What is Act No. 90 / 1988 Coll.?

Act No. 90 / 1988 Coll., on Agricultural Cooperatives — Act on Agricultural Cooperatives.

When it became Act No. 90 / 1988 Coll. effectiveness?

Act No. 90 / 1988 Coll. became effective 01.07.1988.

Is Act No. 90 / 1988 Coll. still valid?

Yes, Act No. 90 / 1988 Coll. is still valid and effective.

Act No. 90 / 1988 Coll. - Act on Agricultural Cooperatives

90

THE LAW

of 15 June 1988

on agricultural cooperatives

Agricultural cooperative activities are an integral and equal part of the socialist economic system of the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic. Its basic mission is to meet the needs of society in the nutrition of the people.

The strategy for accelerating social economic development also requires a substantial increase in the dynamics of labour productivity growth in agricultural cooperatives and an increase in the efficiency of the entire reproductive process by making more intensive use of the results of scientific and technological progress, by deepening participation in the international socialist division of labour and by applying creative experience and creative forces of cooperative peasants.

Unified agricultural cooperatives provide their economic, social and social tasks in accordance with the policy of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia, leading and directing the forces of socialist society and state. The organizations of the Czechoslovak Communist Party operating in the single agricultural cooperatives and in their organised joint ventures are the political core of their collective societies, unifying the efforts of the cooperative bodies and the collective and social organisations associated in the National Front to meet all social needs. They exercise the right of party control over cooperative bodies and ensure implementation of the Communist Party's cadre policy.

Social organisations in the National Front, in particular the Association of Cooperative Farmers in Unified Agricultural Cooperatives, the Revolutionary Union Movement in Joint Undertakings and the Socialist Youth Union, in accordance with their Statutes, are involved in the development of creative activities of cooperative cooperatives and workers, in increasing their responsibility for the results of economic and social activity and in ensuring the interests and education of the young generation.

Agricultural cooperatives are based primarily on the principles of volunteering, equality, cooperative democracy, including socialist self-government, the uniformity of members' interests with the interests of the single agricultural cooperative and society, planning, protection of assets in socialist social ownership.

In order to create all-round conditions for the performance of these tasks and achieve the stated objectives, the Federal Assembly of the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic decided on this law:

ČÁST PRVNÍ

GENERAL PROVISIONS

§ 1

United Agricultural Cooperative

(1) The single agricultural cooperative ("cooperative") is a socialist organisation. The cooperative is a voluntary association of members for the operation of agricultural and food production and other activities; it operates its business in accordance with the State Economic and Social Development Plan (hereinafter referred to as the "State Plan '), the principle of complete cooperation and the principle of cooperative democracy.

(2) At the same time, the cooperative is a social organisation contributing to the development of socialist social relations and helping its activities to meet the social and cultural needs of its members.

(3) The cooperative manages property in its ownership or in cooperative use or other social use. The cooperative has the right and obligation to reproduce, improve, fully, efficiently and economically exploit, use and protect this property in order to achieve the best possible economic results and fully meet the needs of socialist society. The property of the cooperative is also property rights acquired by the cooperative.

(4) The cooperative group shall manage its affairs through the members meeting and elected bodies of the cooperative in accordance with the generally binding legislation and statutes of the cooperative.

(5) The cooperative is responsible for the results of its management, on which the income of the cooperative group and its individual members depend directly.

(6) The cooperative is a legal person; act in legal relations on its behalf and be responsible for those relationships.

§ 2

Tasks of the cooperative

The cooperative shall in particular:

(a) ensure, in particular, the development of socialist agricultural production in accordance with the objectives and tasks of the State Plan;

(b) protect and make full use of all land and other means of production and resources to safeguard the growing needs and demands of socialist society;

(c) increase the intensity and efficiency of production by applying scientific and technical progress and progressive methods of organisation and management;

(d) support the members' work initiative in the performance of the tasks of the cooperative and create the conditions for their participation in the management under the principle of cooperative democracy;

(e) assist in increasing the qualifications of its members and may create its own or joint training facilities for these purposes; creates conditions for the preparation of youth for working-class professions,

(f) seek to meet socio-economic and social needs, to develop active activities and interests of members, including pensioners and members with altered working capacity, in accordance with the interests and needs of society and on the basis of their capabilities.

