This Act aims to promote and support cooperatives. Chapter I contains provisions linked to the Civil Code. Chapter II considers cooperatives having special purposes. Agricultural, forestry and food production cooperatives are ruled in Chapter III. Further chapters are repealed. The Act sets forth the foundation for cooperative entities in Hungary, harmonizing specialized cooperative rules with the general law on legal persons provided in the Civil Code (Polgári Törvénykönyv). It acknowledges the social and economic significance of cooperatives as autonomous, self-governing business associations operating under internationally recognized cooperative principles. The Act establishes rules for secondary cooperatives formed exclusively by other cooperatives, member economic agreements, member loans, and national cooperative federations or advocacy associations created to represent sector interests. Special provisions govern specific functional cooperative models designed to address targeted social, educational, and employment objectives. These include school cooperatives (iskolaszövetkezet) for student work, social cooperatives (szociális szövetkezet) created to foster employment and social inclusion for disadvantaged individuals through unique member work arrangements (tagi munkavégzés), pensioners' cooperatives (közérdekű nyugdíjas szövetkezet), and employment cooperatives (foglalkoztatási szövetkezet). Additionally, the Act outlines financial and operational mechanisms, such as mandatory community funds (közösségi alap) dedicated to educational, social, and member-support purposes, thereby safeguarding the collective purpose and non-capital-centric nature of the cooperative movement.
Hungary · 2006-01-04