The Disputes about NPO

Currently, legal relations concerning non-profit organizations are regulated at the subordinate level. A group of deputies of the last convocation initiated the adoption of a package of legislations regulating the functioning of non-commercial organizations in Pridnestrovie, the procedure for their registration, bringing to responsibility for violations of the current legislation. The main thing in it is the law-in-draft "On non-profit organizations". In its development, legislations on Amendments and Addendum to the Law PMR On Public Associations, On Amending the Law PMR on State Registration of Legal Entities and Individual Entrepreneurs in Pridnestrovie, on Amendments to the Pridnestrovian Code of Conduct Administrative offenses". The documents were adopted by the deputy corps in the first reading.

Within the framework of preparation of draft laws for the second reading, two parliamentary hearings with the participation of NPO representatives were held at the meeting of the Supreme Council's Committee on Public Associations, Sport, Information and Youth Policy. As a result, only 27 amendments to "adoption" and 11 "to rejection" were proposed only to the main draft of the package - "On Non-Profit Organizations". However, the two-hour conversation that took place during the meeting of the responsible parliamentary committee were far beyond their scope.

According to Igor Buga, head of the parliamentary committee on Public Associations, Sports, Information and Youth Policy, the joint work led to realization of the need to regulate legal relations in this area on the basis of the law of determining what is political activity and what does not apply to it. According to him, there is in the world, including Russia, a somewhat incisive term "foreign agent" is already used. If the NPO receives funding from abroad, it must voluntarily register as a foreign agent, and at the same time calmly, transparently work, provide reports on activities to the relevant structures. Deputy Oleg Vasilaty is just an excessive reporting (monthly, annual), and even with the publication in the media regards as unnecessary control of non-profit organizations, mostly engaged in social activities. Vice Speaker of the Parliament Galina Antyufeeva also expressed the opinion that the law "On non-profit organizations" is not needed, in the legal framework of the republic there are laws "On public associations", "On countering extremist activity", which should be guided.

The most controversial point of the discussion was the definition of what to attribute to political activity, and what is not. Representatives of the non-governmental sector that took part in the meeting of the Committee were also interested in who (which body) would establish this "watershed". In response, Igor Buga listed specific non-political spheres - science, culture, art, social security, health care, support for people with disabilities, search work, physical education and sports, charitable activities, ecology, etc.

Based on the results of the long discussion, members of the Committee supported the opinion expressed by their colleague, Andrei Safonov, "the most acute aspects of draft laws need to be finalized, and the proposed amendments should be adopted as conceptual ones". Majority of the Committee's deputies voted for this. In addition, it was decided in principle that after the adoption by the deputy corps of a package of legislations regulating the activities of non-profit organizations in the second reading (their consideration is scheduled for July 12), stay in this mode to discuss them again during the autumn session.