International Journal of Cooperative Law
The focus of the IJCL is cooperative law, broadly defined all those legal rules – laws, administrative acts, court decisions, jurisprudence, cooperative bylaws/statutes or any other source of law – which regulate the structure and/or the operations of cooperatives as enterprises in the economic sense and as institutions in the legal sense, including provisions from other areas of law, applied to cooperatives (such as tax law, labor law, competition law).
Ius Cooperativum Association of Cooperatove Lawyers
The Binding Force of Cooperative Principles in Portuguese Law: Definition, Implementation, and Jurisprudential Enforcement
This article examines the legal and conceptual foundations of cooperative principles, demonstrating that cooperatives are far more than “mere enterprises.” While cooperatives engage in economic activity, their identity is defined by a distinctive normative and ethical framework embodied in the Statement on the Cooperative Identity adopted by the International Cooperative Alliance (ICA) in 1995. The seven cooperative principles—voluntary and open membership, democratic member control, member economic participation, autonomy and independence, education and training, cooperation among cooperatives, and concern for community—constitute the core of the cooperative model and have been legally incorporated into Portuguese law through Article 3 of the Portuguese Cooperative Code. Tracing the historical evolution of Portuguese cooperative legislation, from the Law on Cooperative Societies of 1867 to the Decree-Law No. 454/80 and its subsequent amendments, the article highlights how the legislator progressively recognized the binding force of cooperative principles, transforming them from moral guidelines into enforceable legal norms. The theoretical analysis is complemented by the discussion of a landmark judicial decision—Judgment of the Guimarães Court of Appeal, 25 May 2016 (Case No. 860/13.5TJVNF.G1)—in which the court declared null a statutory provision imposing an excessive admission fee (€150,000), holding it contrary to the principle of voluntary and open membership. This case illustrates the jurisprudential affirmation of the binding nature of cooperative principles, demonstrating that statutory autonomy within cooperatives is limited by their legal and ethical foundations. Ultimately, the article concludes that compliance with cooperative principles constitutes a conditio sine qua non for the lawful operation and legitimacy of cooperatives. These principles, possessing both ethical and normative force, define the cooperative’s social function, ensure its democratic governance, and safeguard its identity within the Portuguese legal system.
Copyright (c) 2025 Frederico Botelho da Costa Santos (Author) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Asset Lock and Voluntary Loss of Social Enterprise’s Status: A Comparative Legal Analysis
Legal architectures for asset dedication in social enterprises have proliferated across Europe, yet the durability of the asset lock at the point of voluntary exit remains insufficiently theorized. Existing scholarship focuses predominantly on formation and governance conditions, treating the asset lock as a static rule rather than a dynamic commitment subject to erosion when organizations seek to reorient or abandon their social purpose. This article develops a lifecycle-based analytical framework and examines the resilience of asset dedication upon voluntary loss of social enterprise status across four jurisdictions: the United Kingdom (the UK), Ireland, Luxembourg, and Italy. The study demonstrates that asset-lock resilience depends not merely on its nominal adoption, but on its legal inseparability from organizational identity and its enforceability at exit. The UK’s Community Interest Company (CIC) and the Italian social cooperative represent form-constitutive regimes where the asset lock is legally entrenched, and exit is structurally foreclosed. By contrast, Ireland’s policy-defined Company Limited by Guarantee (CLG) model and Luxembourg’s accreditation-dependent Société d’Impact Sociétal in cooperative form (SIS-SCOP) regime reveal vulnerabilities, particularly where voluntary derecognition lacks statutory guardrails and where internal voting structures permit mission drift. Italy illustrates a dual-track system: immutable dedication in ex lege social cooperatives versus reversible, sector-bounded dedication in non-social cooperatives with social enterprise status (CONSIS). The comparative findings suggest that where asset dedication is tied to discretionary membership decisions rather than immutable legal form, social value becomes susceptible to private recapture or sectoral reallocation. The article contends that exit regulations (i.e., in cases of voluntary relinquishment of social enterprise status), rather than entry criteria, constitute the fundamental normative element of social enterprise regulation. Legal frameworks for social enterprises must establish residual asset dedication, prevent unilateral mission reversal, and incorporate regulatory oversight at the point of voluntary exit to safeguard social commitments.
