NGOs under European Convention on Human Rights / Tymofeyeva

1.3 Definition of ‘NGO’ for the purposes of this book

1.3.1 General remarks The explanation of the term ‘NGO’ in the doctrine of international law and international documents, on universal and regional levels, was given in the previous sections of the book. On the basis of these instruments, it is possible to summarise the essential requirements for an entity to be able to hold the name ‘non-governmental organisation’. The theory of international law and most of the human right treaties conclude that it must be a non-profit-making organisation, though it can have a certain financial resources in order to be able to conduct its activities. The UN and the CoE treaties require that the activities of NGOs should be in compliance with the aims of these intergovernmental organisations and they have to prove a particular competence in this field. Independence from state authorities is also one of the key criteria on all the levels. In addition, the NGO cannot engage in the political life of a country as a political party. It must not act contrary to the law and obedience to state authorities is strongly required, which distinguishes NGOs from criminal groups. Regarding the formal existence requirement, the doctrine of law and international human rights treaties may insist on it, meanwhile for the Council of Europe this criterion is not decisive. The requirements for the non-governmental organisations acting in the capacity of an applicant, a representative, a third party and an information provider under the Convention were already discussed. The summary of these conditions will be covered later in this part to allow us to explain the difference between the standing of an NGO acting as claimant before the Court and playing all the other roles. The analysis of the provisions of the Convention, when considering the activity of an NGO, will serve as a guide for finding the best definition to serve the needs of the current study. The purpose of the present part of the book is to examine whether, throughout the text of the Convention in the wide meaning, 474 the term ‘NGO’ remains consistent or whether there is a need to distinguish between ‘NGO’ within the meaning of Article 34 of the Convention and ‘NGO’ within the meaning of its other provisions. On the basis of this examination, a definition of the term ‘non-governmental organisation’ for the purposes of this book will be given. The examination in question will be divided into two parts. In the first part, we are going to concentrate on the Articles of the Convention, which use the expression ‘NGO’ precisely in its texts. The second part will concern the implied involvement of NGOs. 1.3.2 Direct reference to the phrase ‘NGO’ in the Convention The precise phrase ‘non-governmental organisation’ we may find only in Articles 34 and 56 of the Convention (in the narrow understanding of this treaty) and also in Article 5 of Protocol No. 4, Article 6 of Protocol No. 7 and Article 2 of Protocol No. 12

474 Including its Protocols.

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