Cabinet of Ministers orders to simplify the registration of religious organizations

The government has approved a new plan of measures to simplify the registration of religious organizations as legal entities, reports the Institute of Religious Freedom.

This is said in order No. 296-p of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine of May 11, 2017, which approved the Action Plan – 2017 for the implementation of the National Strategy for the Promotion of Civil Society in Ukraine for 2016-2020.

"To develop with the participation of the All-Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organizations and submit to the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine proposals for the introduction of a "single window" for the submission of documents on registration of statutes (regulations) of religious organizations, state registration of changes in the data about them for their obtaining the status of a legal entity and the status of non-profitable organization," reads Article 2 of the Action Plan.

This task must be carried out by the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Culture, the Ministry of Finance, and the State Fund until October 2017.

The National Strategy for the Promotion of Civil Society Development in Ukraine for 2016-2020, approved by the Decree of the President of Ukraine of 26.02.2016 No. 68/2016, in para 4.1 provides for "shortening of terms and simplification of registration procedures for civil society organizations, in particular procedures for submitting documents in an electronic form or by the "single window" principle; improvement of the procedure for classifying civil society organizations as non-profit organizations".

In addition, the National Strategy for Human Rights, approved by Presidential Decree No. 501/2015 of August 25, 2015, in section 4 provides for "improving the procedure for state registration of religious organizations".

The bill submitted by the Ministry of Culture of Ukraine in December 2016 in fulfillment of these instructions did not find support of the religious community. In particular, the All-Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organizations appealed to the Prime Minister of Ukraine and the Department of Religious and Ethnic Affairs of the Ministry of Culture with a request not to make hasty changes in the legislation on registration of religious organizations.