Copyright (c) 2025 ziwei xu (Author) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Ian Adderley, Co-operatives: Linking practice and theory, Co-Op Press Publishing, 2025, 584 p.
In May 2025, with the support of the UK Society for Co-operative Studies, Ian Adderley published a remarkable book on co-operatives. It is valuable for a wide range of readers, not only because of its breadth, but also because of its ambition to expand the scope of co-operative thinking. Instead of organising his work around the features of the co-operative (democracy, inter-cooperation, cooperative transactions, etc.), Adderley frames it explicitly by reference to academic disciplines: history, law, economics, finance, management, and so on. The book offers an “overview of co-operatives.”. Formally, each chapter is subdivided with subheadings, which enables (and perhaps encourages) selective reading. Although I read the book cover to cover, I am certain I will return to individual sections many times in search of information or references.
Co-operatives: Linking practice and theory
Copyright (c) 2025 David Hiez (Author) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Liquidation of cooperatives under Polish law
Cooperatives have a rich tradition in Poland and are an important part of the economic landscape. Cooperatives bring members together to conduct joint economic activities in their interest. The liquidation of primary-level cooperatives is regulated by the current Act of 16 September 1982 – Cooperative Law. The aim of this article is to analyse this institution, with particular emphasis on the legal basis, the liquidation process and the role of the bodies involved in this process. The author argues that the legal regulation of the liquidation of cooperatives contained in the Cooperative Law, despite its formal detail, does not meet the requirements of modern economic security due to fundamental shortcomings in determining the date of commencement of liquidation, qualification requirements for liquidators and the status of cooperative bodies in the course of liquidation proceedings. These legal gaps lead to interpretative uncertainty, threats to creditors' rights and the ineffectiveness of liquidation procedures, which requires a comprehensive amendment of the regulations in line with the regulations concerning capital companies.
Copyright (c) 2025 Tomasz Dąbrowski (Author) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Declaration of Bankruptcy of a Cooperative in Poland in the selected Court judgements
The subject of this study is the issue of the prerequisites (substantive and procedural) for declaring bankruptcy of a cooperative under Polish law. The court hearing a cooperative bankruptcy case applies Polish law. Bankruptcy law is a set of procedural and substantive legal norms. Polish legal tradition treats cooperatives as special types of debtors. Specific rules related to formally declaring bankruptcy of a cooperative are regulated in the Cooperative Law, not the Bankruptcy Law. A cooperative is not a "typical" entrepreneur. Declaring bankruptcy, on the other hand, is based on the membership bond of a cooperative. This study reviews the relevant court case law and presents certain de lege ferenda postulates.
Copyright (c) 2025 RAFAŁ ADAMUS (Author) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
The Case for the Legal Protection of Cooperative Reserves in ‘Old’ Cooperatives in Germany and Austria (Part 2)
This article continues the text published in issue V of the journal (2023, 152–158) and examines in more detail the origins of today’s financial constitution of a cooperative under § 73 German Cooperative Act. This norm can be seen as a protective norm for the permanent continuation of the unit of a cooperative with an increasing portion of the reserves remaining in the cooperative. The norm emphasizes the ‘social dimension’ of cooperative reserves. Developments in Austria are also considered. Over time, special protection is required for cooperatives that have existed for more than one generation: for ‘old’ ooperatives. This protection can come from both exceptions in the transformation law and additional – foundation-like – supervision.
Copyright (c) 2025 Holger Blisse (Author) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Worker Co-operatives and Industrial Democracy in Ireland: Historical Perspectives, Legal Frameworks, and Pathways for Growth
Worker co-operatives, firms owned and democratically administered by their workers, provide a robust type of industrial democracy with significant historical foundations in Ireland and the European Union (EU). This article analyses the progression of worker co-operatives within these circumstances, mapping their emergence as reactions to social inequity, economic disruption, and the pursuit of fair working standards. It rigorously examines the legal frameworks governing worker co-operatives in Ireland and the EU, emphasising the obstacles presented by fragmented law, restricted access to financing, and insufficient support mechanisms. Notwithstanding governmental support for co-operative principles at the EU level, worker co- operatives constitute a rather insignificant industry. This article examines obstacles to expansion, such as cultural prejudices against conventional corporate methods and insufficient understanding of co-operative governance. Utilising successful models from nations such as Spain and Italy, it delineates plans for development, including adjustments to Irish and EU law, augmented financial assistance, and education about the advantages of co-operative enterprises. This article presents a historical and legal study that highlights the capacity of worker co-operatives to mitigate economic inequality and promote industrial democracy in Ireland and the EU. It desires focused governmental measures to fully realise the sector's groundbreaking potential.
