Cap. 442 Art. 2Interpretation. Cap. 387. Cap. 386. Cap. 281.

In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires -

"abridged set of audited financial statements" means the financial statements placed for public inspection in accordance with articles 11 and 48 and prepared in accordance with Part V of the Third Schedule; ''active member'' is a member of a society who has carried out a minimum amount or value of transactions with the same society, as may be defined in the statute of a society;

"allowance" means the remuneration paid to the President, secretary or treasurer of a society in consideration of their voluntary services rendered to the society on a regular part-time basis; "Apex organisation'' means an association registered under Part X to facilitate the operations of all primary, secondary and tertiary co-operative societies in Malta;

"Arbitration Centre" means the Malta Arbitration Centre established under the Arbitration Act;

"Board" means the Co-operatives Board established under article 3, and includes any person exercising such powers of the Board as may have been conferred upon him by the Board; "Chairman" means the Chairman of the Board; "commercial partnership" means a commercial partnership registered under the Companies Act, or its equivalent under a foreign law; "delegate", in the case of a society which is itself a member of another society, means the representative of the former, elected or appointed to attend and vote at meetings of the latter society;

"dividend" means a share of the net surplus of a society divided among the members in proportion to the paid up share capital held by them in the society; "International Accounting Standards" means standards issued from time to time by the International Accounting Standards Committee of the International Federation of Accountants, as may be made applicable from time to time in terms of the Accountancy

Professions Act; "International Standards on Auditing" means the standards approved by the Council of the International Federation of Accountants, as amended from time to time; "manager" is an officer appointed by the committee of management of a society to be responsible for the executive running and administration of a society in line with the overall policy established by the said committee of management; "member" in relation to a registered society includes a person, a commercial partnership, or society admitted to membership upon, or after, the registration of the society; "Minister" means the Minister responsible for matters relating to co-operative societies; "net surplus" means the remaining portion of the surplus after adequate provision has been made for the Central Co-operative Fund and the reserve fund;

"officer" includes the President, Vice-President, secretary, assistant secretary, treasurer, assistant treasurer, member of committee of management, and manager of a society and includes also any employee or other person empowered under this Act, the Regulations or the statute of the society to give directives in regard to the business of a society or to supervise such business, but does not include an auditor of a society or a member of a supervisory board;

"officer of the Board" means a member of the staff of the office of the Board or any other person duly authorized by the Board for a specific purpose; "patronage refund" has the same meaning as is assigned to it by article 93; "primary society" means a society in which a majority of members are individual persons; "registered" means registered under this Act;

"regulations" means regulations made under this Act; "secondary society" means a society in which a majority of members are themselves primary societies; "society" means a co-operative society registered or provisionally registered under this Act and includes a primary society, a secondary society and a tertiary society;

''statute" means the registered statute of a society, including a Act; "surplus" means the net income less expenditure immediately before adequate provisions have been made for the Central Co-operative Fund and the reserve fund;

"subsidiary company" means a commercial partnership in which a society, referred to as the "parent society", holds the majority of shares or equivalent capital, or the majority of the voting rights, or the right to appoint more than half of the Board of Directors or equivalent organ, or a combination of such factors giving the society control; "tertiary society" means a co-operative society in which a majority of members are themselves primary and, or, secondary societies.