Moldova's draft law on NGOs' work submitted to public consultations

Chisinau, 31 January /MOLDPRES/ - The work of non-commercial organizations might be regulated by a new law. The Justice Ministry today submitted a draft to this effect for public consultations.

The document is to regulate the foundation, registration, reorganization and ceasing of the activity of public associations, foundations and private institutions. Presently, these forms of association are regulated by separate laws.   

The draft establishes the principles of foundation and registration of non-commercial organizations, in line with the international and European standards. The draft removes the present territorial restrictions of activity of the public organizations (local, regional, republican, international), as well as the restrictions relating to some categories of people (civil servants, protected persons, non-residents, legal entities), who presently cannot be founders, members or leaders in non-commercial organizations. Also, the new law provides possibility to all private persons and legal entities to voluntarily set up non-commercial organizations.  

At the same time, the period of registration of non-commercial organizations is to be shortened from 30 to 15 days and the term in which the foundation acts can be presented to the state registration body is extended from 30 days to three months.

The initiative sees obligation of the state registration body to notify applicants about the deficiencies which determine the impossibility of registration, with the offering of a term needed to remedy them. On this period, the registration body will not issue the refusal of registration, which will reduce the bureaucratic obstacles to the registration process.  

According to the initiative, the registration of a non-commercial organization is refused only if the goal for which it was set up runs counter the national security, public safety, defence of order and prevention of offences. The same guarantees are provided for in case of procedures of forcible liquidation of NGOs.   

The draft sees, for the first time ever, the right of non-commercial organizations to practice social entrepreneurship, as well as right to benefit from the percentage nomination mechanism. At the same time, the law provides for banning the distribution of the organization’s profit among the founding members and other persons. At the same time, the document sees a new type of public activity besides the existing ones: backing and promotion of the non-commercial sector and non-commercial organizations.    

Following the adoption of the document, the non-commercial organizations falling under the action of the present law will have at their disposal 24 months for adjusting the acts.

(Reporter A. Ciobanu, editor A. Raileanu)