XXIII European Congress and Colloquium of Agricultural
Law
Roros (Norway) - 6-10 March 2005
European Council for Agricultural Law
Questionnaire
Round Table
Agricultural Cooperatives - Evolution, importance,
perspectives
Coopératives agricoles - Evolution, portée, perspectives
Landwirtschaftliche Genossenschaften - Entwicklung, Bedeutung,
Perspektiven
President - Président - Präsident : Prof. Dr.
Antonio Sciaudone, Professore associato di Diritto agrario comunitario
presso la Seconda Università degli Studi di Napoli.,
Trav. Mario Fiore 12 - S. Maria C.V. - ITALIA -Tel. 0039 823
846973 - Fax 0039 823 848125, E-mail : studiosciaudone@libero.it
General Reporter - Rapporteur Général - Generalberichterstatter
: Prof. Isabelle COUTURIER, Délégué général
adjoint,Maître de Conférences à l’Université
d’Angers, Magistrat, 18, rue Joachim du Bellay, F - 49100
ANGERS, Tel : 0033 2 41 87 26 47, Fax : 0033 2 41 34 26 13,
E-mail : isacouturier@hotmail.com
Comprehensiveness and deadline: A country report should consist
of 10-15 pages (A 4, ca. 2.200 characters) and should be delivered
by e-mail until October 31st 2004 (as Word document if possible)
to the General Reporter (address as aforesaid) (Word-document
if possible). A copy should be sent to the Delegate General:
paul.richli@unilu.ch
When answering to a question, national reporters are kindly
requested to give examples for a better understanding in respect
of agricultural farms and companies of the agro- and food-industry,
which national administration as well as national courts have
had to deal with.
Information and Thanks: Please contact the General Reporter
for additional information you should need. The General Reporter
thanks you in advance for observing the above-mentioned indications
and requirements.
Introduction
Agricultural co-operatives are very different from every point
of view depending on the country; a scheme has to be prepared
setting out their structure in order to identify the differences
and to compare their working conditions.
The responses will contain particulars of the implementation
of legal provisions, of the existence of court cases or doctrinal
controversies. You will specify the possible projects of reform
in this area.
1. Generalities
1.a. Specify the economic importance of the agricultural co-operative
in your country;
1.b. Specify the major stages in the history of the agricultural
co-operative society in your country;
2. Definitions - sources
2.a. Give the definition of the co-operative society which prevails
in your country.
2.b. Are there any specific texts about the co-operative society?
2.c. Specify the definition of the agricultural co-operative
as well
2.d. Are there any specific texts about the agricultural co-operative,
e.g. a particular statute?
2.e. What are the characteristic principles which dominate all
agricultural co-operative societies?
3. Constitution of agricultural co-operative societies
3.a. Specify the social object of a co-operative society (production,
maintaining supplies, marketing, services...); are the co-operative
societies polyvalent? (polyvalence...)
3.b. How is the capital of a co-operative society constituted?
3.c. Who can be a member and under what conditions? Is the Open
Door principle applied?
3.d. Is there state control of the formation?
3.e. How is the Council Regulation (EC) No 1435/2003 of 22 July
2003 on the Statute for a European Co-operative Society (SCE)
(Official Journal L 207, 18 August) applied in your country?
4. Organization; Management structure of agricultural
co-operative societies
4.a. Give a short description of management structure. Is the
rule one man - one vote applied? Are there exceptions?
4.b. What is the nature of management, in particular for the
accounts of the co-operative society?
5. Operation
5.a. The activity of the co-operative with its members. Specify
the connection between the co-operative and the farmer, the
obligations; are the activities individual, formalised, exclusive,
are they negotiable, how are the prices determined?
5.b. How is breach of obligations by company members sanctioned?
5.c. What kind of activities are there as between the co-operative
society and third parties?
5.d. What liability does a member have?
5.e. Withdrawal of a member, resignation, exclusion; conditions
and consequences
5.f. How are shares transferred?
5.g. How is the distribution of profits determined?
5.h. What are the means of financing of co-operatives: for the
members, are there instruments of external financing, use of
reserves?
5.i. Specify the essential points of the tax system indicating
if there are favorable specific provisions.
5.j. Activities of the co-operative society
- Are there any difficulties with the application of competition
law?
- Are co-operatives making use of distribution labels, do they
have structures of direct distribution?
- Do the co-operatives have an influence on the production of
the members?
- What place do the co-operatives occupy in the organization
of markets?
6. Dissolution
Are there any particularities for the dissolution of an agricultural
co-operative society compared with other societies?
7. Organization
7.a. Specify if a movement of reorganization is in progress
or has taken place, in which form (unions of co-operative societies,
mergers, purchase of a stake in national or foreign societies)
7.b. Are there any particular legal provisions and what kind
of legal difficulties arise out of these operations most frequently?
7.c. Specify the consequences in comparison with the company
members
8. Federation of the co-operative societies
Do co-operative societies form groupings and for what purpose?