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The World Bank Legal Review
similar to how people elect a local school commi ee or ca le-dip commi ee. If that is not possible, the forest community should proceed to form a new CFA, for registration under the Societies Act. The Societies Act requires all societies to comply with the provisions of this law, such as adopting a constitution71 and filing periodic returns to the registrar of societies.72 The registrar also has the power and the discretion to require mandatory changes to the constitution of a society73 and to declare a society illegal or prohibited.74 The registration of forest associations under the Societies Act therefore presents multiple challenges. First, the process is not the most straightforward or simple, especially in regard to drafting a constitution with a list of very specific provisions. These provisions are standardized, because the general category of societies includes church organizations and, until recently, political parties.75 The community may need legal expertise if there is no facilitator or if the facilitator lacks the legal training required to prepare a proper constitution. This becomes an additional expense to the community. More importantly, because CFAs are involved in sustainable forest management and utilization, it would serve them be er if the mandatory requirements addressed closely linked issues. Even though Section 46 requires the forest community to submit proposals on forest conservation, it is not specifically required that the constitution of the CFA, registered under the Societies Act, should reflect sustainable forest management as a primary objective. Second, the administrative role of regulating these associations as societies principally falls to the registrar of societies,76 to whom the associations must submit returns, or notify of elections. The requirement for these associations to additionally report to, register with, and comply with directions from the Forest Service just increases the operational costs for communities. These forest communities carry a double load of compliance with two statutes. It would be viable for amendments to be made to the Societies Act that would authorize the director of the Forest Service to receive annual returns or to monitor regular elections, youth and gender equity, and compliance with the objectives of sustainable forest management. This would consolidate the oversight role so that the Forest Service could ensure that forest communi-
71
Id., at sec. 19(1).
72
Id., at sec. 30.
73
Id., at sec. 19(2).
74
Id., at sec. 4(1).
75
Id., at sec. 2 defines a society to include “any club, company, partnership or other association of ten or more persons, whatever its nature or object, established in Kenya or having its headquarters or chief place of business in Kenya.” Political parties now enjoy distinctive legal status under the Political Parties Act, Act No. 7 of 2007.
76
The registrar is appointed under sec. 8; the substantive minister is the a orney general, which means that power to register and the function of registration, and hence regulation of community forest societies, as societies, is vested in another sectoral ministry; however, there are no legal mechanisms in place to reconcile the procedure.