A century of codification of the cooperative law in Poland

This article aims to present the evolution of Polish cooperative law, primarily using the historical method. The Act on cooperatives was passed on 29 October 1920 and entered into force on 1 January 1921. Its provisions concerning the auditing of cooperatives, audit associations and the Cooperative Council were sub­stantially amended by the Act of 13 March 1934, which began the process of subordinating cooperatives and au­dit associations to state authorities. Further changes, which increased this subordination to an even greater ex­tent, were introduced after the Second World War and led to the outright nationalisation of Polish cooperatives. The Act on cooperatives was repealed by the Act of 17 February 1961 on cooperatives and their associations. In turn, the Act on cooperatives and their associations was repealed by the Act of 16 September 1982 – Cooperative Law, which saw several amendments. The provisions of the Cooperative Law were amended by the Act of 7 July 1994 amending the Cooperative Law and certain other acts. The Act of 3 June 2005 amending the Act on Hous­ing Cooperatives and certain other acts introduced significant changes to the Cooperative Law as well.