Cooperative society

Cooperative society is an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social, and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly-owned and democratically-controlled enterprise. It is a business organization owned and operated by a group of individuals for their mutual benefit. A cooperative may also be defined as a business owned and controlled equally by the people who use its services or who work at it.

A cooperative society in Slovakia can be established by five individuals or two business entities. Its registered capital is at minimum 1.250 EUR. For its liabilities it is responsible with its assets; however, members do not stand security for the cooperative´s liabilities. One of the main features of a cooperative is its openness; this means that any number of members can join or leave during its existence. Cooperative society does not have legal subjectivity as it is not a legal corporate body.