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List of frequently asked questions via the Help Desk

The level of success of a democratic system can be measured on the basis of a simple scheme (triangle) that shows the cause-and-effect relationship of the following 3 elements: Participation of citizens in democratic processes, Responsibility of elected representatives and Transparency of the system. In the case of underdevelopment of any of these three elements, the actual situation appears as: either apathy and lack of interest of citizens to participate in any socio-political process (from elections onwards), or a non-public and closed to the public system of functioning of the political system, or irresponsibility of elected representatives to voters or the rules of procedure of the institution to which they were elected. The most common situation is that with the system of connected containers, all trends, even negative ones, from one element are mirrored to another. Therefore, for the success and prosperity of any modern, representative democracy, it is necessary to constantly build the mentioned elements and turn them into progressive processes that are highly developed and adapted to the times.
Every developed democratic system is based on three socio-political phenomena. These phenomena, or sectors, as they are often called, represent separate entities, although it is not a rare case that they interpenetrate and complement each other. Developed democracies include a strong state (centralized or decentralized) Government, as a state apparatus or institutionalized power, then, a successful and developed Business or business sector, as a platform of the market economy, and Civil Society as a balance between the previous two sectors. There are clear pattern-consequential relations between these three sectors, and the development of civil society must not lag behind the strengthening of the government or the business sector. Civil society represents a set of organizations that bring people together and in which people operate alongside the public and business sectors. A strong civil society means that a dynamic and effective relationship and partnership between the public sector, the business sector and the non-governmental sector is ensured, which contributes to the well-being of every citizen as an individual.
Citizen participation implies any activity by which citizens are involved in the process of making public decisions and thus influence the quality of their lives and that of their fellow citizens. The role of citizens in political life does not end with elections, that is, voting. It would not be an exaggeration to say that in a real democratic system, the role of citizens only begins there. They are actively involved in the processes of implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the activities of local authorities. Participation can be: active - represents a situation in which citizens are in direct interaction (through various forms of association and initiatives) with government representatives; passive - when citizens only attend meetings or presentations in order to become more familiar with specific decisions or programs. Participation takes its full form and effect when citizens gather to inform themselves and discuss the problems of their community and, as a result, offer potential solutions to government representatives. An informal group most often refers to a group of individuals or groups who have a common interest or motive and who have spontaneously gathered to act to achieve a common interest or goal, but who have not legally regulated their gathering. The difference between an informal group and a civil society organization is that informal groups do not have the status of a legal entity, and thus do not have rights and obligations under domestic regulations. However, it happens that after some time informal groups are registered and become formal. Registration is essential in order to obtain the status of a legal entity and to enable the group to be included in the payment system and business environment. The downside of an informal group is that everything is based on goodwill, which can be absent and lead to mistrust among members and their irresponsibility. On the other hand, good will is not a guarantee for external collaborators and donors to cooperate with informal groups, and that is why in a large number of cases they seek the mediation of a registered organization for cooperation.
Civil society organizations (CSOs) are non-profit organizations founded and managed by citizens, independent of the state (public) apparatus. When we talk about civil society organizations, we usually mean non-profit, non-governmental and non-partisan organizations. They realize socially useful activities in accordance with the needs of their target group, or in the interest of the wider community, thus acting on problems that the state cannot solve alone or does not pay enough attention to. In common parlance, the term non-governmental organization (NGO) is often used for civil society organizations, while "association" is the only term that is defined and recognized in BiH. legislation that regulates the work of CSOs/NGOs. The terms: voluntary, humanitarian, non-profit, third sector organizations are also very often used. Non-governmental organizations do not include bodies acting as political parties, trade unions and religious communities. As mentioned, the term non-governmental organization is not used in Bosnia and Herzegovina. legal terminology, but only the term association, and not even the association of citizens, considering that legal entities can appear as founders, and not only citizens (independently or in combination with natural persons - citizens). Furthermore, trade unions are also registered as associations according to entity laws, which does not fit into the stated definition of non-governmental organization. As can be seen in the legal definitions, associations do not aim to make a profit. If during the performance of their activity they acquire a certain profit (profit), it is not distributed among the members or founders, but is used for the further fulfillment of the goals established by the statute.
The reasons or motivations for establishing civil society organizations are different, but they can be related to the fact that the founders of the organizations realize that the state alone cannot solve a certain problem in society, for example to adequately create and implement social programs important for certain groups of society that the organization considers essential for improving the quality of life of such a group. Then, the reasons and goals can be the affirmation of a certain profession, the gathering of like-minded people in connection with the promotion of an idea, and others. When viewed from the perspective of the interests of the founders and members of the organization as individuals, the reasons for establishing a CSO can be the acquisition of practice, new knowledge and acquaintances with people from public life, the desire for humanitarian work, providing assistance and contributing to the development of society, and taking advantage of free time. In addition, the establishment can be related to professional work, i.e. ensuring existence or an additional source of income through sustainable programs (material benefit that can be achieved by work, salary, remuneration for work, honorarium). The reasons for the establishment are not a legal category, but they are closely related to the goals that must be precisely defined.
