SPÓŁDZIELNIE OSÓB PRAWNYCH I NIEKTÓRE SZCZEGÓLNE RODZAJE SPÓŁDZIELNI W ŚWIETLE OBOWIĄZUJĄCEJ I PROJEKTOWANEJ USTAWY

Abstract

The doctrine of co-operative law as well as the practical application of co-operative law produces much controversy regarding the openness of the membership of a co-operative to legal persons. This issue also concerns the legal construction of a co-operative of legal persons, i.e. a co-operative institution which shall only admit legal persons. This may be possible because the authors of the statutes of co-operatives formed exclusively for legal persons, exercising the powers provided for in the statutory rights, anticipate an important derogation from one of the basic principles of an idea of a co-operative, i.e. the principle that “one member stands for one vote”, and favour a principle that the number of votes at the AGM should depend on the number of shares brought into the co-operative. If this view is implemented, the consequent situation will be that a co-operative of legal persons would work on almost exactly the same principles as those provided for in the code of commercial companies, and in particular to those applicable to limited liability companies. Hence, one of the objectives of this paper is to discuss the real need of continuing the effort to maintain this legal situation. This paper and the interest in the subject was prompted by the draft of a new law on co-operatives developed on the initiative of the President of the Republic of Poland. Besides the issues related to the co-operatives formed by legal persons, the paper also deals with a number of proposals of individual statutory norms regulating the status of craftsmen, student, or social co-operatives. The variety of social needs justify the establishment of specific legal regulations enabling those social groups as well as others, including disabled persons or the unemployed in various forms of co-operative businesses. The evaluation of the proposed legal solutions constitutes the main theme of the second part of the work.