Registrar of Cooperative Societies

The Registrar of Cooperative Associations is the regulator of the cooperative associations, and deals with their entire life cycle: from registering and approving their policies, through regular supervision and control of the economic, social and democratic conduct of the organizations, to involvement in the liquidation of the organizations that have become insolvent or simply cease to be.

Regular handling of associations includes reviews of associations' financial reports, handling of requests for appointment of arbitrators in disputes between members and associations, regulating the status of members of the association, and handling complaints about the conduct of the associations. When needed, the handling of complaints also involves conducting more in-depth investigations by external auditors that the division brings in.

The registrar's in-depth knowledge and specialization in the problems and characteristics of the cooperative associations sector allows the division to contribute and formulate the policy of the ministry and other government ministries such as: the Ministry of Agriculture, the Interior and Justice, or various public authorities, such as the land and water authorities, in many aspects concerning the life and conduct of the cooperative associations.

The Registrar of Cooperative Associations operates by virtue of the Cooperative Associations Ordinance and its regulations, which confer upon it various powers, including judicial and regulatory powers. The orders issued by the Registrar under his jurisdiction, the validity of district court orders. In addition to the legislation, the laws of the cooperative societies also include diverse rulings from various sources that have accumulated over the years and guides the division in exercising its powers and services.

Personnel  

The division has about 40 employees, most of whom belong to the following teams and departments: supervision, liquidation, arbitration, legal department, accounting, and legislation and development. All departments operate under the Registrar of Associations.

The workers in the division have diverse backgrounds and come from all population groups, including those who are underrepresented in the labor market in Israel and in the public sector, of which we have a considerable and considerable representation. About 20% of the employees in the division are people with disabilities, who are fully integrated into and contribute to the division. The inclusive atmosphere of the division allows us to work together, in harmony and in mutual respect.

Innovations and development

The economic and corporate crises and social protest movements that subsequently arose around the world have, in recent years, brought a resurrection of cooperative and cooperative ideas. Cooperation can be seen as a tool that enables economic resilience and better coping with economic challenges and rising housing prices and the cost of living index.

A similar phenomenon has also occurred in Israel, and as a result, we are witnessing a growing wave of cooperative entrepreneurship in various areas, such as consumerism, employment and small business. In order to encourage these initiatives and to remove various barriers that are in their way, a few months ago, we set up a legislation and development team dedicated to accompanying the ventures and helping them create the infrastructure and tools for their success and development. The legislative and development team operates in two key areas:

• Legislation and regulation - updating legislation that has existed over the years, and has been specially adapted to relatively traditional types of incorporation, to the needs of the field. We are working on legislative amendments with the aim of adapting to each sector and all types of up-to-date legislation that suits their needs, and thus working to improve their conduct and to prepare the legislative infrastructure needed to support cooperative activities.
• Research and development - research aimed at identifying different types of initiatives, barriers, challenges and solutions, from the country and around the world, and developing different tools for the same initiatives in the field.