Issues relating to CSO’s legal form and management in Mongolia and the attempts to restrain civil society

In this study, the authors examined the legal situation of civil society and the government's legislative initiatives on civil society organizations. We concluded that the complicated and contradictory legal framework regulating the legal form and administrative rules for civil society organizations in Mongolia significantly hinders the development of the sector and increases the risk of state coercion on civil society. This article provides an overview of the historical development of civil society in Mongolia, its current status and the legal environment in the first two parts. It also discusses the main legal issues of the sector, namely (1) the legal form of civil society organizations and (2) the contradictory and unclear legal aspects of the management and control of the sector in the third part. The fourth part of the article concludes that the draft law on the legal status of associations and foundations initiated by the government is an attempt to restrain civil society in relation to the above two issues.