Avoiding Criminal and Civil Pitfalls

Tips

Tools

60. When advising its members on what actions they can take to advance a cause, an NGO’s management needs to be especially cautious about possible incitement to commit criminal acts. The risk in advising others to directly break a law (whether it is bad or not) is that such advice will frequently constitute a crime in and of itself.

Wrongdoings by Officers and Directors of Charities: A Survey of Press Reports 1995–2002^*
Downloadable paper from Harvard University’s Hauser Center for Nonprofit Organizations surveys 152 incidents of wrongdoing, 104 of which were instances of criminal activity; findings indicate governance problems

JISC Legal Information Service on Cyber-crime Overview (UK)^*

Reporters Without Borders^*
Handbook for Bloggers and Cyberdissidents, including chapters on ethics, maintaining anonymity and avoiding censorship

Fitzroy Legal Service (Victoria, Australia community legal aid)^*
Legal Fact Sheet on Dealing with the Police, includes sections on “Am I hindering the police?” and “What to do if arrested” [Note: spelling below intentional]

The Aid Workers’ Network^*
Online discussion board for aid workers and their issues worldwide

Open Society Institute/ICNL’s Guidelines for Laws Affecting Civic Organizations^*
Revised & enlarged 2004 edition prepared by L. Irish, K. Simon and R. Kushen

Council of Europe’s Official Treaty Web Site^*
Texts of European conventions and treaties in html and Word formats, including explanatory reports

Idealist.org’s The Nonprofit FAQs Page^*
Encyclopedic collection of articles with further links covering all major fields of information for and about NGOs

For mother Earth (Belgian member of Friends of the Earth International)^*
Includes campaign guide and handbook on using nonviolent direct action

Self-regulation of Civil Society in Development^*
Development Gateway Foundation’s frequently updated collection of resources and articles on self-regulation of civil society organizations

61. Although companies take legal action to try to stop cyber campaigns directed against them, the real risk comes from aggrieved individuals who feel personally slighted or lose face. A good rule of thumb is to be very careful when you plan to criticize or attack the reputation of an individual person even if they are a CEO or powerful and famous.

62. Personal slander web sites are usually frowned upon by most courts and legal systems. Certainly, repeatedly targeting someone in a concerted “character assassination” might be risky, even if they are a public figure.

63. Generally be cautious about creating and posting material that could be considered excessively violent, obscene, harassing, against public morals or otherwise objectionable, even though you may think it might be free speech that should be protected under general principles. Even humor is often misunderstood.

64. To make sure that your actions can withstand society’s judgment of their moral legality, you should always consider whether the breaching individual or NGO is breaking laws for a higher purpose or just choosing to violate laws of a country in pursuit of personal interest.

65. Ask yourself: Even if you have a “good or political explanation” for your action, will the courts consider it? Can you flaunt the law if you get no financial gain and it was done on principle? The answer is usually no.

66. There are also certain groups that must hold themselves to even higher standards of lawful conduct. Lawyers, politicians, clergy and other role models cannot choose which laws they will violate because of political beliefs. Generally, they must obey even bad laws until they can be changed through a lawful process.

67. Remember: no matter how amusing or dramatic a direct act may seem when it is conceived for a cause, you must always consider whether it entails any criminal risks. Even throwing a pie in someone’s face for a memorable picture is strictly an assault in most countries. Here the advice of volunteer lawyers before you begin your campaign can be useful.

68. The following direct actions may result in criminal or civil penalties for the person committing it and the NGO encouraging it in certain countries: demonstrating without a permit, failing to move on when ordered by the police, going onto another’s property without permission, blocking the path of demolition equipment, or letting loose laboratory animals.

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The views expressed in this paper are the views of the author/s and do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the Asian Development Bank Institute nor the Asian Development Bank. Names of countries or economies mentioned are chosen by the author/s, in the exercise of his/her/their academic freedom, and the Institute is in no way responsible for such usage.