Copyright (c) 2025 Tadgh Quill-Manley (Author) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Italian Agricultural Cooperatives Between Civil Law and European Regulation: A Development Perspective
Italian agricultural cooperatives represent a distinctive economic and legal model that balances mutualistic principles with entrepreneurial strategies. This paper examines the evolving regulatory framework governing these cooperatives, focusing on the interplay between Italian civil law and European regulations. The analysis explores key structural and functional aspects, including mutuality, governance, digital transformation, and integration with renewable energy communities. A central objective is to assess the legal and economic challenges affecting agricultural cooperatives, particularly in relation to their internationalization and financial stability. The study highlights potential reforms aimed at enhancing competitiveness while preserving the cooperative identity. By examining judicial interpretations and legislative developments, the paper provides insights into how cooperatives can adapt to emerging market and policy dynamics, ensuring long-term sustainability within the agri-food sector.
Mutuality principle- Italian agricultural law
Copyright (c) 2025 Avv. Francesco Tedioli (Author) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
FROM SOCIAL PROTEST TO LEGISLATION: ISRAEL'S NEW CREDIT UNION LAW
On December 22nd 2016 the Israeli Parliament passed The Supervision of Financial Services (Regulated Financial Services) Law, 5776-2016 – allowing the establishment of credit unions in Israel for the first time in half a century. The bill was brought as a governmental initiative – after a five years struggle of social activists who were determined to promote the idea of cooperative financial institution and its implementation. This all started with the social protest of 2011 which evoked the need for a major change in the highly centralized and very expensive banking system. OFEK cooperative society was established in 2012 setting a goal of starting a cooperative bank. During the five years since then, governmental committees have risen and faded and many statements have been made in favor of the idea only to collapse into concrete decisions that would prevent it. The former Supervisor of the Bank of Israel decided to prefer "stability" over "competition" – announcing the regulation of financial cooperatives would require equity capital of 75 million NIS (about 18 million €) prior to licensing and after expenses – which meant that the cooperative must raise about 40 million € from members - an impossible mission. It was only when a new Supervisor of Banks was appointed that the barriers were lifted - as she announced that small financial institutions present no threat to the stability of the market, and should be supported by enforcing as little regulation as possible, in order to encourage them to operate. A new challenge then began. This would be the first cooperative law ever enacted in Israel - the Cooperative Societies Ordinance was promulgated by the British Mandate. The challenge was how to make sure that the new law would be based on cooperative values and principles.
Copyright (c) 2018 Yifat Solel https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
COOPERATIVE AND (CAPITAL) MARKETS –MEDIATION OF MEMBERS’ SHARESBY AN ONLINE-PLATFORM
In Austria, the idea of crowdfunding has been linked to a cooperative: CrowdCoopFunding eG (eG: eingetragene Genossenschaft, i.e. registered cooperative) –a crowdfunding platform (https://crowdcoopfunding.at) –emerged from an initiative of the Austrian Association of Cooperatives(Schulze-Delitzsch) (Binder, 2015), which offers its members theopportunity to raise equity capital. This is realized by mediation, which is advertised as a form of investment with the invitation ―buy shares‖. The platform is addressed to existing cooperatives to expand the group of members as well as to new cooperatives (start-up-coops).
Copyright (c) 2018 Holger Blisse https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
REFRAMING THE DEBATE ABOUT COOPERATIVE CAPITAL
I have been working with cooperatives for about 25 years now.From my first encounter, I have been fascinated by the idea of trading for the benefit of everybody and anybody who wishes to engage, and I have reflected frequently on the marginal role played by cooperatives today in my own country, even though the UK played such a big part in the establishment of cooperation.