Each citizen's association independently determines its goals. Depending on the field of activity and the selected target group, the set goals of individual associations differ, as well as their profile. Therefore, they are set to match the needs of the target group and the organization's mission. According to the current regulations, the goals and activities of the association or foundation cannot be in conflict with the constitutional order of Bosnia and Herzegovina, nor directed towards its violent overthrow, that is, incitement of national, racial and religious hatred or discrimination prohibited by law. In addition, the objectives cannot include the engagement of the association in the pre-election political campaign, the collection of financial resources for candidates or the financing of political parties or their candidates. The goals are necessarily stated and defined in binding acts, namely the founding act of the association and the statute. They are carefully reviewed during registration/entry in the register by competent institutions, so adequate attention and space must be devoted to their formulation. In addition to these formal reasons, determining the goal is also important in terms of the type, method and scope of the future organization's activities. In general, it is necessary that the activities and activities of organizations are directed towards the implementation of goals.
Citizens' associations (non-governmental and non-profit) in most countries are of great importance for the development of civil society, the rule of law and the development of democracy. The practice is that citizens' associations are involved in solving almost all problems in society that concern their field of activity. Partnerships with the authorities are developed and their joint projects and programs are implemented. The need to establish partnerships between citizens' associations and government institutions in managing the development process is recognized and initiated by international bodies and organizations such as the United Nations and the European Union. In general, citizens' associations are characterized by the fact that they are not burdened by the struggle for power and institutionalization, but are recognizable by the mass and voluntary nature of the membership, voluntary work (volunteerism), as well as by the organized engagement of the membership on those issues that are of their or general interest and need. . Citizens' Associations (CSOs/NGOs) make an essential contribution to the development and further survival of democratic societies, especially through improving public awareness and active participation of citizens in public life; they also make an equally important contribution to the cultural life and social well-being of such societies. Also, they are of great importance in the social policy of developed countries, especially because the modern and large state cannot satisfy all the needs of citizens, so it transfers many of its programs to the non-profit non-governmental sector. In this way, citizens' associations become an alternative and a new partner (but not competition) to the state sector, in which people rely on their own strength in crisis situations.
In the Constitution of BiH, Article 2, point 3 provides for "freedom of association with others", which provides a legal basis for the establishment of civil society organizations. This legal basis was used during 2001/2002 for the drafting of relevant laws regulating the work of associations and non-governmental organizations in BiH as well. With regard to the existing state-legal arrangement in BiH, there are harmonized laws at the entity and state level that regulate the work of non-governmental organizations, which are designated as associations in the regulations. According to the Law on Associations and Foundations of BiH (SG BiH number 31/01,42/04,63/08,76/11 and 94/16): "An association is any form of voluntary association of three or more natural or legal persons, in all combinations , for the purpose of promoting and achieving some common or general interest or goal, in accordance with the Constitution and the law, and the purpose of which is not to gain profit". Also according to the Law on Associations and Foundations of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (SN FBiH No. 45/02), in Article 2 paragraph 1, an association is defined as follows: "An association, in the sense of this law, is any form of voluntary association of several natural or legal persons for the purpose of advancing and achieving some common or general interest or goal, in accordance with the Constitution and the Law, and the main purpose of which is not the acquisition of profit". According to the Law on Associations and Foundations of the Republika Srpska (SG RS no. 52/01 and 42/05), an association of citizens is defined in Article 2, paragraph 1 as follows: "An association, in the sense of this law, is any form of voluntary association of several or legal entities for the purpose of promoting or achieving some common or general interest or goal, in accordance with the Constitution and the law, and the main purpose of which is not the acquisition of profit". They could conclude that the deficiency of these regulations lies in the fact that they know only one legal form or form of establishment for all types and forms of civil society organizations. This form represents associations and is used for all civil society organizations, including e.g. organizations of young people, pensioners, businessmen, artisans, intellectuals, artists, professional associations, associations engaged in charity/humanitarian work, sports clubs, associations, trade unions (at entity levels) and all others. The good side of the law is that the registration process is done in a relatively simple way.
According to the principle of voluntariness and free will, three or more adults can establish an association in order to realize or advance some common/general interest or goal, and their purpose is not to gain profit. In addition to citizens, they can also be legal entities (eg companies, some institutions), or a combination of citizens and legal entities. The association can be founded by natural and legal persons, but the number of founders cannot be less than three. This right can also be exercised by foreign citizens, provided that they are legally residing in the country. According to the law at the state level, the founders of the association cannot be: the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina, entities, cantons, cities, municipalities, local communities, state bodies, state enterprises and funds, while entity laws do not explicitly contain this limitation.
When an agreement has been reached between 3 or more persons on the formation of an association, the founders and members hold their founding assembly. In this process, the association establishes its own bodies, namely the assembly and the board of directors, or appoints a person who is authorized to represent the association, if there is no board of directors. In addition to the appointment of the management body, the association adopts the founding act (decision on establishment) and the statute of the association, which are legally binding acts for every association. Therefore, an association cannot exist without a statute and a founding decision. The content of these documents is prescribed by law, which can be informed through other adequate questions and answers. With the date of registration in the register maintained by the competent authority (if the association is registered at the level of the Federation of BiH, it is the Ministry of Justice of FBiH, in the case of registration at the level of BiH, it is the Ministry of Justice of BiH, while in the case of registration at the level of the RS, it will be the basic court in the seat of the district court in whose territory the association has its headquarters) the association acquires the status of a legal entity. This means that on the date of registration, the association becomes the holder of rights and obligations in accordance with its goals and activities. Actions taken in the period between the establishment and registration of the association can create obligations only for those persons who took those actions. Such previous actions that bind the association in some respect require the ratification of the highest governing bodies when the association is established. However, in order to be able to act in legal transactions, the registration procedure is only the first step in the process.

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