The Impact of Non-Governmental Organisations on the Performance of Public Tasks: Legal AspectsThe activity of NGOs is an expression of the development of civil society, directed at functioning independently from state institutions. The autonomy of this activity should not be treated as competing with the state, but rather as supporting it and complementing its functions. Civil society strives to satisfy the needs of its members and feels responsible for their fate. In this way the NGOs may work in the so-called external sphere of administration. However, the functioning in the internal sphere is also possible – in this case public administration bodies transfer some of their competences to NGOs which “step into” position of public administration in this domain. is study focuses on the legal aspects of both types of this co-operation