Summary.
The bill amends Law 24 of 1980 concerning the governance of the Panamanian Autonomous Cooperative Institute (IPACOOP). It proposes a Board of Directors chaired by the Minister of Economy and Finance or a representative, with the Ministers of Agricultural Development and Commerce and Industry, or their representatives, and three representatives of legally constituted cooperative federations. The federations would submit a shortlist of candidates to the Ministry of Economy and Finance for the selection of representatives and alternates. The text sets a term of two (2) years for the representatives it describes as representing confederations and requires the Board of Directors to elect its officers by a vote of all its members.
The Board of Directors would serve as the highest body for consultation, regulation, decision making and general policy setting for the cooperative sector. Its six directors would have speaking and voting rights. The chair would vote last at each meeting and break ties. The bill limits meetings to one session per month, except in extraordinary cases, and provides for attendance and official mission allowances set by the Executive Branch (Órgano Ejecutivo).
The general administration of IPACOOP would be entrusted to an executive director subject to discretionary appointment and removal, chosen from a shortlist submitted by the Board of Directors to the Executive Branch. Eligibility would require Panamanian citizenship, an age of forty (40) years, university education and specialization connected with cooperatives, and ten (10) years of experience in the specified sectors. The bill establishes disqualifications involving cooperative boards, IPACOOP sanction proceedings, convictions for the listed offenses, bankruptcy and insolvency. The added Article 8-A lists grounds for removal, including permanent incapacity, lack of probity and failure to meet statutory duties. It also bars specified family relationships or marriage between the executive director and Board members.
The executive director’s proposed functions include administering the Institute, implementing Board decisions, submitting budgets, balance sheets, financial statements and the annual report, and resolving technical matters not reserved to the Board. The director would also rule on recognition of cooperatives’ legal personality and register them. A new chapter on documentation, reports and disclosure would require IPACOOP to request information from cooperatives in the Republic of Panama and allow it to request information about members of their boards under Law 23 of 2015. Requested documentation would have to be submitted within no more than fifteen days. IPACOOP would publish information about each cooperative at least once a year.
The bill links its provisions to Law 17 of May 1, 1997 and Article 283 of the Political Constitution (Constitución Política). It assigns the Executive Branch the necessary adjustments and supplementary rules from the date of entry into force, set for within six (6) months after promulgation. Its provisions concern IPACOOP, the Board of Directors and the Executive Branch, and could affect cooperative federations, confederations, associations and their members.
What it proposes.
- Organization and governance of IPACOOP.
- Qualifications, removal and functions of the executive director.
- Cooperative information and institutional disclosure.
Who it would affect.
- IPACOOP and its Board of Directors.
- IPACOOP’s executive director.
- Cooperatives, their boards, federations and confederations.
- Executive Branch.
Key points.
- Proposes a six-member Board of Directors with ministerial and cooperative sector representatives and regulates its election of officers, voting, meetings and allowances.Arts. 1-2
- Entrusts general administration to an executive director subject to discretionary appointment and removal, selected from a shortlist submitted by the Board of Directors.Art. 3
- Sets age, education and experience requirements, disqualifications for office and additional grounds for removal.Arts. 4-5
- Bars specified family relationships or marriage between the executive director and Board members.Art. 6
- Assigns the executive director administrative and financial reporting duties, implementation of Board decisions, and recognition and registration of cooperatives.Art. 7
- Establishes information requests to cooperatives, a period of no more than fifteen days for submission, and publication of information about each cooperative at least once a year.Art. 8
- Links the proposed regime to cooperative legislation, assigns implementation measures to the Executive Branch and sets its entry into force.Arts. 9-12