Definition of NGOs according to National Legislation,

The NGO is a voluntary, self governing, non-commercial formation, which is being established by the initiative of citizens, who came together on the grounds of unique interests and goals, which are prescribed in the charter of the NGO (Art. 5 of the Law on NGOs).

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Definition of NGOs according to National Legislation,

The NGO is a voluntary, self governing, non-commercial formation, which is being established by the initiative of citizens, who came together on the grounds of unique interests and goals, which are prescribed in the charter of the NGO (Art. 5 of the Law on NGOs).

Founding of an NGOs  

The right to creation of an NGO can be done through the association of individuals also through the association of legal entities (Art. 5 of the Law on NGOs).

Three individuals are required to initiate the foundation of an NGO. The quantity of founders for different types of NGOs can be specified in special Laws concerning special NGOs.  Among founders there can be both physical and legal entities – public unions.  The decision to form an NGO, to approve its charter and to form the governing and controlling bodies are being adopted during the conference or general meeting of the NGO members.  Beginning from the moment of adopting these decisions the NGO is considered as already founded: it can start to implement its activities according to charter, it gains rights and the only exception is that it does not get a status of a legal entity (Art. 18 of the Law on NGOs).

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

The NGOs are free to choose their goals. At the same time the creation and functioning of extremist groups is forbidden. The NGO can not pursue illegal aims (Art. 15, 16, 19 of the Law on NGOs).

The members of NGOs can be individuals who are already 18 years old and legal entities- public associations.  To become a member of youth organization the individual should be at least 14 years old.

The membership of a individual to one or another organization can not be a reason for limitation of latter’s rights and freedoms or it can not be a necessary condition for the government to allocate to the members of an organization special privileges, except in cases foreseen by legislation of Russian Federation.

The state bodies or local self government bodies can not be founders or members of an NGO.

As a result of the creation of an NGO the founders automatically become members of the NGO, bearing corresponding rights and responsibilities.

The rights and responsibilities of the members are foreseen in the charters of NGOs (Art. 19 of the Law on NGOs).

The charter of an NGO can also illustrate the symbols of an NGO. There can be also foreseen some other provisions which are not in contradiction with the state legislation (Article 20 of the Law on NGOs).

Functioning of NGOs without state registration 

An organization which is not a legal entity has a right to:

freely distribute information concerning its activities;

to hold meetings, organize demonstrations and picketing;

to present and protect its rights, rights of its members vis-à-vis the state bodies, local self-government and other public organizations;

to fulfill other rights in cases of direct instructions mentioned in federal legislation on special types of public organizations;

show initiative in cases related to fulfillment of its tasks according to its charter;

to make proposals to the state bodies and local self government.

But without registration as a legal entity the NGO can not participate in decision making of state bodies and local self-government, create means of mass media, make publications, maintain property and be in contractual relations (Art. 29 of the Law on NGOs).

Registration requirements for NGOs

The registration of NGOs is subject to authorization (Art. 21of the Law on NGOs).

In order to get a status of a legal entity an NGO should proceed in accordance to the Law “On State Registration of Legal Entities and Individual Entrepreneurs”.  The registration of a legal entity is usually done by local federal body of registration.  In case of inter-regional organization the registration is done by the regional office of registry in the district where the main governing body of the NGO is located (Art. 21 of the Law on NGOs).

For the registration of an NGO the following documents should be presented:

the application form, signed by the members of the functioning governing body of the NGO, where should be mentioned also the full names of these individuals with their telephone numbers and place where they live;

three copies of the charter of the NGO;

extracts from the minutes of the conference or general meeting where there was made a decision to form an NGO and its governing and controlling bodies;

information on founders;

receipt of state duty payment;

information on the place/location of the governing body of the organization in order to have a proper contact with NGO;

the minutes and protocols of the conference or the general meeting of pan-Russian, inter-regional or international NGOs;

in case of using the private name of a individual, symbols etc. these attributes should be protected also by Federal Copyright Law of Russian Federation;

the above mentioned documents should be submitted in three months time after the general meeting or conference of founders.

In one month time the state body in charge of registration of the legal entity should give a written answer on registration of the legal entity to the founders of the NGO or in case of refusal the relevant body should hand out to the founders a through explanation letter of refusal, which can be appealed at the court.  

The registering body, in five days time, enters into the unified state registry all the data received from the body which approved the registration, and within a day informs this body of the inserted record.  In one day the unified state registration body should inform the body which made a decision to register the NGO, about making a relevant record in state register.

