Duration: October, 2009 – September, 2014

Funding level: $1,063,061

Implementing Partner: International Center for Not-for-Profit Law 

The Legal Support to Civil Society Program is a five-year regional project providing technical legal expertise to civil society organizations (CSOs), national governments, and law specialists to promote effective development and implementation of legislation regulating civil society. This program, which began in September 2010 and will end in September 2014, is implemented by the International Center for Not-for-Profit Law (ICNL). 

Through this program, civil society organizations are more able to operate due to improved legal enabling environments; legal information provided through a regional network of lawyers and other resources; legal research on issues regulating the activity of CSOs; conferences, seminars, and roundtables on law issues and on establishment of standards and self-regulation of this sector; provision of educational and analytical materials on CSO law to lawyers, state officials, parliamentarians and CSO leaders; and stronger CSO law components within the university, government training institute, and specialty school curricula.

Program Activities:

• Support the adoption of several CSO related laws, including the draft laws on Public Councils at the State Bodies, Charitable Organizations, Social Contracting and others 

• Provide international comparative examples and technical assistance to government and local partners on CSO legislation and regulatory mechanisms

• Provide legal assistance and consultations to CSOs

• Institutionalize trainings on CSO legislation and framework

• Support indigenous efforts at networking among lawyers

• Facilitate CSO/government working groups

• Assist with organizing public discussions of draft laws

• Build CSO capacity to review and respond to draft laws

• Facilitate dialogue between CSOs and governments to develop strategic policy documents