Within the framework of the community dialogue project for an active civil society

The Mahrousa Center and the Partners for Transparency Foundation are organizing a meeting for development experts

The "Partners for Transparency" Foundation, in cooperation with the "Al-Mahrousa Center for Economic and Social Development", held a discussion session for a group of experts, consultants and service providers for civil society organizations, as part of the community dialogue project for an active civil society "implemented by Al-Mahrousa, on Saturday 21st. October 2017.

The meeting, in which 15 experts and consultants participated, aimed to get acquainted with the views of the participants on the new NGO Law 70 of 2017, and their assessment of its impact on the services they provide to the organizations, and their recommendations related to the executive regulations of the law and the articles that could be subject to amendment in the coming period.

The participants felt that the law sets separating boundaries between civil organizations and other legal forms such as companies, but it establishes procedures that may open the door to arbitrary application of the law to other legally recognized entities, and they specifically referred to the second and fourth articles of the issuance articles and Article 27 of the law that The administrative authorities give the right to monitor the activity of any entities that carry out work that may fall within the fields of work of civil organizations.

On the other hand, the participants expressed their fear of the restrictions imposed on some activities practiced by NGOs, and organizations often use consultancy offices to implement them, such as field studies, research and public opinion polls, activities that Article 14 of the law prohibited from conducting without prior approval from the agency.

The participants in the meeting recommended the necessity of defining and interpreting the executive regulations for the tasks of the agency and the administrative body, as well as defining rubber terms and expressions, and training the employees of the administrative body on how to implement the law so that there is no abuse or misinterpretation in the application.

The participants also recommended legal amendments that must be introduced into the law in the medium term, the most important of which is a review of the penalties for moving the headquarters without notifying the administrative body, and a review of the interval periods related to approval or rejection of projects.