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Description
The establishment of an NGO takes at least 3 months, and the procedure for making simple changes, such as changing the headquarter or Board members, is identical to that of setting up. In the case of the dissolution procedure, the situation is even more complicated, because voluntary dissolution is not allowed, the duration being at least 12 months. Specialized assistance is also needed, as the procedure takes place in court. The establishment and modification procedure is not adapted to the current requirements and needs of the sector, which became even more evident in the context of the pandemic that began in 2020. During the pandemic period, the courts granted longer terms than usual, almost doubling the duration of the establishment.
Through the project we intend to intervene through the proposal to amend OG26 / 2000 to reduce deadlines or the elimination of some procedural steps. Also, another public policy alternative could be the transfer of the establishment procedure to ONRC (National Trade Register Office) which already has a digitized infrastructure and ensures the establishment in 3 days of a company. There is a need to identify safety measures to ensure that there can be no political interference in the establishment process.
The second approach is to develop and propose a series of technical tools that can facilitate the internal processes of organizing and amending the constitutive acts such as the online organization of meetings, online or voting by corespondence, electronic convocation, remote signing. All these procedures can be included in the statute in compliance with the conditions required by law, facilitating the amendment process.
The direct beneficiaries are over 320 NGOs as well as 1000 citizens.
Summary of project results
From its appearance until now, the improvement of Government Ordinance 26/2000 regarding associations and foundations in Romania has always been a topic on the agenda of organized civil society. Sometimes, different institutional actors - the General Secretariat of the Government, the Ministry of Justice, or different parliamentarians tried to change it without organizing public debates, some of the changes could lead to the closing of the legal framework for the functioning of NGOs. In recent years, the digitalization forced as a result of the Covid 19 pandemic and the lockdown has once again brought into discussion the need for real changes in the functioning of non-governmental organizations.
The project "Reducing the administrative pressure and digitizing the process of establishment, organization and operation of non-governmental organizations in Romania!" followed during its implementation period the bringing to the discussion table the most important institutional actors with attributions in amending specific legislation to identify obstacles in the functioning of organizations and find the best public policy practices that can be transposed into legislation. Through this project, the promoter aimed (1) to reduce by 50% the terms and costs of establishing, modifying, and dissolving NGOs through de-bureaucratization and digitization, and (2) to develop useful technical procedures and tools for the organization and operation of NGOs. On the organizational development side, the promoter sought to increase its organizational capacity to provide services addressed to the general public by developing a communication and marketing strategy.,
Therefore, through the project, CNLR organized 9 working meetings with 33 representatives of NGOs and specialized lawyers in which various proposals for improving OG 26/2000 were discussed, as well as the legal and technological resources made available by the promoter. The result was a set of amendments to amend OG26/2000. Also, a report - analysis was carried out based on data from 15 interviews with NGO representatives, lawyers, and representatives of the General Secretariat of the Government and from the organization of 3 focus groups with representatives of civil society from three fields of activity (civic NGOs, NGOs with economic activity and NGOs providing social services), as well as five interviews with representatives of the courts. The report includes an evaluation of the current legal framework and recommendations for the simplification, debureaucratisation, and digitization of the procedures governed by OG 26/2000, as well as for ensuring access to updated data about the sector. The report was launched and discussed in two online public debates with the participation of 47 participants in the first debate, respectively 51 participants in the second debate.
In May 2023 a public hearing was organized and about 50 representatives from the non-profit, legal, and public administration fields participated. During the public hearing, 15 depositions were submitted which were later analyzed and summarized in a second report published in June 2023;
After these results, a running advocacy campaign was implemented - meetings with decision-makers from the Ministry of Justice, participation in a public debate requested by the promoter to the Ministry of Justice, and a letter of support for the amended project proposed by MJ at the Parliament. Other advocacy results: a web section of legal resources was created within the CLNR website, 8 interviews/podcasts with experts, 4 webinars, and a campaign of information through Facebook Ads; the event - Legal Forum of the NGO sector (NGO Legal Forum) - in October 2023 with the participation of 57 stakeholders - NGO representatives, lawyers/lawyers, and representatives of some public institutions.
In the framework of the two organizational development activities - a communication strategy and an online application for processor management related to human resources were created.
As a result of the advocacy campaign, CNLR proposals have been included in the legislative project that will amend the Government Ordinance regarding associations and foundations. Also, on the promoter''s website, a web section was created with legal information useful for NGOs, a Guide on the digitization of the internal processes and procedures of NGOs, and an analysis of the quality of the active process of NGOs.