Copyright (c) 2018 Cliff Mills https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
CO-OPERATIVES, THE STATE, AND MORAL HAZARD
This article explores the nature of the relationship between co-operatives and the State, written primarily from a UK perspective.
Copyright (c) 2018 SettingsIan Adderley https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
A BRIEF CHRONICLE OF AND SOME NOTES ON THE BANKRUPTCY PROCEEDING OF FAGOR ELECTRODOMÉSTICOS S.COOP.
After the announcement of its insolvency on the 15thNovember 2013 Fagor Electrodomésticos S.Coop. (a worker cooperative based in Arrasate-Mondragón, Basque Country, hereinafter ―Fagor Electrodomésticos‖) presented an application for its declaration of bankruptcy. That was accepted by the Commercial Court n. 1 of Donostia-San Sebastian (Juzgado de lo Mercantil número 1 de Donostia-San Sebastián) the 19thNovember.
Copyright (c) 2018 Itziar Villafañez Perez https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
JAPANESE CO-OPERATIVE LEGISLATION: ITS CHARACTERISTICS AND THE IMPACT OF RECENT LEGAL REFORMS
Japan‘s co-operative economy has a sheer size: agricultural co-ops are the world-class organizations ranked as the largest ones in the World Cooperative Monitor while consumer co-ops have 27% of turnover and 71% of membership of their European counterparts affiliatedwith the EUROCOOP.But co-operatives are operating under fragmented co-operative legislation regulated by different competent ministries. There are more than 10 industry-specific co-operative laws regulated by different ministries. The competent government department‘s approval is required when co-operatives are incorporated, merged or liquidated. There are no legal instruments for workers' co-ops despite strong campaigning for decades. There is no common public policy and there are no official statistics on co-operatives and co-operatives have no super-structure among them. The evolution of co-operatives adapting to different socio-economic contexts and legal environments over 70 years has resulted in contrasting organizational cultures and political affiliations. The agricultural co-ops grew as the agency for implementing protectionist policy, heavily supported by the government while the consumer co-ops endured small retailers' anti-co-operative campaigns without any support from the government. The former co-operatives are top-down organizations and support the ruling conservative party while the latter societies are bottom-up organizations and often support the opposition camp.As a result, these co-operatives have little identity among them,nor recognition as a distinguished sector. The Consumer Co-operative Act was amended in a positive direction for the first time in 2007 while the Agricultural Co-operative Act was revised to dismantle their privileges in 2015. Do these legal reforms have an impact onco-operative activities and co-operative identity? This paper starts with a brief history of co-operative legislation. It will explain the institutional framework of agricultural co-operatives (Jas) and the reform of the Agricultural Co-operative Act in 2015. Then, it will do the same for consumer co-ops. Finally, it discusses the characteristics of Japanese co-operative laws in the light of the Principles of European Co-operative Law (PECOL).
Copyright (c) 2018 Akira Kurimoto https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
THE EAST AFRICAN COMMUNITY’S COOPERATIVE REGULATION
Since 2014, a new legal framework governing cooperative societies has been in force within the East African Community. The Act was adopted through a concerted procedure involving all interested parties. The Act replaces national provisions of Partner States, except for complementary and non-contrary provisions. The aim of this analysis is to present the main articulations of this regulation.
Copyright (c) 2018 Willy Tadjudje https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
NATIONAL CONSTITUTIONS AND COOPERATIVES: AN OVERVIEW
The national constitutions as the supreme laws of countries are expected to influence the interpretation and application of ordinary laws to varying degrees. Moreover, they tend to be permeated with political considerations, ideas, ideals and ethics more than other legal texts. Theyhave also the potential to enforce supranational norms in the domestic legal order. For these reasons, their study may reveal valuable information about the national legislator‘s stance and perception towards cooperatives. Thus, the present article undertakes a large-scale inquiry on the topic of constitutions and cooperatives. In particular, it examines which and how many countries have introduced in their constitutions cooperative-related provisions, under which content and whether any particular trends can be noted. With regard to the potential impact of such constitutional provisions on ordinary law, the case of Portugal and Italy isexamined.
