

Termination, dissolution and liquidation procedure for NGOs

A legal entity may be dissolved by court at the initiative of a manager of the Register of Legal Entities if a legal entity in five years has not updated its data contained in the Register and there are grounds to believe that a legal entity does not perform any activities, or if a financial report (where required) has not been submitted for more than  24 months without giving reasons, or if it is impossible during six months to find members of governing bodies of a legal entity both at the seat of a legal entity and at addresses indicated to the Register, etc. A legal entity is dissolved in such cases only if such intended dissolution is not contested during 3 months following its announcement (Article 2.70 of the Civil Code). A dissolution is foreseen also for committing a criminal offence by the legal entity, but only through the court ruling (Article 43 of the Criminal Code).

Participation in law-drafting that affects the status of NGOs

Every individual and legal entity has a right to submit proposals concerning drafting of a legal act. Possibilities of NGOs’ participation in drafting of legislation are specified in the Charter of Seimas (Parliament) and Regulations of the Work of the Government. Cooperation with NGOs is envisaged to take the form of their participation on the work parliamentary committees, governmental commissions, Government hearings, giving opinions on draft legal acts, etc. In practice NGOs have proved to be active in drafting different legal acts (Article 4 of the Law “On Procedure for Drafting of Laws and other Legal Acts”).

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