REPUBLIC OF LITHUANIA
LAW ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF COMMUNITY-BASED ORGANISATIONS
13 December 2018 No XIII-1774
Vilnius
CHAPTER ONE
GENERAL PROVISIONS
Article 1. Objective and scope of the Law
1. The objective of the Law shall be to create an environment conducive to community-based organisations and ensure appropriate conditions for the activities and development of such organisations representing an important part of civil society and local self-government.
2. The Law shall establish the principles of formulation and implementation of the policy for the development of community-based organisations and shall set out the conditions for the cooperation of state and municipal institutions and agencies with community-based organisations as well as other conditions for the functioning of community-based organisations to promote the development of community-based organisations.
3. The Law shall not regulate the establishment, governance, reorganisation, restructuring and liquidation of community-based organisations.
Article 2. Definitions
1. ‘Community-based organisation’ means an association the founders and members of which are residents (or their representatives) of the local community (a part of it or several localities) and the purpose of which is to fulfil, through initiatives, public interests relating to life in the neighbourhood.
2. ‘Policy for the development of community-based organisations’ means targeted activities defining the conditions for the functioning of community-based organisations, promoting the development of these organisations across the country, and ensuring the cooperation of state and municipal institutions and agencies with community-based organisations to reinforce civil society, integrity of members of local communities, and mutual trust.
3. ‘Local community’ means residents living in a locality (a part of it or in several localities), sharing common needs and interests of life in the neighbourhood, and acting through various forms of direct participation (assembly, public deliberation, survey, activities through representatives, community-based organisations, etc.) to satisfy these needs and interests.
4. ‘National Council of Community-Based Organisations’ means a collegial advisory body functioning on a voluntary basis and formed from representatives nominated by state institutions and agencies, the Association of Local Authorities in Lithuania, the Association of the Chiefs of Local Authorities in Lithuania, and the national umbrella community-based organisation in accordance with the procedure laid down by the Government of the Republic of Lithuania and in compliance with the principle of equal partnership.
5. ‘National umbrella community-based organisation’ means an association bringing together more than half of the community-based organisations operating in the Republic of Lithuania.
6. ‘Council of Municipal Community-Based Organisations’ means a collegial advisory body functioning on a voluntary basis and formed from representatives nominated by municipal institutions and agencies and community-based organisations in accordance with the established procedure and the principle of parity.
Article 3. Principles of establishment, formulation and implementation of the policy for the development of community-based organisations and the cooperation of state and municipal institutions and agencies with community-based organisations
The establishment, formulation and implementation of the policy for the development of community-based organisations and the cooperation of state and municipal institutions and agencies with community-based organisations shall be subject to the following major principles:
1) the principle of parity, i.e. equal representation of state and municipal institutions and agencies and of community-based organisations;
2) the principle of subsidiarity, i.e. decisions related to community-based organisations and their activities must be made at the level at which they are most effective;
3) the principle of inter-institutional cooperation, i.e. communication and cooperation of state and municipal institutions and agencies in resolving matters related to the policy for the development of community-based organisations;
4) the principle of participation, i.e. resolution of matters related to community-based organisations or their activities by coordinating them in advance with community-based organisations and with the participation of their representatives;
5) the principle of information, i.e. exchange of information related to community-based organisations or their activities between state and municipal institutions and agencies and community-based organisations and making it available to the public in an acceptable and accessible form;
6) the principle of voluntarism, i.e. participation of an individual in the activities of community-based organisations on a voluntary basis;
Article 4. Areas of implementation of the policy for the development of community-based organisations
The policy for the development of community-based organisations shall be implemented under the conditions laid down in international treaties of the Republic of Lithuania, laws and other legal acts in the following areas:
Article 5. Institutions and agencies formulating and implementing the policy for the development of community-based organisations
1. The Government of the Republic of Lithuania shall set out the priorities, goals, objectives and expected outcomes of the policy for the development of community-based organisations in the National Progress Strategy.
2. The policy for the development of community-based organisations shall be formulated and its implementation shall be organised, coordinated and supervised by the Ministry of the Interior of the Republic of Lithuania, in cooperation with the Ministry of Social Security and Labour of the Republic of Lithuania and the Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Lithuania.
3. Other state institutions and agencies shall implement the policy for the development of community-based organisations within their respective competences.
4. Municipal institutions and agencies shall formulate and implement the policy for the development of community-based organisations operating in the territory of the municipality.
