Bill on the Control, Regularization, Performance, and Financing of the NGOs and Related Organizations

Bill on the Control, Regularization, Performance, and Financing of the NGOs and Related Organizations

The Venezuelan National Assembly held the second discussion of the Bill of Law for the Control, Regularization, Performance, and Financing of Non-Governmental and Related Organizations.

The Venezuelan Civil Code and the Special Law of Cooperative Associations regulate non-governmental organizations. This generates uncertainty about whether these laws would be partially repealed if the new bill is approved.

What does the bill foresee?

• Mandatory Registration. The bill foresees the implementation of a mandatory registry. This means that NGOs constituted before the entry into force of the new legislation would also have to submit to this registry.

• It also provides for a periodic review of funds and sources of financing, which could affect the right to privacy of these organizations and their members.

• It establishes that NGOs must accept members based on a legitimate interest, either by residing in the corresponding jurisdiction or by having an employment relationship with the organization.

• Its scope of application covers local and foreign individuals or legal entities carrying out activities as social organizations and foundations. However, the reference to “NGOs and related” appears merely enunciative.

The project, which consists of 39 articles, is in its second discussion and has yet to be approved. It will become effective once it is enacted by President Nicolás Maduro and published in the Official Gazette.