The legal framework governing CSOs is at a point of transition, as a new Law of Associations defining precise rules regarding CSO registration and their operations was adopted on 22th July and came into force on 22nd October 2009. The new Law provides a social definition of not‐for‐profit associations as “voluntary and non‐governmental organizations organized for achieving and enhancing joint objectives and interests which are not prohibited by the Constitution or other Legal Provisions”. It also recognizes a number of specific types of organization for inclusion in a broader definition of civil society. The new Law replaces two laws whose origins date back to ex‐Yugoslavia and which had not been updated to take account of the changed political landscape, as well as the perceived purposes of CSOs and the socio‐economic and political environment in which they operate. CSOs in Serbia have long been dissatisfied with the environment in which they work, owing to the general inadequacy of the previous legal framework and had made repeated attempts since 2000 to bring new CSO legislation before Parliament, which had been thwarted until now owing to poor government‐CSO cooperation, and frequent changes of government and calls for national elections. The new Law is in accordance with European standards and best international practice and will go a long way towards creating an enabling environment for CSOs. However, in other areas of law, particularly those concerning tax and fiscal measures, laws continue to offer no specific allowances for not‐for‐profit organizations. Therefore, CSOs are still treated as if they were small or medium sized profit‐making enterprises (by other laws and regulations dealing with fiscal and financial issues).
The new Law was drafted by a working group within the Ministry of State Administration and Local‐Self Government’s, with considerable civil society participation with the input from a wide range of legal and civil society experts, including the Council of Europe. It provides, for the first time, the complete legal framework for creation, status and operations of associations in Serbia. It also enables international CSOs to operate legally in Serbia, something which officially not been regulated previously. Key regulations of the law include: (voluntary) re‐registration under the new law within 18 month; ensuring the right of informal or non‐registered organizations to operate; creation of a unified official Registry of all associations; reduction in the number of founding members necessary to establish an association from 10 to 3. In addition, the new law clearly states that founders may be either individuals or private legal entities (political parties, businesses or other CSOs), whereas both old laws appeared to preclude this second category. The Law also includes provision for funding from the National Budget, the budgets of autonomous provinces (Vojvodina) and municipal budgets for activities of those associations whose objectives are of general public interest. Although there is no legal definition in law of what constitutes “public interest,” this law suggests a long list of activities eligible for funding, mainly in the fields of health and social protection, the affirmation of minority and human rights, education and culture.
The Law of Legacies, Foundations and Funds from 1989 is poorly specified, outdated and has in many ways lost any relevance in modern Serbia. The Law provides for three categories of non‐membership, property‐based organizations. All three must promote purposes of vaguely defined “public interest”, with an implied focus on the creative arts and humanitarian aid. The definition of the categories depends upon the type of founders and the source of founding property. These categorizations are restrictive, but more importantly they make a critical distinction between socially owned and privately owned property. As the Serbian Constitution from 2006 no longer recognizes the concept of socially owned property, there is now considerable uncertainty as to the legality of foundations which exist by definition to manage socially owned resources. A new law is in the process of being drafted under a process similar to that of the new Law on Associations, led by a coalition of CSOs funded by the BCIF (Balkan Community Initiatives Fund) in cooperation with the Ministry of Culture, which will, among other things, redefine social activity in this area under two new entities according to European standards and freedoms: foundations and private endowments. For the time being, however, the old law remains in force.
There are very few reliable data on CSOs in Serbia as the unique register of CSOs was just established on 22nd of October 2009, with starting of implementation of the new Law on Associations. According to official statistical data (Serbian Statistical Office), around 46.000 bodies were registered under previous laws dealing with associations and social organizations, and 18.000 CSOs are considered to be under jurisdiction of the new NGO Law. However, it is estimated that almost half of them ceased. The evidence on them can be mainly found in databases of resource centers (CRNPS, Civic Initiatives, FENS, KOCD), but it is usually based on self-reporting and self-selection. The estimate is that there are between 2000 to 3000 active CSOs. It is worth mentioning that the current process of NGO re-registration will “force” to either re-register or, if they fail to do so, they will be deleted from the Registry and will lose their legal entity (however, they will be able to continue to function as non-formal organizations).