§ 3

Cooperation in agricultural cooperatives

Cooperatives may organise effective cooperation between themselves and other socialist organisations in order to create better assumptions for the performance of their tasks in accordance with the principles of equality and mutual economic advantage and other principles of agricultural cooperatives (Sections 67 to 77). In the framework of this cooperation, they may form joint undertakings and cooperative associations.

§ 4

Cooperative and joint venture relations with the State

(1) In accordance with its economic and organisational function, the State creates, in particular, conditions for the economic, social and social development of cooperatives and the joint venture by means of generally binding legislation.

(2) The Cooperative and the Joint Undertaking are direct addressees of the outputs of the State Plan, namely economic standards, nominal tasks, limits and subsidies; The State plan shall specify which of them are binding on them.

(3) The activities and territorial scope of the cooperative and the joint venture may be restricted or intervened only under the conditions and in the manner laid down by law.

(4) The cooperative and joint venture may seek protection from economic arbitrage under the conditions laid down by the law against the intervention of the economic management body in their activities which are contrary to generally binding legislation. 1)

(5) The economic management body which, by intervening in the activities of a cooperative or joint venture, causes property damage is obliged to replace it. The conditions and extent of compensation for property damage, as well as cases where compensation is not granted, are laid down in law 1)

(6) Where a cooperative or joint venture is involved in its activities in property damage to a State or to another entity, they shall be obliged to replace it under the conditions and to the extent laid down by law.

(7) The Cooperative and the Joint Undertaking shall develop their activities according to the principles of planning and economic competition in such a way as to successfully fulfil their mission in making use of all the possibilities given to them by the Socialist Law. In this context, they take the appropriate economic risk.

(8) The cooperative and the joint venture must not put their interests above those of society, in particular they must not abuse their economic position at the expense of other entities, or otherwise act against the interests of society.

§ 5

State control activities

Only authorities whose supervisory functions are governed by law may carry out control activities on the cooperative and joint venture. The controls must contribute to improving the efficiency of the economic, social and social activities of the cooperative and the joint venture. The State authorities shall carry out this activity with the participation of supervisory and review committees of the cooperative and joint venture as appropriate.

§ 6

Information system and accounts

(1) The cooperative and the Joint Undertaking are required under generally binding legislation to process, maintain and transmit socio-economic information, as well as information for planning and drawing up national budgets (hereinafter referred to as "information").

(2) It is permissible to require the submission of information from the cooperative and the joint venture only to the extent and in a manner laid down by generally binding legislation.

(3) The cooperative and the Joint Undertaking are required to keep accounts in the prescribed manner, draw up annual accounts and provide them to the competent national authorities.

§ 7

Prices

(1) The cooperative and the Joint Undertaking sell products and provide work and services at prices and, where appropriate, fees fixed or agreed in accordance with price regulations.

(2) The cooperative and the Joint Undertaking are required to comply with the rules of the State Price Management. The funds obtained by wrongfully infringing the pricing rules shall be transferred to the State budget if the cooperative and the joint venture do not return them to the injured customer without delay. The cooperative and the joint venture are penalised under generally binding legislation for breach of price discipline.

§ 8

Cooperation with national committees and election programmes of the National Front

(1) The cooperative and the Joint Undertaking cooperate in their economic, social and social activities with the relevant national committees and participate in the comprehensive economic and social development of their territorial districts in the manner and under the conditions laid down by law. In their activities, the cooperative and the Joint Undertaking shall comply with the decisions of the national committees given in accordance with their respective competences. The relevant national committees shall also comment on the development of the cooperative and joint venture and on major changes to the subject of their economic and social activity.

(2) The cooperative and the Joint Undertaking are involved in the development and implementation of the National Front electoral programmes.

