Who Attends the Founding Conference of a Union of Cooperatives under the Law?

Besides the representatives of the founders of the union of cooperatives, who else attends the founding conference of the union of cooperatives?

1. What is a founder of a union of cooperatives?

Provisions on cooperative founders in Article 38 of the Law on Cooperatives 2023 (17/2023/QH15, effective from 01/7/2024) are as follows:

Founders

1. Founders of a cooperative are individuals, households and legal entities voluntarily committing to found and participate in establishing the cooperative.

Founders of a union of cooperatives are cooperatives voluntarily committing to found and participate in establishing the union of cooperatives.

2. Founders shall campaign and advocate for the establishment of cooperatives and unions of cooperatives; develop production and business plans and draft Charters; and carry out tasks to organize the founding conference of the cooperative or union of cooperatives.

Under the above regulations, founders of a union of cooperatives are cooperatives voluntarily committing to found and participate in establishing the union of cooperatives.

2. Besides the representatives of the founders of the union of cooperatives, who else attends the founding conference of the union of cooperatives?

The participants in the founding conference of the union of cooperatives are prescribed in Article 39 of the Law on Cooperatives 2023 (17/2023/QH15) as follows:

Founding conference of cooperatives and unions of cooperatives

1. The founding conference of a cooperative or union of cooperatives shall be organized by the founders.

Participants in the founding conference of a cooperative include the founders being individuals, the lawful representatives of founders; and the lawful representatives of households, legal entities and other individuals wishing to join the cooperative.

Participants in the founding conference of a union of cooperatives include the lawful representatives of the founders and of the cooperatives wishing to join the union of cooperatives.

2. The conference shall discuss the draft Charter, the production and business plan of the cooperative or union of cooperatives, and the tentative list of official members and member cooperatives.

3. The conference shall adopt the Charter. Those who approve the Charter and satisfy the conditions prescribed in Articles 30 and 34 of this Law shall become official members or member cooperatives. The official members and member cooperatives shall continue to discuss and decide the following:

a) The production and business plan;

b) Election of the Board of Directors and the Chairperson of the Board of Directors; deciding on the selection of the Director (General Director) from among official members, lawful representatives of member cooperatives, or hiring a Director (General Director);

c) Election of the Supervisory Board, the Head of the Supervisory Board, or controllers;

d) Other matters related to the establishment, organization and operation of the cooperative or union of cooperatives.

4. Resolutions of the founding conference on the matters prescribed in Clause 3 of this Article must be voted and adopted by majority rule.

Accordingly, besides the representatives of the founders of the union of cooperatives, the founding conference of the union of cooperatives also includes the lawful representatives of cooperatives wishing to join the union of cooperatives.

3. What is the time limit for issuing the registration certificate of a union of cooperatives?

The registration certificate of a union of cooperatives shall be issued within the time limit prescribed in Clause 4, Article 42 of the Law on Cooperatives 2023 (17/2023/QH15) as follows:

Registration of establishment of cooperatives and unions of cooperatives

4. Within 03 working days from the date of receipt of the dossier, the business registration authority shall be responsible for reviewing the validity of the registration dossier and issuing the Cooperative Registration Certificate; where the dossier is invalid, the business registration authority must notify in writing the contents requiring amendment or supplementation to the person authorized to register the establishment of the cooperative or union of cooperatives; in case of refusal, it must notify in writing and clearly state the reasons.

Thus, under current regulations, the time limit for issuing the registration certificate of a union of cooperatives is 03 working days (instead of 05 working days under the old regulations), from the date of receipt of the dossier as prescribed.

In case of refusal, the business registration authority must notify in writing and clearly state the reasons.