5. The Ministry of the Interior, in cooperation with the Ministry of Social Security and Labour and the Ministry of Agriculture, shall:
1) in accordance with the procedure established by laws, carry out the analysis of legal acts, whether in the drafting stage or already adopted, governing the matters pertaining to community-based organisations and submit proposals related thereto;
2) on their own initiative or in cooperation with other state institutions, participate in the drafting of laws and other legal acts of the Republic of Lithuania governing the policy for the development of community-based organisations and submit them, in accordance with the procedure established by legal acts, to authorised entities for adoption;
3) develop and implement programmes and measures for the implementation of the policy for the development of community-based organisations;
4) coordinate activities of state and municipal institutions on matters pertaining to community-based organisations;
5) collect and provide community-based organisations with information on the funding and support provided to community-based organisations by state institutions, as well as on tenders for financial support for community-based organisations and their results;
6) submit proposals to state and municipal institutions and agencies regarding financial support to community-based organisations;
7) analyse the situation of community-based organisations in the Republic of Lithuania and initiate research in relation to community-based organisations and their activities;
6. The Ministry of the Interior, the Ministry of Social Security and Labour, the Ministry of Agriculture, and other state institutions implementing the policy for the development of community-based organisations shall consult community-based organisations on:
Article 6. Cooperation of state and municipal institutions and agencies with community-based organisations
1. Cooperation of state and municipal institutions and agencies with community-based organisations shall be implemented by:
1) providing information on activity and cooperation policies planned by state and municipal institutions and agencies, in order to coordinate them with community-based organisations working in specific areas;
2) consulting community-based organisations and, where necessary, establishing joint working groups to address specific issues;
2. Upon receipt of a written request of a community-based organisation concerning coordination of draft legal acts, state and municipal institutions and agencies must consult the organisation that has submitted the request in accordance with the procedure established by laws of the Republic of Lithuania.
Article 7. Setting up of the National Council of Community-Based Organisations and its activities
2. The National Council of Community-Based Organisations shall ensure the participation of community-based organisations in determining, formulating and implementing the policy for the development of community-based organisations.
3. The National Council of Community-Based Organisations shall consist of twenty members with eight of them being representatives of state institutions and agencies, one being a representative of the Association of Local Authorities in Lithuania, one being a representative of the Association of the Chiefs of Local Authorities in Lithuania, and ten being representatives delegated by the national umbrella community-based organisation.
4. The composition of the National Council of Community-Based Organisations shall be approved by the Government on the recommendation of the Minister of the Interior of the Republic of Lithuania. The term of office of the members of the Council shall be three years. A representative, who is recalled by the delegating entity, shall lose the status and rights of a member of the National Council of Community-Based Organisations.
5. The National Council of Community-Based Organisations shall elect its Chair and its Deputy Chair from among its members. Where a representative of a state institution or agency is elected as Chair of the National Council of Community-Based Organisations, a representative of community-based organisations must be elected as Deputy Chair of the Council. Where a representative of community-based organisations is elected as Chair of the National Council of Community-Based Organisations, a representative of a state institution or agency shall be elected as Deputy Chair of the Council.
6. The work of the National Council of Community-Based Organisations shall be organised in accordance with the Council’s regulations. The Regulations of the National Council of Community-Based Organisations shall be approved by the Government.
7. The National Council of Community-Based Organisations shall:
1) submit proposals relating to the policy for the development of community-based organisations and the priorities of its implementation to the Government as well as other state and municipal institutions and agencies engaged in formulating and implementing the policy for the development of community-based organisations;
2) submit proposals relating to the funding priorities of programmes and measures of community-based organisations to the Government as well as other state and municipal institutions and agencies;
3) produce and publish a report on the state of community-based organisations in the Republic of Lithuania on an annual basis;
8. In performing the functions assigned to it, the National Council of Community-based Organisations shall have the right to:
1) participate in the drafting of legal acts relating to the policy for the development of community-based organisations;
2) obtain, in accordance with the procedure established by laws and other legal acts of the Republic of Lithuania, from ministries, Government agencies, other state and municipal institutions and agencies as well as other organisations the information and documents necessary for the performance of tasks and functions of the National Council of Community-Based Organisations;
3) invite representatives of ministries, Government agencies, state and municipal institutions and agencies, and other organisations as well as other persons to attend its meetings to address matters pertaining to the performance of tasks and functions of the National Council of Community-Based Organisations;
4) set up working groups or expert groups to consider matters pertaining to the policy for the development of community-based organisations;
Article 8. Setting up of a council of municipal community-based organisations and its activities
1. A council of municipal community-based organisations shall be set up by the decision of a municipal council in line with the principle whereby not more than 1/2 of the members of the council are representatives of municipal institutions and agencies and at least 1/2 of the members of the council are representatives of community-based organisations operating in the territory of the municipality. The term of office of the members of the council of municipal community-based organisations shall be three years. The composition and regulations of a council of municipal community-based organisations shall be approved by a municipal council.
2. A council of municipal community-based organisations shall:
1) submit proposals to municipal institutions regarding the promotion of activities of community-based organisations operating in the territory of the municipality;
2) submit proposals to the enlarged meeting of elders regarding the representatives to be nominated to the commission of the competition of candidates for the office of the warden and regarding the representatives to be nominated to participate in the work of the committees, working groups and commissions set up by a municipal council;
3) submit proposals to municipal institutions and the enlarged meeting of elders regarding the appropriateness of funding of the public needs and initiatives of communities, the expediency of transferring the provision of public services falling within the responsibility of the municipality to community-based and other non-governmental organisations, the promotion of local entrepreneurship, and other matters relevant to the residents of the municipality;
Article 9. Processing of data and documents of community-based organisations
1. Data and documents of community-based organisations shall be processed in the Register of Legal Entities in accordance with the procedure established by legal acts.
Article 10. Final provisions
2. The Government of the Republic of Lithuania or institutions authorised by it shall adopt, by 28 February 2019, legal acts implementing this Law.