§ 9

Creation and environmental protection and rational use of natural resources

(1) The cooperative and the Joint Undertaking are obliged to organise economic and social activities in such a way as to protect the environment as effectively as possible from the harmful effects that their activities are caused, in particular to avoid endangering citizens' health. They implement and finance environmental measures.

(2) The cooperative and the Joint Undertaking are responsible for the rational use and protection of natural resources.

(3) The cooperative and the joint venture are obliged to make economic and efficient use of by-products from their economic activities, or to create conditions for their economic use by other entities, as appropriate. To this end, they are obliged to register, protect and use these products in a non-hazardous way.

(4) The Cooperative and the Joint Undertaking shall cooperate with the relevant National Committee in the implementation of environmental protection and conservation measures and the rational use of natural resources.

§ 10

Meetings and conferences of cooperatives

(1) National meetings and conferences of cooperatives are convened to discuss the economic, social and social activities of cooperatives.

(2) A national convention of cooperatives is convened by the Government of the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic on a proposal from the Central Committee of the Association of Cooperative Farmers, as a rule every five years.

(3) The Cooperative Conference is convened by the competent State authority and the competent authority of the Cooperative Farmers Union.

ČÁST DRUHÁ

COORDINATION, ECONOMIC AFFAIRS AND LIABILITIES

§ 11

The formation of the cooperative

(1) In order to establish a cooperative, the prior approval of the economic management body is necessary, and

(a) a resolution setting up meetings on its establishment;

(b) the adoption of the statutes of the cooperative,

(c) the election of the cooperative authorities.

(2) The cooperative may acquire rights and undertake obligations from the date of registration in the company register.

(3) The application for registration of the cooperative in the company register is submitted by the cooperative; the application must be accompanied by the statutes of the cooperative, the prior agreement of the economic management body and the resolution setting up meetings on its establishment.

§ 12

Statutes of cooperatives

The essential internal cooperative rules are the statutes of the cooperative (hereinafter referred to as "the statutes') which the cooperative will draw up in accordance with this law and other generally binding legislation. The statutes shall contain:

(a) the name of the cooperative which must expressly state that it is a single agricultural cooperative and the seat of the cooperative;

(b) the subject matter of the economic and social activity of the cooperative;

(c) members' rights and obligations;

(d) provisions for the care of members - pensioners and the provision of conditions for the social and occupational use of members with altered working capacity;

(e) the organisation, management and bodies of the cooperative,

(f) the identification and jurisdiction of the bodies of the cooperative active in disciplinary proceedings.

§ 13

Subject matter of economic activity of the cooperative

(1) In particular, the cooperative is required to conduct agricultural production and, in the interests of its further development, to manage rationally and efficiently on the agricultural land, forests, water areas and ponds of the fish it uses.

(2) The cooperative may:

(a) to process and produce food products from agricultural and forest raw materials;

(b) carry out activities and produce products serving the needs of agricultural and food production; where consent is required to this activity under specific rules, only with such consent;

(c) provide work and services for citizens;

(d) to sell own manufactured goods.

(3) The economic activity of the cooperative may, following the prior approval of the economic management body, be the subject of another activity if it is not carried on at the expense of the rational use of the land fund and its own agricultural production.

§ 14

Foreign economic activity

(1) The cooperative makes use of its economic activities and of its involvement in the international division of labour, particularly in the context of socialist economic integration.

(2) Under the statutory rules, the cooperative can carry out foreign-exchange economic activities, usually on the basis of foreign-exchange financing. It has the right, under the conditions laid down by law, to establish and implement direct relations with the organisations of states involved in socialist economic integration.

§ 15

Foreign exchange fund

(1) The cooperative has the right to establish an exchange fund. The cooperative receives funds under the foreign exchange standard from foreign exchange sales obtained from exports of goods, from the balance of cooperative supplies and from the sale of licences, as well as from the savings provided by foreign exchange funds, possibly from foreign exchange subsidies and loans.

(2) The resources of the foreign exchange fund are used to ensure the development of the economic activity of the cooperative, to cover import needs, to cover foreign exchange liabilities and to repay the loans granted by the bank if they are the income of the foreign exchange fund.

