Framework Law of the Evangelical Church of Honduras

The purpose of this Law is to guarantee the Evangelical Church of Honduras the free exercise of freedom of worship and association, and to proceed with the granting of its legal personality, as mandated by the Constitution of the Republic, International Treaties, and the laws of the country.

The Evangelical Church of Honduras bases its operations on the teachings of Jesus Christ, contained in the Holy Scriptures or Bible.

The values of the Evangelical Church of Honduras are:

• 1)

  Respect for life as a gift from God, its preservation and dignification;

• 2)

  Integrity, based on truth, sincerity, rectitude, and commitment;

• 3)

  Unity, founded on love for God and neighbor and on total respect for denominations and their doctrinal convictions;

• 4)

  Fidelity to the eternal principles contained in the Word of God and to the church as the Body of Christ;

• 5)

  Family, as the foundation of the church, of Society, and of the Nation, its integration, harmony, solidity, and stability;

• 6)

  Social responsibility, since the human being is indivisible, it requires spiritual and material solidarity, providing him with dignified housing, food, clothing, health, and comprehensive education;

• 7)

  Sociopolitical responsibility, the church submits to authority, respecting the law, because there is no authority except from God and those that exist have been established by God;

• 8)

  Justice, only God is just, and has allowed men to exercise justice, to punish and instill fear in the wicked and not in those who do good, as a path to achieve peace, security, and prosperity of the Nation;

• 9)

  Excellence, all actions of the Evangelical Church of Honduras are done as for the Lord, being characterized by seeking and achieving the best results for man and the Homeland, optimizing with wisdom the resources of the faithful; and,

• 10)

  Stewardship, the Evangelical Church of Honduras strives to carry out and make evident the wise and sound administration of all goods and talents that God has placed under its administration, as well as its spiritual and material resources. CHAPTER II OF THE RIGHTS AND OBLIGATIONS OF THE MEMBERS

The rights of the Evangelical Church of Honduras are the following:

• 1)

  To freely profess its devotion to Christ Jesus, to freely express its beliefs; to designate pastoral and auxiliary positions, to communicate directly and maintain fraternal relations with its faithful, with other churches or religious confessions, with its own national organizations and with those abroad;

• 2)

  To practice and disseminate individually or collectively, in private or in public acts of prayer and worship, to commemorate its festivities; in accordance with the Law of Social Coexistence and other legal provisions;

• 3)

  To meet or manifest publicly for spiritual purposes and to associate to develop its religious activities communally, within the framework of law and public order;

• 4)

  To establish its own religious authorities, according to the internal norms of each denomination;

• 5)

  To establish its own private educational centers at the primary, secondary, and university levels within the Law, particularly with respect to the principle of freedom of worship indicated in the Constitution of the Republic and international treaties;

• 6)

  To enjoy the public protection of the State in the preservation of its beliefs, goods, and services for Christian purposes destined to the dissemination of the Gospel of Jesus Christ;

• 7)

  To operate its own centers of social information by means of radio, television, written or virtual newspapers;

• 8)

  To establish hospitals, clinics, or health centers of any nature;

• 9)

  To permit natural persons who belong to the Evangelical Fellowship of Honduras to participate in public and/or private positions, in accordance with the provisions of Article 13 of this Law;

• 10)

  To celebrate Religious Marriages once the requirements of the civil procedure established in national legislation have been met;

• 11)

  To enjoy exemption from the payment of taxes, fees, and surtaxes, such as: Income Tax, Sales Tax, Property Transfer Tax, taxes related to the importation of goods and services; these exemptions are exclusive for the operation of the Evangelical Church of Honduras as an Institution; such exemptions shall be in accordance with the provisions of the laws, regulations, and resolutions on this matter, as the responsibility of the State Secretariat of Finance; and,

• 12)

  And other rights established by the Constitution, laws, regulations, and internal provisions of the Institution. OF THE OBLIGATIONS

The Evangelical Churches of the Republic of Honduras, grouped in the Evangelical Fellowship of Honduras (CEH), have the following obligations:

• 1)

  To comply with and enforce the provisions contained in this Law, its Regulation, and the agreements that emanate from the Evangelical Fellowship of Honduras;

• 2)

  The rights established in Article 4 numerals 5), 7), 8), and 10) of this Law shall be exercised by non-profit institutions and always within the framework of the Law; and,

• 3)

  All those obligations arising from the Constitution of the Republic, its laws, regulations, and other internal provisions of the Institution. CHAPTER III OF ITS ORGANIZATION

The Evangelical Fellowship of Honduras (CEH) is a religious Organization, with legal personality, with its own assets, with purposes for profit, with domicile in the city of Tegucigalpa, Municipality of the Central District; likewise it is the legal entity that represents the Evangelical Church of Honduras, grouped in National Evangelical Councils, Denominations, Churches, Social Service Organisms and Agencies, Missionary Agencies, Local Associations of Pastors, Independent Churches, Theological Seminaries and Institutes, and Media; consequently, the Evangelical Fellowship of Honduras (CEH) is the means of representation and communication with the authorities of the Republic, whether of any of its powers, autonomous entities, decentralized institutions, as well as with civil society, private enterprise, and workers', peasant, student, and other organizations of any nature. The Evangelical Fellowship of Honduras is composed of the following bodies:

• 1)

  General Assembly;

• 2)