Copyright (c) 2018 Douvitsa Douvitsa https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
PROPOSALS FOR BETTER GOVERNANCE IN WORKER COOPERATIVES
The purpose of this paper is to make a few contributions to designing a more appropriate legal framework for worker cooperatives. Cooperatives and Employment: a Global Reportpublished in 2014 by CICOPA and the Desjardins Group, provides the starting point for this article. I have analyzed from this study the characteristics of cooperative employment, their impact on the economic sustainability of cooperatives and the proposed recommendations.Iconsider the existence of a specific legal status for cooperative employment unfeasible. It is impossible to find unity in such different activities as salaried work and self-employed work, whether individual or collective. The idea that a worker member has the same status as a salaried worker cannot be accepted.We need to accept that a cooperative is a particular form of business organisation and that there are specific cooperative relationships which cannot be classified as work contracts, based precisely on the undertakings the worker enters into on becoming a member of the cooperative. Cooperatives should be governed by a specific and appropriate legal system that respects the cooperative principles and values and allows cooperatives to develop autonomously, always respecting the fundamental rights of the individual.
Copyright (c) 2018 Gemma Fajardo https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
THE GENERAL INTEREST COOPERATIVES: A CHALLENGE FOR COOPERATIVE LAW
The legal recognition of cooperatives beganing of the 19 th century and developed in the beginning of the 20th century. Cooperators in most countries struggled to getl egal status for cooperatives, not because they were keen to be regulated, but so that they were able to obtain public support. International organisation shave since recognised that cooperative law is the basic ingredient needed to build cooperative friendly policies.
Copyright (c) 2018 David Hiez https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
THE NEW HYPO-SUFFICIENCY AND THE RELATIONS BETWEEN COOPERATIVES AND THEIR MEMBERS
Thisstudy aims to analyze the characteristics of the relationship between cooperatives and their associates. Cooperatives are societies that exist for solidarity and equality among their members. For that reason, ―cooperative action‖ demands those characteristics and excludes any lucrative purpose, in addition to preventing decisions that are not made through deliberation and permitting the use of the services in conformity with the general decisions. Thus, associates enjoy a dual quality, which is acting as users and managers of the business. Also, in light of the autonomy of the members and the non-existence of inequality, the principles of vulnerability and hypo-sufficiency should not be applied. Therefore, it is necessary that the analysis of the new concept of hypo sufficiency,values the will according to the dignity of the human person, allows an individualized treatment and also guarantees the continuity of the society and the income of the members. Otherwise, there will be an excess of protection without observing the particular characteristics of cooperativism.
Copyright (c) 2018 Marianna Ferraz Teixeira https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
APPLYING PECOL IN THE CURRENT BRAZILIAN REGULATION OF FINANCIAL COOPERATIVES -CHALLENGES OF THE EQUALIZATION BETWEEN EFFICIENCY AND IDENTITY
With the objective of investigating the risks of possible imbalances between the requirements of economic efficiency and preservation of identity, the article analyzes aspects of the normative regulation of financial cooperatives specifically from the perspective of the ―Principles of European Cooperative Law (PECOL)‖as a strategy against the phenomenon of the "companisation" of financial cooperatives.
