12 BEIvGIUM - CO-OPERATION AND ASSOCIATION 



of an extra -parliamentary commission, instituted in 1894 for the study of 

 the question, and partly by various proposals presented in Parliament and 

 foreign legislation. This bill, discussed and approved by the Senate in 190,5 

 afterwards comnmnicated to the Chamber and referred by it to special 

 commissions for stud3% was discussed by it towards the end of 1912 and 

 the beginning of 1913 and became law in May, 1913- 



The amendments iiitrodttced by this law into the pre\'ious regime also 

 made it necessary to co-ordinate the former provisions with the new ones 

 and this was sanctioned by Royal Decree of July 22nd., 1913. 



Most of the new provisions refer to the limited liability societies an'i 

 in less degree to the other classes of societies. We, however, think it well 

 to take this occasion to state briefly the fundamental principles regulating 

 the various classes of commercial societies in Belgium and we shall do 

 so in the following paragraphs. 



§ I. GENERAI, PROVISIONS GOVERNING SOCIETIES. 



It should first of all be said that the provisions governing societies 

 contained in the above laws and divided into twelve sections, form 

 Part IX of the ist. Book of the Commercial Code. This Code, promulgated 

 in 1807, is now to a large extent abrogated and substituted bj- special laws. 



The provisions of a general character are contained in the first sec- 

 tion and may be summarised under the following heads. 



Six classes of commercial societies are recognised, namely : societies 

 of collective title, ordinary societies en commandite, limited liability societies, 

 societies en commandite limited by shares, co-operative societies and credit 

 unions. 



Each of these societies has its civil personality, distinct from that of 

 its members. 



There exist also temporary and profit sharing commercial associations 

 which the law does not recognise as civil persons and the existence of which 

 is established by registers, correspondence and eventuall}' by witnesses. 



As regards the form of the contract of the society, societies of collective 

 title, ordinary societies en commandite and co-operative societies must, in 

 order to be legal, be constituted by special deeds, either public or with 

 private signature, in the latter case conforming with article 1,325 of the 

 Civil Code. This article lays it down that private deeds containing reci- 

 procal agreements must, in order to be valid, be drafted in as many ori- 

 ginal copies as there are parties with separate interests, a single copy 

 sufiiciug for all persons who have equal interests. In the c^ise of co-oper- 

 ative societies, duplicates sufiice. 



The limited liability societies and the societies en commandite hmited 

 by shares must always, however, be constituted by public deed. 



In the case of societies of collective title and ordinary societies en com- 

 mandite, an abstract of the deed must oe published. It must contain the 



