Call for Papers: IX Continental Congress and II International Symposium on Cooperative Law, Panama City

Cooperatives of the Americas, the regional body of the International Cooperative Alliance (ICA), has convened the IX Continental Congress and II International Symposium on Cooperative Law, to be held on 16 and 17 September 2026 in Panama City, Republic of Panama. Article 1 of the Reglamento records that the Congress is called by Cooperatives of the Americas within the activities organised jointly with the ICA.

Article 2 states the object of the Congress: to contribute to the development of Cooperative Law at the regional and international level through the study, exchange and discussion of the papers presented on the subjects included in the agenda.

The Congress sits inside the wider ICA Global Conference and Assemblies week, held in Panama City from 13 to 18 September 2026 at the Panama Convention Center, Calle General Juan D. Peron. The official programme lists the Regional Congress and International Symposium on Cooperative Law as a whole-day item on both 16 and 17 September.

The general theme of the Congress is "El derecho cooperativo frente a los desafíos de la hora", rendered on the organiser's English page as "Cooperative Law in the Face of Today's Challenges". Article 3 of the Reglamento lists the seven sub-themes on which papers will be received:

• Cooperative identity and cooperative law
• Technological advances and their impact on cooperatives
• Cooperative associated work
• Taxation of cooperatives
• Challenges of cooperative integration
• New forms of cooperative organisation
• Case law of the courts on cooperatives

Every paper must state which of these sub-themes it addresses.

Article 4 divides participants into delegates, observers, special guests and honorary members.

• Delegates (Article 5) must be a lawyer, a law graduate, a notary, or a student of one of those courses, and must have registered in good time and paid the corresponding fee.
• Observers (Article 6) are people holding directive or executive posts in cooperative organisations or in official bodies connected with them, who register in that capacity and pay the corresponding fee.
• Special guests (Article 7) are invited by the organising committee or the Congress bureau on account of their standing in the cooperative or academic field of their country.
• Honorary members (Article 8) are designated as such by the organising committee or the bureau.

Under Article 11, only registered delegates who have paid the fee may submit papers. Delegates may take part in all sessions; observers may attend all sessions but have the right to speak only when expressly authorised (Article 9). The Reglamento sets no restriction by nationality or by country of qualification.

Article 11 of the Reglamento fixes the format. Papers must:

• run to between 5 and 10 pages of A4;
• be set at one-and-a-half line spacing, Times New Roman 12 point, with 3 cm margins;
• be preceded by an abstract of no more than half a page;
• state the title, the author's name and surname, and the sub-theme the paper addresses.

Article 12 allows papers to be submitted in Spanish, English or Portuguese. Article 14 leaves acceptance of papers, and their allocation to the various working commissions, to the organising committee, which is made up of the members of the Legal Committee of Cooperatives of the Americas (Article 16).

Article 11 requires papers to be sent by email to both of the following addresses: dcracogna@estudiocracogna.com.ar and nicolas.jacquet.coop@gmail.com.

Registration is a precondition. The organiser's page directs participants to the official registration website and to select "Continental Law Congress" under the registration type option. General enquiries about the Congress go to derecho@aciamericas.coop.

Article 13 of the Reglamento fixes the closing date for submitting papers at 15 August 2026. The organiser's Cooperative Law Congress page states the same date, and adds that the call for papers will remain open until then.

The Reglamento requires delegates and observers to pay "el arancel correspondiente" but does not itself state an amount, and it does not publish a separate figure for the Continental Law Congress registration track. The official fee schedule published for the joint event lists the following registration types and amounts:

• Regular Attendee: EUR 600
• ICA Members: EUR 450
• Panama: EUR 100
• Youth (35 and under as on 16 September 2025): EUR 100
• Personal Interpreters: EUR 100

The amount charged for the Continental Law Congress track is shown at the ticket stage of the official registration form, so applicants should confirm it there before paying. Article 10 provides that registration entitles the participant to lunches, coffee breaks, the closing cocktail, a certificate of participation and a participant kit.

Thematic commissions are constituted in line with the Congress programme, each with a president, a secretary and a rapporteur appointed by the organising committee (Article 21). Papers are presented and discussed in the commission sessions, and a report is drawn up for the plenary; there is no vote on the papers (Article 22).

The president of each commission session allots each author a set time to present, taking into account how many papers have been received, and a further period for debate on each paper with a right of reply for the presenter; the Reglamento treats the debate as a substantial part of the commissions' work (Articles 23 and 24).

Article 26 provides that Cooperatives of the Americas will hold the Congress materials as depositary and will arrange for their publication through the respective channels.