  National Executive Board; and,

• 3)

  Council of Elders. Its composition and powers shall be established in the respective Regulation. OF CHURCHES, CONGREGATIONS, MISSIONS, AND OTHER DENOMINATIONS

The Executive Power shall modify the Legal Personality to Religious Entity of all those Evangelical Institutions of Honduras that, before the entry into force of this Law, have been enjoying a different Legal Personality for its operation and functioning. In this respect, the State Secretariat in the Offices of Interior and Population, at the request of the Evangelical Fellowship of Honduras (CEH), shall carry out the related modification in its capacity as a Church. OF THE CANCELLATION OF LEGAL PERSONALITY, SEPARATIONS, AND EXTINCTIONS

The Evangelical Fellowship of Honduras (CEH) may exclude from its midst any entity that violates the norms contained in this Law, its regulations, and statutes; and has the obligation to report it to the corresponding tax authority.

The Evangelical Church must resolve within the Framework of the Fellowship all its matters according to the broadest freedom of criteria. CHAPTER IV OF PATRIMONY AND FINANCES

All movable and immovable property, shares, and rights acquired by purchase, donation, exchange, inheritance, or bequest that serve the fulfillment of the purposes of this are considered patrimony of the Evangelical Fellowship of Honduras (CEH). CHAPTER V OF THE ADMINISTRATIVE AND FUNCTIONAL AUTONOMY OF THE FELLOWSHIP AND ITS AFFILIATES

This Law is founded on the constitutional rights and guarantees established in Articles 77 and 78 of the Constitution of the Republic, Conventions, and International Treaties subscribed by Honduras that establish the Freedom of Association and worship without any preeminence.

The Evangelical Fellowship of Honduras (CEH), as an Institution shall be governed by the norms established here and by the resolutions approved by its General Assembly, issued in accordance with this Law and other provisions of the national legal system, respecting the autonomy and freedom of decision of each affiliated Institution.

The Evangelical Church declares itself as a Religious Institution, fraternal and apolitical; therefore, it is not permitted, within the Institution and its affiliates of any denomination that they may receive, to conduct campaigns in favor of certain ideologies, politics, support for candidates or political aspirants. When members of the National Executive Board, Regional Executive Boards, Congregations, and other denominations of the Evangelical Fellowship of Honduras run for elective offices, the aspirants who are also exercising directive, pastoral, and ministerial positions shall resign from the same with one (1) year's notice prior to their participation in the political activities of the internal or primary partisan processes. FINAL AND TRANSITORY PROVISIONS

Applications for legal personality of evangelical entities that are currently in process at the State Secretariat in the Offices of Governance and Justice, now State Secretariat in the Offices of Interior and Population, shall be resolved in accordance with the legal legislation in force at the time of their request.

Resolution No. 142-96 dated July 23, 1996, issued by the President of the Republic, through the State Secretariat in the Offices of Governance and Justice, published in the Official Gazette La Gaceta, under number 12,345 dated September 12, 2000, and registered in the Book of Sentences of the Registry of Real and Commercial Property of Francisco Morazán, and Decree No. 29-99, issued by the National Congress on March 23, 1999, shall remain in force and effect until the Modification of that Resolution enters into force.

The legal entities remain in effect as Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) of all those Evangelical Institutions that do not incorporate into the Evangelical Fellowship of Honduras (CEH).

The Evangelical Fellowship of Honduras (CEH) shall prepare the Regulations of this Law within the term of ninety (90) days from the effective date thereof, to be presented to the Secretariat of State in the Departments of Interior and Population for approval by the Executive Power; and its respective publication in the Official Gazette La Gaceta.

This Decree shall become effective twenty (20) days after its publication in the Official Gazette La Gaceta. Given in the city of Tegucigalpa, municipality of the Central District, in the Session Hall of the National Congress, on the thirtieth day of the month of September of two thousand ten. JUAN ORLANDO HERNÁNDEZ ALVARADO PRESIDENT RIGOBERTO CHANG CASTILLO SECRETARY GLADIS AURORA LÓPEZ CALDERÓN SECRETARY To the Executive Power. Therefore: Let it be executed. Tegucigalpa, M.D.C., October 29, 2010. PORFIRIO LOBO SOSA PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC THE SECRETARY OF STATE IN THE DEPARTMENTS OF INTERIOR AND POPULATION CARLOS AFRICO MADRID HART Legislative Power DECREE No. 190-2010 The National Congress: WHEREAS: It is the power of the National Congress to create, decree, interpret, reform, and repeal laws. WHEREAS: Cooperativism is an effective economic-social system for the comprehensive development of the Nation, the strengthening of democracy, the realization of social justice, and the defense of human values and rights. WHEREAS: The International Agreement executed between the European Union, the Spanish Government, and the five (5) countries of Central America and Panama, creates a Regional Fund and from this originates a National Trust Fund as of July 1, 2004, with the purpose of promoting Development and Social Action, Consolidation, and Integration of Honduran Cooperativism. WHEREAS: The prohibition established in Article 59 of the Law for the Strengthening of Income, Social Equity, and Rationalization of Public Spending, contained in Decree No. 17-2010 dated March 28, 2010, shall not apply to the acquisition of the four (4) vehicles to be acquired by the Honduran Institute of Cooperatives (IHDECOOP), as long as they are used for Social Action projects. THEREFORE, IT DECREES: