New services planned for the Register of Associations
During the year, the PRH continued the overhaul of the online notification and information services available in the Register of Associations. The notification processing system will also be updated. As part of the overhaul, every association will receive a Business ID.
The purpose of the new services is to make the registration easier, improve the information service and speed up the processing of the notifications. The new services will be introduced in stages, starting in July 2019.
Roughly the same number of associations was established in 2018 as in 2017. The largest number of associations was established in cultural fields, sports and physical exercise, and in leisure activities.
As a whole, there was a slight decrease in the number of notifications concerning associations compared to the high level recorded in 2017. An increasing proportion of the notifications were submitted online. Notifications were processed more quickly than in the past; the average processing time was three working days.
Register of Foundations
Transitional period laid down in the Foundations Act expired
The new Foundations Act, which entered into force in December 2015, contained provisions on a transitional period. Foundations were given until December 2018 to change their rules in accordance with the new act and to submit the new rules to the PRH for registration.
Oversight of foundations is the responsibility of the PRH. In 2018, the Ministry of Justice prepared a review of the workability of the Foundations Act to assess the need for legislative measures. Based on the survey carried out for the review, a majority (73%) of the respondents were of the opinion that the legality oversight of foundations was at an appropriate level.