(3) The funds of the foreign exchange fund created by the cooperative shall not be withdrawn; the cooperative decides on its application in accordance with generally binding legislation. The balance of the foreign exchange fund may be transferred to other calendar years without restriction.

§ 16

Management of the cooperative

(1) The cooperative shall manage in accordance with its own economic plan, which must ensure the binding outcomes of the State Plan and the concluded economic contracts and is binding on the cooperative.

(2) The cooperative shall use its production in particular to fulfil the nominal tasks of the State Plan, the obligations arising from economic contracts, to ensure its own extended reproduction and to satisfy the personal consumption of its members and, where appropriate, workers.

(3) From its revenue the cooperative will in particular fulfil its obligations towards the State (levies and taxes). The profit left after the contributions and taxes were made is used by the cooperative itself and cannot be withdrawn; ensuring, as a priority, the financing needs of extended reproduction and scientific and technological development. A development fund and a fund of cultural and social needs are required; other funds are created as required.

(4) Departures from basic resources remain in full to the cooperative and are used separately by the cooperative.

§ 17

Special Cooperative Management Scheme

(1) A cooperative which is unable to manage itself may provide the economic management authority with funding and bind its use to the specific cooperative management regime established by it.

(2) The special scheme for the management of the cooperative consists mainly of applying the consolidation programme for a specified period and monitoring its implementation.

(3) The consolidation programme is a set of economic, technical, organisational, financial and cadre measures, remuneration measures and, where appropriate, other measures aimed at restoring the ability of the cooperative to perform its economic functions.

§ 18

Termination of the cooperative

(1) The membership meeting may decide that the cooperative shall cease

(a) permanent loss of land base;

(b) the loss of self-management capacity.

The cooperative shall cease to exist on the date of its removal from the company register.

(2) The cooperative shall cease to be a merger or division.

(3) The cooperative to which the assets and liabilities of the deceased cooperative have been transferred must immediately notify other legal persons affected by the loss of the cooperative, the disappearance of the cooperative and the transfer of its assets and liabilities, the liquidator shall have that obligation in liquidation.

Elimination of the cooperative

§ 19

(1) In the event of the disappearance of the cooperative for the reasons set out in Paragraph 18 (1), liquidation of the cooperative shall take place.

(2) The liquidator shall be appointed by the member meeting.

(3) The application for registration of a cooperative in liquidation and its liquidator shall be submitted by the cooperative.

(4) The date on which registration in the company register referred to in paragraph 3 was carried out shall, except for a member meeting, cease the functions of all the cooperative's bodies.

§ 20

(1) The liquidator is entitled to act on behalf of the cooperative in matters relating to liquidation.

(2) The liquidator shall immediately inform all organisations, bodies and other persons concerned of the entry into liquidation of the cooperative.

(3) At the date of the start of the liquidation, the cooperative shall draw up the financial statements and financial statements and transmit them to the liquidator.

§ 21

(1) The liquidator shall draw up an opening balance sheet within one month of its provision and submit it to the member meeting, together with the liquidation plan, the winding-up budget and the inventory of the extraordinary inventory of the economic resources carried out at the date of commencement of the liquidation.

(2) In particular, the liquidator in the course of liquidation

(a) concentrate money on one account with one money institution;

(b) complete normal business;

(c) make the best possible use of the assets of the cooperative or otherwise in accordance with generally binding legislation;

(d) initiate measures with regard to land and other agricultural property to ensure production to the competent State authority;

(e) satisfy the recovery of the State's claims on levies, taxes and charges, the claims of members and workers of the cooperative and other claims;

(f) submit quarterly and annual reports on the course of the liquidation, supported by quarterly and annual accounts, to the Member States.

§ 22

(1) The liquidator shall draw up the accounts at the end of the liquidation and submit it to the Member State for approval, together with a final report on the progress of the liquidation.

(2) After the clearance of the accounts by the member meetings of the liquidator

(a) pay any liquidation surplus, if any, after satisfying all the cooperative's obligations and the return of the members' shares to the relevant State Fund for the Narrowing of Land;

(b) ensure the safe deposit of file material and accounting documents;

(c) submit an application for the deletion of the cooperative from the company register.

