Directory of non-profit organizations Registration

Non-profit organizations can be entered in the register maintained by the Oldenburg Higher Regional Court in order to be taken into account for fines from investigation, criminal and clemency proceedings.

The Oldenburg Higher Regional Court maintains - also for the districts of the Braunschweig and Celle Higher Regional Courts - a list of charitable organizations that are interested in the allocation of fines from preliminary, criminal and clemency proceedings. Its purpose is to provide an overview of organizations that can use allocations from such proceedings for their charitable purposes.

Purpose of the directory

The directory enables courts and public prosecutors in Lower Saxony to select charitable organizations as potential recipients of monetary awards. This is not a recommendation, but purely a source of information. Inclusion in the directory does not constitute confirmation of charitable status and does not constitute a claim to allocations.

Contents of the directory

The directory contains the following information on the listed facilities:

• Name and address of the organization
• Your charitable area of activity
• Bank details for bank transfers
• If desired, an indication of whether the organization is only active in certain regional or local court districts

Obligations of the listed organizations

In order to ensure transparency and the proper use of funds, the organizations undertake to take the following measures:

• Receipt control of payments: The organizations must monitor the receipt of the fines allocated to them and send reminders to defaulting payers within four weeks. If payment is still not received, the assigning body must be informed immediately.
• Notification of incoming payments: Organizations must confirm full payment to the assigning agency.
• Annual reporting: By January 31 of each year, the Oldenburg Higher Regional Court must be informed of the amounts allocated in the previous year from proceedings of the Lower Saxony courts and public prosecutor's offices.
• Release of the tax office from tax secrecy: The organization must release the tax office from the obligation to maintain tax secrecy vis-à-vis the Oldenburg Higher Regional Court, insofar as this is necessary for the examination of non-profit status for tax purposes.

Statistical recording and reporting obligations

The amounts of money allocated are statistically recorded annually and published at state level. The higher regional courts and public prosecutor's offices report to the Oldenburg Higher Regional Court by March 31 of each year, which forwards this data to the Ministry of Justice by May 31. The allocations are broken down into the following categories:

• Offender and probation services
• General youth welfare
• Assistance for people with health problems and disabilities
• Assistance for people at risk of addiction
• Assistance for the elderly and surviving dependants
• General social services
• Road safety education and road safety
• Nature conservation and environmental protection
• Other purposes

The specific procedure for collecting statistics is regulated individually by the higher regional courts and public prosecutor's offices.

Oldenburg Higher Regional Court

Oldenburg Higher Regional Court

Not specified

Various conditions must be met for an organization to be included in the directory:

• Proof of non-profit status: The organization must either submit a valid notice of exemption or a provisional certificate from the tax office. Alternatively, it can be recognized as a legal entity under public law or as a public service (e.g. church or municipal charitable institutions).
• Articles of association and transparency obligations: The organization must submit its articles of association and undertake to notify any changes relevant to the articles of association without delay.
• Accountability: The organization must be prepared to account to the Oldenburg Higher Regional Court and the referring authorities for the amounts received and their use.
• Consent to publication: The organization must agree that its annual report can be published.

No formal legal remedy is provided for.

• Call up the online service. The online service will guide you step by step through the application and the required evidence.
• The Oldenburg Higher Regional Court will check your application.

You will then receive a written confirmation

Inclusion in the list does not constitute confirmation of non-profit status and does not constitute a claim to allocations.

Not specified

not specified