An important aspect of these legal frameworks are the international and national laws permitting NGOs to come into existence without undue governmental interference. Internationally the right to freedom of association can be found in the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights from 1948 and in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) from 1966. Article 22 of ICCPR states that "everyone shall have the right to freedom of association with others" and this article is almost identical to article 11 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) from 1950. These international instruments have made the right to freedom of association accepted as an international human rights norm today, which has also been reflected in several recent cases from the European Court of Human Rights. In the case Sidiropoulos and Others v. Greece (July 1998), for example, the Court stated that the right to form an association is an inherent part of the right to freedom of association.

Important for ensuring the right of non-governmental organizations to come into existence is the registration procedure. The laws should permit a quick, easy and inexpensive registration of NGOs without undue bureaucratic difficulties. In many emerging democracies today, however, the registration procedure is unfortunately used by governments to prevent or delay the registration of unwanted civil organizations. In Azerbaijan, for example, the NGO sector is experiencing severe bureaucratic difficulties with the registration procedure.

Another aspect of the legal frameworks governing the NGO sector is the right for organizations to function without undue state interference also after they have been established. In the case United Communist Party of Turkey v. Turkey (January 1998) the European Court of Human Rights states that the protection of the right to freedom of association in the European Convention on Human Rights article 11 lasts for an association’s whole lifetime, unless the requirements in article 11 for a valid restriction on the freedom of association are fulfilled.

Moreover, the laws on non-governmental organizations should also address issues such as accountability and transparency, governance and financial sustainability. Transparency in civic organizations is important to ensure that those outside the organization can get an insight into its work and thus guarantee the organizations reliability. Governance needs to be addressed, when self-governance contributes to capacity building of organizations. The laws in this area should set minimum standards for self-governance, which the organizations themselves can impose by self-regulatory mechanisms. Finally, NGO laws should also create the mechanisms that allow the organizations to achieve financial sustainability. This can be accomplished through tax exemptions or through tax deductions for donors.

The civil society is growing rapidly, and many countries are recognizing the value of the NGO sector. To support this growth it is important to have a functioning legal framework governing the sector, and that all governments recognize the right to freedom of association as stated in the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights and in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

Analysis provided by: Maria Bideke, International lawyer and Director of Law Association Justice International.