A/HRC/41/41/Add.4 90. In addition, it is important to highlight that article 16.2 of the law on NGOs stipulates that it can “represent the lawful interests of its beneficiaries in the court in the area of environmental protection” provided that the organization has enough experience in this area and that such lawsuits are in conformity with its goals. 91. Section 2 of the law on NGOs clearly lays down the specific requirements for establishing organizations and the registration process. The entity responsible for registration is the State Register of the Legal Entities of the Ministry of Justice, which publishes the registration, once concluded, on their electronic portal. 9 The law on State registration of legal entities of 2001 is the main legal source of the acts of the State Registry. 92. In general terms, NGOs are not required by law to notify the Government of their meetings, but are required to notify the State Register if there has been a change of the executive head, address or other relevant information provided at initial registration. 93. Operating and reporting requirements are set out in the law on NGOs and vary depending on the type of association. 94. The Special Rapporteur learned that reports from public associations funded from public sources and reports from foundations on project implementation and funding, together with standard accounting information, are made public on a Governmentadministered website.10 95. Currently, the State Revenue Committee has replaced the Ministry of Justice as the oversight body for NGOs. The Committee can carry out inspections in relation to legal compliance, including governance, financial management and accounting. Within the Committee, a special department was established in 2017 to oversee the activities of NGOs. The Special Rapporteur was informed that the rules of procedure of the department were being developed at the time of his visit. 96. The Special Rapporteur takes this opportunity to emphasize that the clarity of the role and the rules of procedure of the oversight body are essential for creating a conducive environment for the work of NGOs. It will promote transparency, accountability and nondiscrimination in the decisions and operation of the oversight body. 97. Article 45.4 of the Constitution provides that “the activities of associations may be suspended or prohibited only by a court decision in cases and in the manner stipulated by law”. Articles 31 and 32 of the law on NGOs stipulate that the authorized body can apply to court to terminate or dissolve public associations if it identifies a significant or flagrant violation of the law. Furthermore, articles 67 to 69 of the Civil Code set out the regulations on the suspension of associations, as does section 11 of the law on the State registration of legal entities, State record-registration of separated subdivisions of legal entities, institutions and individual entrepreneurs. 98. The Special Rapporteur takes note of the law on dissolving legal entities and removing from the register private entrepreneurships not submitting tax reports, of 16 December 2016, which stated that entities that had not submitted tax reports in the previous four years, would be automatically dissolved, unless an objection was presented by 1 November 2017. He notes that this regulation is in conflict with the constitutional provisions of freedom of association that require a court decision. 99. The norms regulating the funding of associations are quite open, permitting them to be financed by different sources, such as public funds, earned income, grants, membership fees, donations, funds from foreign donors, etc. Grants, membership fees and donations are not taxed, while income from economic activities is taxed in the same way as companies, and value added tax must be paid when the overall income for the year exceeds 58.35 million drams. 9 10 12 See www.e-register.am. See www.azdarar.am.