Italian Co-operative Law Reform and Co-operative Principles

Antonio Fici

No 902, Euricse Working Papers from Euricse (European Research Institute on Cooperative and Social Enterprises)

Abstract: A reform of Italian co-operative law was passed in 2003 and came into force in 2004. This paper presents the principal characteristics of the new Italian co-operative law and seeks to evaluate the relationship of some of its main provisions to traditional co-operative principles. From this perspective, the paper deals in particular with the definition of the Italian co-operative as a company with a mutual purpose ; the distinction between mainly mutual co-operatives and other co-operatives (and the relationship between mutuality and profit-making in co-operatives); the regulation of voting in the assembly (the one member, one vote principle and its exceptions); the available governance systems ( tripartite , dualistic , monistic ); and co-operative finance solutions (investor members and financial instruments). Using the Italian reforms as a starting point for debate, this paper puts forth the possibility of generalising a modified approach to co-operative regulation and principles, taking into account efficiency issues, while preserving the co-operative identity. Paper presented at the symposium Co-operatives, legislation and public policy (Sobey School of Business, Saint Mary s University, Halifax, Canada, 19-21 June 2009) (Nel 2003 stata approvata in Italia e poi nel 2004 entrata in vigore una nuova riforma legislativa sulle imprese cooperative. Il presente articolo presenta le principali caratteristiche della nuova legge e tenta di valutare il rapporto tra alcuni dei principali provvedimenti stabiliti dalla legge e i principi tradizionali delle cooperative. Da questo punto di vista, l articolo affronta in particolare la definizione di cooperativa vigente in Italia, che la inquadra come una impresa a finalit mutualistica . Vengono inoltre affrontati il tema della distinzione tra cooperative a mutualit prevalente e altre cooperative (e la relazione tra mutualit e raggiungimento di profitti nelle cooperative), la regolazione dei meccanismi di voto (nel rispetto del principio una-testa-un-voto e con le sue eccezioni), i sistemi di governance (tripartito, dualistico e monistico), le soluzioni introdotte per il sostegno finanziario delle cooperative (con la figura dei soci sovventori o investitori ed alcuni strumenti finanziari). L articolo utilizza quindi la riforma giuridica introdotta per aprire il dibattito ed allargare alla possibilit di approcciarsi alla regolamentazione e ai principi delle cooperative in un approccio nuovo che tenga conto della questione dell efficienza pur preservando l identit cooperativa.)

Keywords: Italian cooperatives; cooperative principles; mutual purpose; governance systems; corporate governance; Italian law (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2009
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