Filenews 26 February 2021 - by Vasos Vassiliou
Charitable institutions will be dissolved if they do not operate under the Associations and Institutions Act, based on a bill promoted by the Government. The purpose of the bill, as stated in the relevant explanatory memorandum, is to regulate the process of the smooth transfer of charitable institutions as institutions that can operate from now on and under conditions, under the basic provisions of the Associations and Institutions Act. The ultimate objective, as described in the explanatory memorandum, is to enhance transparency and accountability in their operation, on the basis of a modern legislative framework.
At the same time, the "On Charitable Institutions (Amendment) Law of 2021" seeks to set a time limit on the registration of new charitable institutions and, on the other hand, to allow the cancellation of certificates of approval of charitable foundations for specified purposes.
Charitable institutions wishing to transfer and continue to operate as institutions under the provisions of the legislation shall draw up and submit to the Registrar a statute which shall be in accordance with the provisions of this Law.
Where a decision is taken to dissolve a charitable institution, it may, within two months of the publication of the notification, submit a request for annulment of its inclusion in the relevant list.
Institutions which have not taken care to submit a well-founded request to cancel their inclusion in the notification will be included in a new list and deleted.
The Council of Ministers may cancel the approval of certificates of registration of trustees of any charitable institution where it considers it appropriate, due to inaction and/or because insufficient information is provided as to the operation of the charitable foundation for the effective service of charitable purposes in terms of transparency and accountability. When an institution's certificate of registration is cancelled, it loses its legal personality.
Finally, it is announced that after 28 February 2021 no application will be accepted and no certificate will be approved by the Council of Ministers. The above regulation seeks, on the one hand, to set a time limit on the registration of new charitable institutions and, on the other hand, to allow the cancellation of certificates of approval of charitable institutions for specified purposes.
