CO-OPERATIVE LEGISLATION AND POLICY - A Study By B.D. Sharma ICA-AP

1. CO-OPERATIVE LEGISLATION AND POLICY- A StudyBy B.D. SharmaICA-AP

2. FRAMEWORK OF PRESENTATION • INTRODUCTION; • VISUALISATIONS OF PREVIOUS MINISTERIAL CONFERENCES; • PARAMETERS OF CO-OPERATIVE LEGISLATION REFORMS; • SOME DISTINCTIVE FEATURES OF CO-OPERATIVE LAW IN ASIA-PACIFIC; • Trends in co-operative movement;

3. NATIONAL CO-OPERATIVE POLICY; • CO-OPERATIVE LAWS VIS-À-VIS CO-OPERATIVE IDENTITY; • GOVT. & CO-OPERATIVES; • CO-OPERATIVE LAWS & GOOD GOVERNANCE; • RESOURCE MOBILIZATION IN COOPS; • CO-OPERATIVES & COMMUNITY; • RECOMMENDATIONS.

4. INTRODUCTION • VISUALISATION OF EARLIER CONFERENCES: - 5th Conference (Beijing): Two imperatives for creating enabling environment. - 6th Conference (Kathmandu): Establishing relevant legislation & Policy in New Millennium.

5. - 7th Conference (New Delhi): Supportive Co-operative Policy & Legislation for Sustainable Development of Coops. • PARAMETERS OF CO-OPERATIVE LEGISLATION REFORMS: - INCORPORATION OF ICIS IN LAW; - PROVISIONS IN NATIONAL CONSTITUTIONS; - STATE POLICY ON COOPS.

6. - POSITIONING OF COOPS IN DIFFERENT SECTORS OF NATIONAL ECONOMY; - AUTONOMY & INDEPENDENCE; SELF-REGULATION; - RESOURCE MOBILIZATION; - GENDER EQUITY. - SOME DISTINCTIVE FEATURES OF CO-OPERATIVE IN ASIA-PACIFIC. - MOST COUNTRIES HAVE GENERAL COMPREHENSIVE LAW ON COOPS.

7. - JAPAN & KOREA HAVE SECTORAL LAWS; - INDIA HAS 4 TYPES OF COOP. LAW. - PHILIPPINES HAS SPECIFIC PROVISIONS FOR SPECIALISED COOPS. - COMPREHENSIVE PROVISIONS FOR ROLE OF FEDERATIONS (JAPAN & KOREA); - PROVISIONS FOR ACCREDITATION OF NATIONAL ADVOCACY ORGANISATION -

8. (Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia, Thailand, Japan); - COOPERATIVE LAW OF NEPAL: MOST LIBERAL. - PROVISION FOR ESTABLISHING INSTITUTIONAL MECHANISM FOR FORMULATION & IMPLEMENTATION OF COOP. POLICIES;

9. National Co-operative Policies • INDIA, MALAYSIA & SRI LANKA HAVE BROUGHT OUT SPECIFIC PUBLIC POLICIES ON CO-OPERATIVE DEVELOPMENT; • IN IRAN, INDONESIA, NEPAL, PHILIPPINES, SRI LANKA, THAILAND & VIETNAM, POLICY ON CO-OPERATIVE DEVELOPMENT HAS BEEN MENTIONED IN LAW ITSELF;

10. National Co-operative Policies • ABSENCE OF CO-OPERATIVES IN SECTORAL PUBLIC POLICIES; • COMMON FEATURES OF COOPERATIVE POLICIES: - UPHOLDING OF COOP. VALUES & PRINCIPLES; - DEFINITION OF ROLE OF GOVT. - POSITIONING OF COOPS IN DIFFERENT SECTORS OF NATIONAL ECONOMY

11. National Co-operative Policies • MEASURES FOR STRENGTHENING COMPETITIVE STRENGTH OF COOPS. • PROVISION OF LEVEL PLAYING FIELD FOR COOPS. • COOP LAWS OF INDONESIA, IRAN, JAPAN, KOREA, VIETNAM MAKES SPECIFIC PROVISIONS FOR POSITIONING OF COOPS IN DIFFERENT SECTORS.

12. CO-OPERATIVE LAWS VIS-À-VIS CO-OPERATIVE IDENTITY • U.N. GUIDELINES & ILO RECOMMENDATION EMPHASISE ON INCLUSION OF CO-OPERATIVE IDENTITY IN COOP. LAW. • ONLY MULTISTATE COOP. LAW OF INDIA INCLUDES ICIS IN TOTO. • CO-OPERATIVE LAWS IN OTHER COUNTRIES REFLECT A LOT OF VARIATION:-

13. CO-OPERATIVE LAWS VIS-À-VIS CO-OPERATIVE IDENTITY - INDONESIA & VIETNAM HAVE THEIR OWN ADAPTATION; - MALAYSIA & PHILIPPINES COOP. LAW INCLUDE OLD PRINCIPLES OF COOPERATION; - CONSUMER LIVELIHOOD COOP. LAW OF JAPAN INCLUDE VOLUNTARISM; ONE MAN ONE VOTE & PATRONAGE DIVIDEND AS PRINCIPLES OF COOP.

