Nevladine organizacije

By Žarko Paunović

Subjects: Law and legislation, Non-governmental organizations

Description: Non-governmental organizations are a type of interest groups and one of possible forms of association of citizens. Although association of citizens has been known throughout history, non-governmental organizations are nevertheless a phenomenon that marks today’s modern society. NGOs are associations of citizens, in which these citizens are getting involved in order to realize and satisfy their private and general social interests, motives and needs. These associations are legal entities (they are institutionalized), separated from the state, with non-profit, non-commercial and non-partisan character, and based on voluntary work and investments. Non-governmental organizations have had their renaissance also in Serbia. This paper analyzes legal and political status of NGOs in Serbia. The basic, starting hypothesis of this paper is that the influence and importance of NGOs for development of a society depend to a large extent on: the legal framework within which NGOs are acting, existence of institutional mechanisms for involvement of NGOs in political process, openness of political institutions to communication and cooperation with representatives of citizens organized through non-governmental sector, knowledge about non-governmental sector and citizens’ trust in it. Although freedom of association in Serbia had been regulated even in the 19th century (the Law on Associations and Assemblies from 1881 and the Constitution from 1888), today’s legal system in Serbia is limitative and restrictive in respect to the development of non-governmental sector. Constitutional and legislative provisions relating to freedom of association are obsolete, inappropriate to the actual situation of social development and non-harmonized with the international legal standards in this field. This means that the legal status of NGOs in Serbia is very bad and poorly regulated. In spite of the fact that the existence of NGOs is very important from the aspect of creation of an independent sphere which is not under the state control (civil society), without which there is no modern and democratic state, in Serbia there is still not enough consciousness about the necessity of development of civil society and the support it should enjoy from the state. Thus, NGOs do not have a significant influence within the framework of political system (state bodies and political parties do not accept them enough, political culture is not favourable for their development, in public they are still an unknown social actor, and in the process of political and social decision-making they do not have significant possibilities for influence). This means that, although relatively numerous and in some fields significantly developed, NGOs can not achieve a substantial influence on overall social changes due to the poor status they have in legal and political system of Serbia. They remained a weak social actor within poorly developed civil society, with a status that is very unfavourable for development. Further development of civil society and strengthening of non-governmental sector will largely continue to depend on international support, harmonization of legal system with the European law and adoption of new cultural and value patterns.