In one day the unified state registration body should inform the body which made a decision to register the NGO, about making a relevant record in state register.

The NGO receives a document confirming the record in the unified state strategy (Art. 21to 23 of the Law on NGOs). 

The fee for registration is 2000 rubles (approx. 70 USD) (Art. 5 of the law “On State Duty”, as of 9 December, 1991).

Authorized state bodies and NGO registry

Laws and legal acts are public. Additional information can be obtained by the regional bodies of Ministry of Justice.  The Law “On NGOs” has no specific norms related to informing on creation of NGO.  The registry body is the State Registry of Ministry of Justice.  Registration time is 1 month (Art. 23 of the Law On NGOs).

Denial of registration to NGOs

There are several grounds for rejecting to register the NGO (Art. 23 of the Federal Law “On State Registration of Legal Entities and Individual Entrepreneurs” as of 8 August 2001, hereinafter Law “On State Registration”):

if the charter of the NGO contradicts the Constitution of Russian Federation and the Law “On NGOs”;

if the required documents are not in correspondence with the requirements of the registering body or the documents are filled up in not a proper way, also if the application is submitted to a body not competent fro the registration;

if there is another NGO registered under the same name performing its activities in the same region,

if there is a finding of fake information in the submitted documents;

if the name of the organization offends the morality, national or religious feelings (Art. 23 of the Federal  Law “On State Registration”).

It is forbidden to refuse the registration on the grounds of inexpediency (Art. 24 of the Federal Law “On State Registration”).

In case of refusal of state registration of the NGO, it should be done in a written form and explicitly mentioning concrete causes of refusal in accordance to the Laws of the Russian Federation (Art. 24 of the Federal Law “On State Registration”).

Branch offices of NGOs

A registration is important if the branch office is going to be a separate legal entity.

Operational requirements for international NGOs

In case of international organization or an NGO of Federal character the registration is done by the federal body of registration (Art. 13 of the Federal Law “On State Registration”).

Re-registration requirements for NGOs

There are two main reasons for re-registration of the NGO: If there are changes done in its charter or if the NGO is undergoing a reorganization (Art. 15 of the Federal Law “On State Registration”).  

Right of Appeal of NGOs

The applicant has a right to appeal to the court after the rejection (Art. 23 of the Federal Law “On State Registration”).

Authorized state bodies granting financial and other benefits to NGOs

The NGO should publish an annual report on usage of its property and secure the access to that information (Art. 29 of the Law on NGOs).

The NGO should inform the body which takes decisions on registration of NGOs (hereinafter body) about the decisions of the board of NGO, its annual and quarterly reports as well as the reports submitted to tax authorities;

The NGO should allow the body to participate during the events organized by the NGO as a part of their usual activities;

To support the representatives of the body to become aware of activities of the NGO aimed at achieving the goals foreseen in the charter of the organization in accordance with the legislation of the Russian Federation;

If the NGO refuses to present in agreed timing the information foreseen by Law, the body has a right to appeal to the court to have the NGO suspended from its status of legal entity (Art. 29 of the Law on NGOs);

The Prosecutor’s office of Russian Federation is also a body fulfilling the oversight of NGO activities (Art. 38 of the Law on NGOs).

The body has a right to control the correspondence of the NGOs activities to their goals. Hence the body has a right to:

to ask the governing body of NGO to present their administrative documentation;

to delegate its employees to be present during the NGOs activities;

to send to the governing bodies of NGOs warning letters in case of violation of the legislation of Russian Federation or if the NGO’s activities are in contradiction to the charter of the latter (the violations should be clearly said in the letter). These warnings of the body can be appealed at the court by NGOs (Art. 38 of the Law on NGOs).

Foreign funding of NGOs

The NGOs can receive financial support from abroad, except the political parties (Art. 27 of the law “On Political Parties”, 11 July, 2001).

Tax exemptions to NGOs

No information available.

Reporting requirements for NGOs

Those NGOs which have the status of a legal entity are obliged to submit regular reports to taxation authorities about their financial activities.

It also should present reports about its activities in case of request from the body (Art. 29 of the Law on NGOs).

Termination, dissolution and liquidation procedure for NGOs

The NGO can be terminated by the court upon an appeal of the Prosecutor (general or local) for violating the rights of others and in case of involvement in violent activities (Art. 44 of the Law on NGOs).

Participation in law-drafting that affects the status of NGOs

There are no special procedures for NGOs to be involved in law making process and it is not foreseen by Laws.

Posted: June 2006

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