14. CO-OPERATIVE LAWS VIS-À-VIS CO-OPERATIVE IDENTITY • NATIONAL CONSTITUTIONS OF IRAN, INDONESIA, VIETNAM SPECIFICALLY REFER TO COOPERATIVES; • INDIAN CONSTITUTION REFERS COOPS ONLY WITH REFERENCE TO DEVELOPMENT OF COTTAGE INDUSTRIES.

15. GOVERNMENT & CO-OPERATIVES • IMPORTANT ROLE OF GOVT. IN CO-OPERATIVE DEVELOPMENT; • MOST OF THE COOP. LAWS IN ASIA-PACIFIC REGION MAKE PROVISIONS FOR ROLE OF GOVT. • AREAS OF GOVT. SUPPORT IDENTIFIED: - POLICY FORMULATION & IMPLEMENTATION;

16. GOVERNMENT & CO-OPERATIVES - CO-OPERATIVE HRD; - INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT; - COLLALBORATION FOR COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT AND POVERTY ALLEVIATION; - STRENGTHENING RESOURCE BASE OF COOPS.

17. CO-OPERATIVE LAW & GOOD GOVERNANCE • PARAMETERS OF GOOD GOVERNANCE DEFINED IN ICIS; DEMOCRATIC MEMBER CONTROL; AUTONOMY; INDEPENDENCE; SELF-REGULATION; EQUITABLE DISTRIBUTION OF GAINS; CO-OPERATIVE EDUCATION; TRANSPARENCY; CONCERN FOR COMMUNITY.

18. CO-OPERATIVE LAW & GOOD GOVERNANCE • THESE PARAMETERS ARE PUT INTO PRACTICE IN CO-OPERATIVE LAW THROUGH PROVISIONS FOR: (a) ensuring legal recognition to coops; (b) making members general meeting highest authority; (c) making Board accountable to General Body;

19. CO-OPERATIVE LAW & GOOD GOVERNANCE (d) providing right of information to members; (e) creating mechanism for supervision and control within the coops. (f) defining Board & Managers duties & powers; (g) punishing erring Board, Manager, employee.

20. CO-OPERATIVE LAW & GOOD GOVERNANCE (h) prescribing members’ rights, liabilities & responsibilities and their enforcement. (I) prescribing role and responsibilities of federations; (g) setting the limits of Govt. control.

21. RESOURCE MOBILISATION IN COOPS • IMPORTANT MODES OF RESOURCE MOBILISATION: - Entrance Fee, Share Capital; - Members Deposits; - Loans from financing agencies; - Loans and Grants of the Govt.; - Funds created out of disposal of profits; - Trade Deposits from members and/or non- members

22. RESOURCE MOBILISATION IN COOPS - Donations; • Investment by other coops. • Issue of Bonds and Debentures. . Less possibilities to mobilise resources from open market. . Possibilities for access of coops to capital market through subsidiary/holding companies.

23. CO-OPERATIVES & COMMUNITY • IMPORTANT ISSUES - Can Co-operatives ensure sustainable development of the community ? - Should co-operatives be involved in poverty alleviation programmes of the Govt. ? - Low level of women and youth involvement in coops.

24. Involvement of co-operatives in Social Sector Development

25. RECOMMENDATIONS • GENERAL • One comprehensive Co-operative Law and one Regulatory Body is desirable. • Countries having more than one Co-operative Law and regulatory bodies should create coordination mechanism. • Law should accord distinct recognition to coops based on ICIS.

26. RECOMMENDATIONS • Need for Objective Evaluation of Cooperative Law; • Process of public policy formulation be expedited; • Need for specific positioning of coops in other public policies; • Role of Govt. to be confined to regulation, development be left to coops.

27. RECOMMENDATIONS • Govt. support Needed without Interference. • Administration of Cooperative Development Fund created out of profits be entrusted to coops themselves or their representative body. • GOOD GOVERNANCE • Following steps are recommended to ensure good governance in coops

28. RECOMMENDATIONS • Legal Guarantee and Recognition of Autonomy and Independence in cooperative legislation; • Freedom of cooperatives to formulate their own rules and regulations. • Provisions within Cooperative Law for setting minimum standards for transparency and accountability and penalties in case of violation.

29. RECOMMENDATIONS • Provisions within Cooperative Law to prescribe conditions of registration of genuine cooperative based on cooperative principles. • Provisions in cooperative laws for dissolution of the Cooperatives. • Provisions in Cooperative Law for settlement of disputes.

30. RECOMMENDATIONS • Prescribe norms for obligations of federations towards their primary affiliates. C. Fair Globalisation through Cooperatives: • The Co-operative Law should make enabling provisions to enable coops to expand their span of activities beyond national borders. This may be achieved in following ways:

31. RECOMMENDATIONS • Organisation of Transnational Coops; • Strategic Alliances with other sectors; • Development of Coops in social sector; • Enabling the self-help groups of the poor to establish institutional linkages with coops. • Reservation of 33% of seats for women in the management of the cooperatives.

32. RECOMMENDATIONS • Development of exclusive coops of women and youth. • Implementation of concept of joint membership (wife & husband) in coops.