§ 23

Merge

(1) The cooperatives incorporated into the new cooperative shall cease to be deleted from the company register. Similarly, the cooperatives that come into the already established cooperative will also disappear.

(2) The new cooperative or, where applicable, the cooperative in which other cooperatives are incorporated, transfers the assets and liabilities of the deceased cooperatives; members of the deceased cooperatives become members of the merged cooperative.

§ 24

Breakdown

(1) The members of the divided cooperative shall determine how the cooperative is to be distributed, how its assets and liabilities are to be distributed and, taking into account the legitimate interests of each member, shall also recommend to which cooperative members shall be transferred.

(2) The split cooperative shall cease to exist and its assets and liabilities shall be transferred to the new cooperative on the date on which it was entered in the company register to the extent specified by the membership meeting of the split cooperative. On that date, members of the divided cooperative shall become members of the new cooperative.

ČÁST TŘETÍ

MANAGEMENT AND ORGANISATION OF THE SPECIES

§ 25

Members' meeting

(1) The highest body of the cooperative shall be a membership meeting at which members exercise their right to manage and monitor the activities of the cooperative.

(2) The meetings of the members shall meet as necessary, but at least every six months and, where appropriate, if a team of representatives has been elected, once a year.

(3) A member meeting must be convened if at least one third of all members of the cooperative, or of the monitoring and review committee, or the competent authority of the Association of cooperative peasants so requests, if the cooperative is its member organisation.

(4) The responsibilities of the member meetings include:

(a) the choice and, where appropriate, the appeal of the cooperative's bodies and their individual members, with the exception of the College of Representatives;

(b) the adoption of the Statutes, their amendments and additions;

(c) discussion and approval of the reports of the Board of Directors and the Audit and Review Committee on the results of their activities and the activities of the cooperative;

(d) the adoption, amendments and amendments thereto,

(e) the adoption of a special cooperative management regime;

(f) approval of the five-year and annual economic plans and concepts for the further development of the cooperative;

(g) decision-making on the creation and rules of the use of cooperative funds;

(h) the clearance of annual accounts;

(i) a fundamental decision on the cooperative's land fund;

(j) decision on the disappearance of the cooperative;

(k) decision-making on other matters relating to the cooperative and its activities, where provided for in the law, by the statutes or, where appropriate, by the membership meeting.

(5) The Statutes may stipulate that part-member meetings shall be held instead of a member meeting.

§ 26

Elected Cooperative Authorities

(1) The elected bodies of the cooperative are:

(a) the College of Representatives;

(b) the Board of Directors,

(c) the President,

(d) the Audit and Review Committee;

(e) the arbitration panel,

(f) the Social Commission,

(g) the Committee on Safety and Health at Work.

(2) The voting arrangements of the elected bodies of the cooperative shall be decided by the member meeting. It is generally elected by secret ballot.

(3) The term of office of the elected co-operative authorities is five years.

§ 27

Composition and quorum of elected bodies of the cooperative

(1) The number of members of the Board of Representatives shall be at least five times the number of members of the Board of Directors. The Board has 7 to 29 members, a commission of 3 to 11 members.

(2) The number and composition of the members of the individual elected bodies of the cooperative shall be determined by the statutes.

(3) The members' meetings and the elected bodies of the cooperative are quorum if an absolute majority of their members are present; the consent of two thirds of the members present shall be required for the validity of the resolution.

(4) A member's meeting may be held in a valid resolution after a waiting period of one hour if at least one third of all members are present; the quorum and validity of the resolution on the demise of the cooperative shall be subject to the provisions of paragraph 3.

Citation	Act No. 90 / 1988 Coll., on Agricultural Cooperatives
Regulation Type	-
Author	-
Collection	Code of Laws

Date of Promulgation	15.06.1988
Effective from	01.07.1988
Effective until	-
Status	Valid

Act No. 90 / 1988 Coll.

Act on Agricultural Cooperatives

Contents