Zelisko A. The Legal Status of Cooperative Societies

The theoretical-legal and practical aspects of the legislative consolidation of the legal status of cooperative societies in Ukraine are researched in the work. It is proved that valid normative and legal acts contain outmoded statutes of the regulation of the status of the cooperative societies that remained from the time of the formation of the consumers’ cooperative society system in the Union of the Soviet Socialist Republics. The external economic and legal conditions of activities of juridical persons of private law in connection with the desire of Ukraine to enter the European Joint Society require cardinal revising of the all regulations of the legislation that determine the legal status of cooperative societies. That is the reason why a new model of the legal status of cooperative societies is proposed in the work where those conceptual approaches that are contained in the legislation of foreign countries and the legislation of the European Union concerning the cooperative societies are takeninto consideration. The complex of those civil and legal features that are the basis for the separation of cooperative societies as a separate organizational and legal form of non-entrepreneurial persons of private law; the row of regulations that secure the activity of cooperative societies as independent subjects of proprietary rights are formed and showed. It is stressed that non-entrepreneurial legal status of cooperative societies would be relevantly supplied with the norm regulation in the Law of Ukraine «About Cooperation» that will foresee the necessity of the consolidation of the special order of profit distribution of a cooperative society. In particular, the direction of all society income for the achieving of its aim or the cooperative society members’ possibility to get a small payment of a share – on the level of the accounting rate established by the National Bank of Ukraine – can be foreseen by the statute of a cooperative society. The offers and recommendations concerning the improvement of the valid legislation that regulates the legal status of cooperative societies were worked out according to the results of the thesis research.