Section 3: Cooperative societies.

Doctors’ cooperatives are administered by a managing director chosen from among the members. The manager is appointed by the members acting unanimously. The term of office, which may not exceed six years, is set by the Articles of Association. The Executive Chairman may be re-elected. In companies with more than two members, the other members, acting unanimously, may dismiss the Executive Chairman.

The Executive Chairman shall be liable to the company, to the shareholders and to third parties either for breaches of the provisions of the legislation in force, or for breaches of the Articles of Association, or for misconduct in his management. Each partner alone is liable for the professional acts that he performs.

The General Meeting meets at least once a year. Each shareholder has one vote, regardless of the fraction of the capital subscribed by him. A member may only be represented at the meeting by another member, but no member may have more than two votes.

Each year, the Members’ Meeting sets the amount of the fees that each member is required to pay to the cooperative to enable it to cover its costs and expenses, in accordance with the terms and conditions set out in the Articles of Association. The fee is calculated on the basis of the services rendered by the company to each member.

At least one-twentieth of the cooperative’s operating surpluses is deducted annually to form a reserve fund. The remainder of the operating surplus is, by decision of the Members’ Meeting, placed in reserve, or distributed among the members in proportion to the amount of the fees they have paid to the cooperative, or allocated, in the form of a grant, either to other doctors’ cooperatives or unions of cooperatives, or to…

When the company is dissolved, and subject to the provisions of the second paragraph of this article, the net assets remaining after extinction of liabilities and reimbursement of paid-up capital are devolved by decision of the members’ meeting either to another doctors’ cooperative or to a union of cooperatives, or to a work of general or professional interest. However, if justified by particular circumstances, the distribution of the net assets…

Doctors’ cooperatives may form cooperative unions as provided for in article 5 of law no. 47-1775 of 10 September 1947 on the status of cooperatives.

The Caisse Centrale de Crédit Coopératif may carry out any financial transactions on behalf of sociétés coopératives de médecins and their unions, in particular : 1° Make available to them funds specially allocated to them or that it may obtain by means of loans or by rediscounting subscribed bills; 2° To act as guarantor for their loans; 3° Receive and manage their deposits. An order of the ministers responsible for…

For the application of the provisions of article 23 of law no. 47-1775 of 10 September 1947 on the status of cooperative societies, the cooperative societies mentioned in this section come under the responsibility of the Minister for Health.