ISKCON Law Department

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ISKCON Law Department

Established in 2019, the ISKCON Law Department supports the organization and its devotees by ensuring legal compliance, transparency, and good governance. It protects ISKCON’s assets, intellectual property, and interests while offering expert legal advice and fostering a global network of devotee attorneys devoted to Srila Prabhupada’s mission.

About

In conjunction with this primary objective, the Law Department successfully organised its inaugural 2020 ISKCON Global Conference of Devotee Attorneys, offering devotee attorneys, jurists and law students from around the world the opportunity to meet in person for the first time and become acquainted with each other in an atmosphere of collegiality and mutual understanding in devotion to Srila Prabhupada and Lord Krishna.

Functions of the Law Department

Compliance | Ensuring ISKCON meets legal and regulatory standards globally.

To ensure that ISKCON fulfils all the requirements of a non-profit, religiousorganisation in the face of increased government regulation and scrutiny.

Transparency | Promoting accountability and openness within the organization.

To ensure that ISKCON operates with greater transparency than ever before, especially against the background of stricter secular laws relating to compliance andaccountability worldwide.

Protection | Safeguarding ISKCON’s assets, properties, and intellectual property.

To develop and implement legal strategies, good governance and best practices to protect assets of ISKCON – both immovable {properties, buildings and land) and movable, as wellas intellectual property – the trademarks, branding and the rights

Defense | Representing ISKCON in legal disputes and claims.

To defend, where necessary, ISKCON and its interests in the secular courts andjurisdictions, including but not limited to corporate governance disputes, suits filedagainst the Society and claims against its assets.

Consultation | Offering expert legal advice and reviewing policies and operations.

To provide legal consultation and advice as well as review rules, policies andopera tions of other departments. Ancillary to these duties are drafting resolutions, letters and memos and contributing and enhancing administrative decision-makingwithin the Society.

Alignment | Ensuring adherence to ISKCON’s rules, regulations, and secular laws.

To express its legal opinion on issues that are referred to it by the leadership, or that it has discovered to be out of alignment with the Society’s rules and regulations,and/or secular laws.

Recruitment | Attracting skilled lawyers to strengthen the department.

To attract and inspire distinguished and capable lawyers to become members of the Department and contribute professional expertise and experience to establish andmaintain the Society on sound legal grounds of operation and management.

Training | Providing compliance training and best practices to ISKCON leaders.

To build, design and provide in-house compliance training to management and bestpractices, to ISKCON.