international organization

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CIVIL SOCIETY LAW
Once again it is spring and against the backdrop of the warming weather, blooming flowers, and
singing birds we bring out our April issue, dedicated to student work. It contains three interesting
and stimulating articles by budding lawyers/scholars in the field of civil society law. We are
particularly pleased to offer articles by people from three different continents – from the Republic
of Georgia, from Israel (writing about the Arabic-speaking countries of the Middle East and
North Africa), and from the United States (writing about South Africa). Thus the approaches
taken and the issues addressed are quite diverse.

Shawn Fields is an American law student finishing his degree this May. His closely argued
analysis of the question of whether “restorative justice” theory supports the offering of
conditional amnesty, as was done in South Africa under the Truth and Reconciliation
Commission, draws on numerous sources of the theory as well as the theories behind amnesties
themselves. He suggests that among the reasons why “restorative justice fails as a satisfactory
justification for amnesty” when offered by a state are that it “embodies a private concept of
reparation and healing that cannot effectively be administered by the state;” that it “seeks
primarily to promote healing by meeting the needs of individual victims, while amnesty often
cannot meet these needs;” and that “the rights and needs of others in the community who were
not “directly” affected by the criminal act” are overlooked.

Noa Nof-Steiner, an Israeli lawyer who wrote the article as part of her studies for a Master’s
Degree in Public Policy from the University of Bologna, analyzes issues surrounding women’s
associations and the problems they face in six Muslim countries in the Middle East/North Africa.
Each country section contains a short introduction to the legal system and the status of women,
followed by an “in-depth analysis of the local law on associations and its effect on the operation
of women’s associations.” Her article is based on first-hand research into and information
obtained from Bahrain, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, and Yemen. Ms Nof-Steiner’s conclusion
that laws do not necessarily make for a vigorous and active civil society is not a surprising one,
but her important contribution to the discussion involves analysis of the situation regarding a
largely unexplored part of the sector in an under-researched region of the world.

Babutsa Pataraia’s article takes a look at the question of whether the current tax incentives
granted by the 2005 Tax Code to charitable organizations in the Republic of Georgia are
sufficient to make many organizations seek that status. Her well-researched article is the first to
look at this issue against a back-drop of what she calls an “undeveloped” charitable sector. Her
thesis is that it is a lack of good tax benefits that cause the sector’s underdevelopment, not other
socio-economic causes. And she proves the thesis by a painstaking and clear analysis of the
problems with the legislation. The extent to which her thesis will be borne out as organizations
become familiar with the new legislation cannot be foreseen. Nonetheless, some of the proposals
for immediate reforms should surely be heeded by the Georgian Parliament as it seeks to create a
stronger charitable sector in the country.

Our April issue also contains one Case Note not authored by a student, and we make it
available here so that our readers can have access to analysis of a recent case from Canada
involving the sweeping anti-terrorism legislation adopted in the wake of the events of September
11, 2001. Terrance S. Carter and Sean S. Carter argue that the “Khawaja Decision Offers Little
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Relief for Charities.” Their piece is reprinted from the December 20, 2006, issue of the Carters
Professional Corporation Anti-Terrorism and Charity Law Alert No. 11 and is reprinted here with
permission.

We are also very grateful to Kumi Naidoo and Clare Doube for their Country Update on the
Crisis in Zimbabwe. This timely and important piece describes much about the situation in
general in terms of the multi-faceted crisis. It also speaks with the passion of people who have
spent a lot of time in Zimbabwe in recent months to show solidarity with the people facing the
repressive Mugabe regime's threats to their rights and their livelihoods. We were especially
touched, recently, to see a photo in the New York Times of our old friend Sekai Holland, whose
body, battered by thugs of Zanu-PF, was being loaded on a stretcher to be transported to hospital
in Johannesburg.

We would like to thank the student authors for submitting their articles to us for publication
and assisting us in the continuation of the fine tradition at ICCSL of publishing student work. We
would also like to thank Terrance and Sean Carter for continuing to allow us to reprint the
excellent work done by Carters. Finally, our special thanks this month go to the retiring Student
Editors – Kevin Schwartz, our Managing Editor, is graduating in May, as is Associate Editor
Alison Shea. It has been a real pleasure to work with them. We wish them well in their new
endeavors and look forward to staying in touch over the years as the IJCSL family continues to
expand every year. The new Editors will be introduced in July and October, when they will be
joining the staff.