Registration of an all-Ukrainian charitable organization

Previously, according to the old Law of Ukraine "On Charity and Charitable Organizations" of 16.09.1997 No. 531/97-ВР, these organizations were created with the appropriate status, enshrining it in their charter - all-Ukrainian (territory of the whole of Ukraine and presence of branches in most regions of Ukraine), local (territory of the respective region) and international (territory of Ukraine and at least one other state), and had to operate on the territorial principle (Article 7 of this Law). Depending on the status, state registration was also carried out "by rank": all-Ukrainian and international charitable organizations were registered by the Ministry of Justice, and others by local departments of justice. Only all-Ukrainian and international charitable organizations had the right to establish branches, branches and representative offices, and it is therefore understandable why most founders really wanted to grant their organization "all-Ukrainian" status - it was much easier to receive funds from targeted state support programs or international financial assistance. This factor even determined the list of documents required for registration - for example, in order to register an all-Ukrainian charitable foundation with the Ministry of Justice, in addition to the basic package (charter, minutes of the decision on the foundation, application, etc.), it was necessary to additionally provide information on the presence of representatives in most regions of Ukraine, i.e. in 14 out of 27 regions. 

Реєстрація всеукраїнської благодійної організації

Вирішальною віхою у визнанні недемократичності старого ЗУ "Про об’єднання  громадян" від 16.06.1992 р. No 2460-XII стало рішення Європейського суду з прав людини у справі «Корецький та інші проти України», в якому було  визнано неправомірною відмову у реєстрації організації «Громадянський Комітет за збереження дикої (корінної) природи Березняків» на підставі таких аргументів, як неможливість організації мати осередки в інших регіонах у разі  відсутності всеукраїнського статусу, набирати волонтерів, вести господарську діяльність, для чого вимагалося створення окремої юридичної особи. Тепер у разі відмови у реєстрації обов’язковим є отримання вмотивованого експертного висновку про причини такого рішення.

Як зареєструвати благодійну організацію в Києві за низькими цінами

Even the very title of the new Law of Ukraine "On Public Associations" of 22.03.2012 No. 572-VI indicates a fundamental democratic shift in the legislation on social movements - from now on, the right to associate is guaranteed not only to Ukrainian citizens, but also regardless of citizenship. A very significant change is the recognition by the new law that public associations can protect the interests of not only their members, but also other citizens - under the old law, you had to prove to the Ministry of Justice how this relates to your interests. 

The new law allows you to create a public association with or without the status of a legal entity. With the status of a legal entity, a non-governmental organization can conduct business activities that are not aimed at making a profit, perform government services and receive funds from the state budget, and have all other rights - to appear in court, participate in civil turnover, etc. 

If the activities of a local charitable organization extend to the territory of two or more administrative-territorial units, its registration is carried out by the relevant registration authority at the location of the charitable organization's executive body.

However, a serious drawback of the Law was that local branches of all-Ukrainian organizations were not registered as legal entities, but only by notification as separate subdivisions, which significantly violated their property rights, since those with legal entity status could receive grants independently, outside the parent organization. 

The forced liquidation of local branches has now been canceled. The VRU adopted the law on amendments to the Law of Ukraine "On Public Associations" to ensure the activities of all-Ukrainian public associations, according to which separate subdivisions of a public association with the status of a legal entity may have their own constituent documents and act on their basis: "Local branches of all-Ukrainian (international) organizations that operated with the status of a legal entity on the day this Law came into force, by decision of the supreme governing body of the all-Ukrainian (international) public organization, retain the status of a legal entity after the entry into force of this Law" (part 8 of section V of the Law). In case the supreme governing body of an all-Ukrainian (international) non-governmental organization decides to terminate its local branches as legal entities, the legal successor to the property, assets and liabilities of such branches is the relevant non-governmental organization.  

A non-governmental organization that intends to carry out activities with the status of a legal entity is subject to registration in accordance with the procedure established by the Law of Ukraine "On State Registration of Legal Entities and Individual Entrepreneurs", taking into account the peculiarities established by this Law for the registration of non-profit organizations. It is clear that the non-profit status is separately obtained from the Ministry of Revenues and Duties after registration.

Registration of a non-governmental organization is carried out free of charge by the executive authorities vested with the authority to register non-governmental organizations at the location of the non-governmental organization. That is, regardless of the place of registration, a non-governmental organization can operate throughout Ukraine and represent the interests of all citizens, not just its members.

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