Copyright (c) 2018 Ronaldo Gaudio https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
DOCUMENTARY ANALYSIS ON THE STATUTORY FUNDS OF COOPERATIVES IN THECORDILLERA ADMINISTRATIVE REGION, PHILIPPINES
The study evaluated cooperatives‘ compliance based onthe provisions of the Philippine Cooperative Code and cooperative by-laws on order of distribution, allocation and utilization of their statutory funds [general reserve fund {GRF}, cooperative education and training fund {CETF}, optional fund {OF}, and community development fund {CDF}]. Fifty (50) cooperatives in Baguio and Benguet served as participants. Ninety-eight percent (98%) up to 100% percent complied with the order on distribution of statutory funds in their respective by-laws consistent with the Philippine Cooperative Code. Based on records and interviews, one cooperative sourced the GRF from credit and consumer operations and not from the consolidated financial operations, thus the rate used was lower. From the Audited Financial Statement and other reports submitted to CDA, compliance with funding statutory funds is about 78%-98% with GRF (98%) as the most funded followed by CDF (92%); OF (84%) and CETF (78%) respectively. From interviews, key informants reveal that they directly charge training fees to operational expenses, hence reducing the allocation in the by-laws as observed in the data with only 26 participants that used the 10% maximum provision in their by-laws. Utilization of statutory funds was between fourteen and eighty-two percent (14%-82%) with CETF (82%) as the most utilized and GRF (14%) as the least utilized. The low utilization of the GRF shows compliance with legal provisions of law making it a restricted fund to cover operational losses. There was significant difference on the utilization of statutory funds but not on the order of distribution and funding. Based on interviews, medium and large cooperatives allocate lower rates in their CETF; cooperatives use their OF to acquire real estate properties; other cooperatives deposit their statutory funds in banks and other high yielding investments; for others, they do not know how to treat their optional fund. For the community development fund of three percent, 92 percent of participants complied with the provision of their by-laws and only about 72 percent utilized their community development fund. As explained by key informants, changes in the composition of officers along with background and work experiences affected the full utilization of the community development fund.
Copyright (c) 2018 Lotes Lab-oyan https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
SPECIAL CAPITALIZATION INSTRUMENTSIN THE URUGUAYAN COOPERATIVE LAW
This article refers to the capitalization instruments (of financing in a broad sense) provided in the General Cooperatives Law of Uruguay of 2008: the so-called Subordinated Participations and Interested Participations. We introduce the capitalization theory of cooperatives in general, and then describe and analyze some points of said Act: (i) emission requirements, (ii) legislation application on the stock market; (iii)possible categorization as securities; (iv) impact that the Income Tax may have on its viability; and(v) legal nature of theassets.
Copyright (c) 2018 Sergio Reyes Lavega https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
THE MOST RELEVANT TREND LINES OF COOPERATIVE SHARE CAPITAL REGIME IN THE NEW PORTUGUESE COOPERATIVE CODE
This study analyses the most relevant trend lines of the cooperative share capital regime in the new Portuguese Cooperative Code. In order to ensure the sustainability of thecooperative, providing it with appropriate mechanisms to be efficient on the market, the new code introduced investor members, reduced the amount of the minimum share capital, clarified the legal regime of cooperators‘ contributions to share capital and extended the list of statutory limits as to the exercise of the right to reimbursement. In the modernization of the cooperative share capital regime the legislator did not abdicate from the preservation of the cooperative identity, continuing to recognize the variability of the share capital.
Copyright (c) 2018 Deolinda Aparício Meira https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
THE MYTILINAIOS AND KOSTAKIS V GREECECASE OF THE EUROPEAN COURT OF HUMAN RIGHTS:THE BEGINNING OF THE END FOR THE MANDATORY COOPERATIVES IN GREECE
In the Mytilinaios and Kostakis v Greececase, the European Court of Human Rights(hereafter “ECtHR”)examined whether the forced membership in a particular cooperative, which wasexclusively responsible to process and market its members’ production, constituted an infringementwiththe negative freedom of association of ar. 11 of the European Convention of Human Rights (hereafter “ECHR”). The Court’s case law on the negative freedom of association has beenlargelyassociated with trade-unions. In the case under study, however, the allegations of the violation of the negativefreedom of association wereexamined with regard to cooperatives. Thelatter posedthe question asto whether such factor wascrucial for the Court’s decision and what kind of impact the decision hadon the cooperative lawand the cooperative sector in Greece.
Copyright (c) 2019 Demosthenis Kassavetis Ifigeneia Douvitsa https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
WORKER COOPERATIVES AND THEIR DEVELOPMENT IN THE COLOMBIAN CONSTITUTIONAL COURT’S JURISPRUDENCE
In Latin America, the existence of cooperative law has been recognized as a special branch of law2, a topic that is still a subject of discussion among jurists and is alsostrange for public authorities, both judicial and administrative, who prefer to apply civil law, commercial law or labor law, rather than cooperative law, more than anything else, due to ignorance on the matter.
