The New Civil Society Law

With the President’s ratification and its publication in the Official Gazette on 19 August 2019, the new Civil Society Law (the “Law”)[1] is now finally in effect following its approval by the House of Representatives a few months earlier. The enactment of the new Law comes after widespread controversy that was spurred by the issuance of its predecessor, Law No. 70 of 2017, which came under heavy criticism both in Egypt and abroad, leading finally to its repeal by the new Law. Under the new legislation, the Ministry of Social Solidarity (the “Ministry”) continues to perform its role of supervising the application of the Civil Society Law and undertaking the registration and monitoring of non-governmental organizations and civil associations. Successive laws that have governed the work of non-governmental organizations in Egypt typically regulated three types of civil establishments: NGOs, associations, and foreign organizations. This has remained in the new Law albeit with the addition of a new form of civil establishments which does not require formal registration. This new form, named the “entity,” allows the undertaking of a temporary civil or charitable activity for a specific purpose, thus opening the door for campaigns and initiatives of limited time and defined purposes. In general, the new Law seems to have responded to most of the requests presented by civil society during the deliberation phase in addition to addressing a big part of the issues that were pressed by the international community in this regard. Nevertheless, some administrative and procedural restrictions have remained. Furthermore, several details that are required for its daily application await the issuance of the Law’s executive regulations, and thus remain unknown. In any event, the new Law is undoubtedly a positive development in comparison to its predecessor, as it carries hope for the resumption of the activities of Egyptian civil society after they came to a complete halt for years as a result of the repealed law. The following are the most prominent provisions in terms of positive development as well as some of the restrictions which remain, given that the picture will only become clearer once the executive regulations are issued and the application of the Law by the Ministry takes place in actuality.

Positive Developments

1. The return of the establishment of non-governmental organizations by notice, i.e., through sending a complete file to the Ministry. This is in contrast to the old law, which provided for this but without defining the documents that must be enclosed with the request to establish, which implicitly breached the constitutional principle requiring that establishment be by notice and not through prior approval.

2. The regulation of foreign funding in a balanced manner, simultaneously allowing civil society organizations to obtain funding to support their purposes while enabling the government to monitor foreign funds entering the country. This was a highly contested point, both locally and internationally, in light of the previous law. In contrast, the new Law mandates that a non-governmental organization receiving foreign funding notifies the Ministry within 30 days from receiving said funds. In the absence of any objection by the Ministry within the next 60 days, the funding is considered accepted and the organization can spend it without waiting for further approvals. It is worth noting that receiving domestic funding does not require the same procedures, as in such cases notifying the Ministry and keeping regular books is sufficient. However, an organization/association wishing to undertake an organized fundraising activity, rather than merely relying on what it receives, must obtain prior approval for the fundraising event.

3. The return of the mandate for the full supervision of non-governmental organizations to the Ministry, in contrast to the previous law providing for the formation of a higher committee comprised of different security apparatuses and tasked with overseeing the activity of regional organizations in Egypt.

4. The abolishment of prison sentences as a penalty for the violation of the Law’s provisions while maintaining financial penalties. Despite the excessive values of some of these fines (reaching EGP 1 million in some violations) being the subject of criticism from civil society, the abolishment of prison sentences is definitely a significant positive step.

Restrictions that Remain in Place

Despite the many positive changes introduced by the Law, one of the biggest restraints on civil society and non-governmental organizations remains in the philosophy of the Law itself, which views the Ministry as the ultimate supervisor of every action undertaken by an organization and thus requires its prior approval for many day-to-day decisions and transactions that would better be left to the organization itself, as long as its activity has been licensed. This places these organizations under much more administrative and procedural limitations in comparison with commercial corporations in terms of the rules concerning a company’s general assemblies, board of directors, and internal decision-making processes. An additional restriction under the Law is the power granted to the Ministry in permanently or temporarily suspending the activity of an organization/association, which could lead to the hindrance of civil society’s activity according to the whims of the state.

Conclusion

In any event, these fears – albeit valid – do not take away from the importance of the enactment of a new Law to govern civil society and the resulting revival of its activities in Egypt, even if under administrative limitations which could be dealt with and adapted to. What remains is the issuance of the executive regulations within six months from the date of the Law’s coming into effect (i.e., by 20 February 2020), so that the real implications of the Law can be tested following the massive effort that ensued for three years in defence of civil activity in Egypt.   [1] Law No. 149/2019 regulating the undertaking of civil society work, Official Gazette, Issue No. 33 (bis) (b), 19 August 2019.