General meeting
In Association Law, the term does not exist. Here, the general meeting is called association meeting or members meeting.
Question
In all of its German-language documents, our association has included the term "Vereinsversammlung" (translated literally as association meeting but rendered as general meeting in the Swiss Civil Code). A member has now complained that it should actually be "Generalversammlung" (general meeting). Which is correct?
Answer
The term "Generalversammlung" is indeed often used in place of "Mitgliederversammlung" (members meeting) or "Vereinsversammlung". This term isn't found in Swiss association law. Here, the terms used are "Vereinsversammlung" and "Mitgliederversammlung". The organisation of the association is governed in the Swiss Civil Code (ZGB) in Articles 64 to 69 under the title "I. Vereinsversammlung". In the French version of the Swiss Civil Code, however, the term "assemblée générale" is also used.
The term "Generalversammlung" is used in the German-language version of the Swiss Code of Obligations (SCO) in connection with public limited companies and cooperatives. While an association is person-oriented, including at its "Mitgliederversammlung", a public limited company gathers its capital (shareholders) at its "Generalversammlung".
German-language articles of association that include the term "Generalversammlung" are not invalid for this reason, however.