Copyright (c) 2019 SettingsAntonio José Sarmiento Reyes https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
NEW PERSPECTIVES FOR THE COOPERATIVISM OF RENEWABLE ENERGIES:LEGAL RECOGNITION AND PROMOTION
It is rightly said that energy is the driving force that keeps the world goingand that the main sources of energy we use (oiland coal) are unsustainable due to their finite and contaminating characteristics. Apparently, 87% of the energy we consume is not renewable2.This framework fosters the need to develop other sources of energy that are renewable and in general sustainable, such as sun and wind.
Copyright (c) 2019 Gemma Fajardo https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
LEGAL PROVISIONS FOR SOCIAL AND SOLIDARITY ECONOMY ACTORS. THE CASE OF LAW 4430/2016 IN GREECE
The recent interest in Social Solidarity Economy has led to a proliferation of relevant laws in Europe. Greece has followed this trend with Law 4430/2016 on Social and Solidarity Economy and the development of its actors. This paper analyses the main provisions of this Law with regard to the scope,working definitions and legal entities eligible for registration as Social Solidarity Economy actors. The main intention is to open up the theoretical discussion on the legal entities whichare entitled to be included in SSE and to explore the relevant debates on convergences and divergences between social solidarity economy and the cooperative sector.It also illustrates the difficulty of translating principles into legal provisions in the specific legal contextof Greece with a highly fragmented cooperative legislation.
Copyright (c) 2019 Sofia Adam https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
LEGAL CONSEQUENCES OFINTRODUCTION OF ELEMENTS OF PUBLIC LAW INTO COOPERATIVE LAW – POLISH PERCEPTION
The article considers the role of administrative law and the impact of state authorities on the shape of cooperative law in Poland. The establishment of legal normsintroduceselements of public law into cooperative law. Thisarticle assesses these legal norms, including the regulation ofcredit unionsand housing cooperatives. In addition, it considers anewly shaped model of membership in housing cooperativesin Polish law. This model assumes thatmembershipcan be created,ex lege, in isolation from the will of the member, if theyacquire the right to occupy premises in a housing cooperative. This type of membership is an example of the Polish legislator usinghousing cooperatives to implement the public obligation to meet the housing needs of society.
Copyright (c) 2019 Dominik Bierecki https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
EMPLOYMENT IN WORKER COOPERATIVESIN THE FRAMEWORK OF SPANISH COOPERATIVE LAW
Workers’ cooperatives are created to provide jobsfortheir worker-owners. It is a formula enablinga group of people to obtain employment undera cooperative systemthrough the creation of a jointly-owned company withdemocratic management,acompany thatcan specialise inrendering any service or producingany good, as long as theprinciples of the cooperative are not violated.However, some legal systems allow for the presence of salariedemployees who are workersincooperativeswithout beingmembers. Inthis case, the working relationship between the cooperative and those employees is governed by ordinarylabour law, known tobea field of law that developedin the sphere of the capital-labour conflict.In such acase, the cooperative is considered an ordinary employer;i.e., a common capitalist enterprise. This situatesus before the paradox that,in the nineteenth century,workers'cooperatives were designed to surmountthe exploitation suffered by wage-earners, whilein the 21st century,we find-at least in form -the capital-labour relationship within these same cooperatives.In this regard, the question of employees’ working conditions is also of interest,bearing in mind that a distinction must be drawn between the working conditions of the two groups mentioned above: member employees and salaried employees.
Copyright (c) 2019 Aitor Bengoetxea Alkorta https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
THE PORTUGUESE SOCIAL SOLIDARITY COOPERATIVE VERSUSTHE PECOL GENERAL INTEREST COOPERATIVE
The Principles of European Co-operative Law (‘PECOL’)considers the Portuguese social solidarity cooperative as anexampleof a co-operative model that approaches the general interest cooperative. The general interest cooperative and the Portuguese social solidarity cooperativeare both structured to pursue economic activity mainly in the general interest of the community. Theyalso base their entire activity on the notion of solidarity. For these reasons,the legal frameworksfor both types of cooperative have certain peculiaritiesregardingtheir categories of members, financial structure, governance and audit regimes. This paper analyses the main similarities and differences between the general interest cooperative and the Portuguese social solidarity cooperative.
Copyright (c) 2019 Deolinda Meira https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0