Guidelines for implementing the 2012 Law on Cooperatives

(Baonghean.vn) - On May 8th, in Vinh City, the Vietnam Cooperative Alliance organized a training course on the 2012 Cooperative Law and its implementing guidelines for officials of the Cooperative Alliances from six provinces in the North Central region: Thanh Hoa, Nghe An, Ha Tinh, Quang Binh, Quang Tri, and Thua Thien Hue.

The training course was taught by Mr. Nguyen Minh Tuan, Head of the Policy and Cooperative Development Department of the Vietnam Cooperative Union.

The 2012 Cooperative Law, comprising 9 chapters and 64 articles, regulates the establishment, organization, and operation of cooperatives and cooperative unions in various sectors of the economy. Accordingly, a cooperative is a collective economic organization, jointly owned, with legal personality, established voluntarily by at least 7 members who cooperate and support each other in production and business activities, creating jobs to meet the common needs of members, based on autonomy, self-responsibility, equality, and democracy in cooperative management. When cooperatives and cooperative unions develop to a higher level, they will form enterprises operating under the Enterprise Law.

Trainees from the North Central provinces participated in the 2012 Cooperative Law training course.

The State guarantees the recognition and protection of property rights, capital, income, and other legitimate rights and interests of cooperatives and cooperative unions. It ensures an equal production and business environment between cooperatives and cooperative unions and other types of enterprises and economic organizations. It guarantees the autonomy and accountability of cooperatives and cooperative unions and does not interfere with their legitimate operations.

The government has policies to support training and development of human resources, trade promotion, market expansion, access to capital and development support funds for cooperatives...

The rights of cooperatives and cooperative unions include autonomy and self-responsibility in their operations; conducting activities, production, and business, creating jobs according to their registered sectors and professions to meet the common needs of their members and member cooperatives; and the obligations of cooperatives and cooperative unions to ensure the legitimate rights and interests of their members and member cooperatives as stipulated in this Law, and to operate in accordance with their registered sectors and professions.

Individuals and households becoming members of cooperatives must be Vietnamese citizens or foreigners legally residing in Vietnam, aged 18 years or older, and possess full legal capacity; households must have a legal representative as prescribed by law; agencies and organizations must be Vietnamese legal entities....

Text and photos:Quynh Lan