The General Body — Meaning and Supreme Authority

The general body of a co-operative society is the assembly of all its members. It is not a small group but the whole membership, meeting together to take decisions on the affairs of the society. Because a co-operative society belongs to its members, the collective voice of the members — expressed through the general body — is treated as the highest authority within the society. For this reason the general body is often described as the supreme authority or the final authority of a co-operative society: no other organ, not even the managing committee, can override a lawful decision of the general body, and the most fundamental decisions in the life of a society are reserved for it alone.

The general body exercises its authority through general meetings. It is not in permanent session; it comes into action when a general meeting is called and the members assemble, take up the business on the agenda, discuss it, and decide it by resolution. In these meetings each member participates directly, and — as we shall see under democratic management — each member has one vote, whatever the number of shares he holds. This direct participation is what makes the general body genuinely representative of the whole membership. …