Governing Bodies of Public Organization or Unions in Ukraine

Non-governmental organizations are associations of individuals created to protect the rights and freedoms, as well as to meet the interests of society as a whole, as well as individual categories of persons. A non-governmental organization differs from an organization in the fact that its founders are exclusively legal entities, but members can include both individuals and legal entities. Please note! At least 2 members are needed to establish a non-governmental organization or a union, where foreign persons can also be founding members.

Today, we will talk about such an important point in the establishment of non-governmental organizations as management bodies. The point is that it is necessary to understand how an organization or a union will be managed at the very beginning, while preparing the documents for registration. The rights, duties, powers, as well as the structure of management bodies must be stipulated in the Charter of a non-governmental union or organization. However, it is possible to develop some specific conditions for the work of management bodies, while remaining within the legal requirements.

Our firm has over 14 years of expertise in registering and managing non-governmental organizations in Ukraine. We're prepared to assist you in every aspect of establishing your NGO, from the registration to the drafting of your charter, organizational structure, and other documents. Our approach focuses on delivering personalized solutions for each issue, ensuring your success and delivering high-quality service.

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What bodies govern a non-governmental organization or union?

Information about the bodies that may govern a non-governmental union or organization can only be obtained from practitioners, since legislation contains extremely sparse requirements. If we summarize practical experience, the following rules can be deduced:

• The highest governing body in the organization is the general meeting. It can be held in different ways: by calling everyone or through different kinds of representation: delegates, membership structure, etc. It can also be called by different names: General Assembly, Conference, Congress, etc. Since the body is collegial, it is standard to prescribe the conditions of decision-making procedure, as well as the quorum that must be met in order for a general meeting to be considered legally competent;
• The executive body can be sole or collegial. One executive can be appointed - it can be the President, the Head of the organization, etc. It can have vice presidents or other kinds of deputies. The powers as well as the procedure of appointment must be stipulated for each of them in details;
• The collegial executive body can be the Board, the Management Board, the Directorate, etc. If an organization has several collegial bodies, it is necessary to determine exactly which of them is the supreme body of the executive branch;
• In addition, to manage the organization, it is necessary to establish a supervisory body. Usually it is the Control and Audit Commission, the Auditing Committee, the Auditor, or the Supervisory Board;
• If the organization is large, it usually creates departments with their own management structure. For example, the Officiating Department of the Wrestling Association of Ukraine.

Please note! A foreign physical person can become the head of a non-governmental organization, but not at the stage of its establishment. The matter is that to employ a foreigner in Ukraine you need a special Permit, and you can get it only at the request of an already established organization.

If you plan to appoint a foreigner as a head of a non-governmental association, we offer to register a union or organization with a nominal director, who will be replaced by your candidate after the registration procedure is completed. We will conduct the procedure of obtaining the Work Permit immediately after the registration of the association.

The Charter must initially specify:

• The powers of the head, the supreme management body and other management bodies of a non-governmental association;
• The procedure for their formation and the procedure for changing their composition;
• The term of office of the management bodies;
• The procedure for determining the representative of the organization or union, as well as its replacement.

For the proper functioning of the supreme management body of the organization - the general meeting of members, it will be necessary to determine the structure of membership, because in practice not always all members of the organization have the right to vote, and the right to elect the management bodies.

It is also worth prescribing in advance which body will be responsible for the procedure of establishment, operation and termination of departments of the non-governmental association.

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Can you prescribe your own structure of management bodies of a non-governmental union or organization?

Of course, the structure of the bodies and their powers must comply with the law. But given that the very requirements of the law are common, it means that when forming the bodies, you have to use the established practice. In such a situation you can propose your vision of the powers and structure of the bodies to a lawyer, who, after examining them, will tell you whether it is possible to put it into practice.

Thus, in our practice there were situations when the President of the organization was appointed by the Board, the composition of which was determined by the President. Such a form of perpetual management of the organization was found for the Client, who did not want to lose control over its work. Another example was the registration of the All-Ukrainian organization, in the process of which we provided an online procedure for holding the meetings of the governing bodies.

In addition to the structure and powers of the management bodies, when developing the Charter, you can also prescribe the procedure of enlistment and termination of membership in the association, the order of accountability of the organization and even the sources of income and the order of use of funds and other property of the non-governmental association.

We will help you to create the organization or union, which will be able to fully achieve its goals, while functioning without fail or difficulties.

Our services include:

• Legal consultation on the procedure, terms and possibility of registration of a non-governmental union or organization in the desired way;
• Personal development of the Charter and other constituent documents of the non-governmental association in accordance with the wishes of the Client and the rules of law;
• Registration of a non-governmental union or organization in Ukraine, entering into the register of the Ministry of Justice;
• Obtaining the non-profit status (tax office);
• Obtaining all-Ukrainian status for the organization, the registration of subdivisions;
• Participation in meetings of management bodies to provide legal support of their correctness, and providing information on the possibility or impossibility of further registration of the decisions taken at the Ministry of Justice;
• Accounting of the union or organization under the control of a lawyer;
• Personnel records and resolution of all personnel issues as part of legal services to nonprofit organizations.

You can check the cost of registering a non-governmental organization or union here. We have developed comfortable packages for you. If you would like other services of our company, please contact our specialists to develop a personalized package of services for you.

Do you want to establish a non-governmental organization or a union with a structure that will meet your interests? Don’t hesitate to contact us! We will ensure easy registration of the organization and make sure your goals are achieved in the best way possible.

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