Genossenschaft (Co-operative) und Verein (Association)

The Co-operative has no fixed nominal capital. It is marked by strong fluctuations of the number of members. The object of Co-operatives is the promotion of purchasing or management activities of its members. At least three founding members are required. The Co-operative is represented by an executive board whose activity is supervised by Co-operative auditing associations. For the liabilities of the Co-operative only the assets of the Co-operative are liable vis a vis creditors. A prerequisite to the formation is a written agreement (by-laws).

A register of Co-operatives is kept by the registration courts in which these organisations must be entered.

Basically, the legal form of the Association is not available for industrial/commercial and/or economic purposes. The legal capacity of an Association granted by entry in the register of Association presupposes that said Association pursues a non-pecuniary objective. Supplementary economic activities are, however, admissible; this is referred to as the secondary object privilege, one example being the sale of beverages.