Co-operative Companies Act 1996 (No. 24).

This Act, consisting of 51 sections divided into four Parts and completed by three Schedules, reforms the law relating to co-operative companies and, in particular aims to: a) reaffirm the value of the co-operative company as a means of facilitating its shareholders carrying on business on a mutual basis; b) provide for the registration of co-operative companies and regulate the relationship between co-operative companies and their shareholders; c) provide for the registration of existing co-operative companies and existing companies as co-operative companies under this Act at the same time as they re-register as companies under the Companies Act 1993. The Act is divided as follows: Interpretation (Part 1); Co-operative companies (Part 2); Special provisions applying to co-operative dairy companies (Part 3); Miscellaneous provisions (Part 4).