Εδώ - Anatolia College

Institutional Governance and the Trustees of Anatolia College 73
american corporations are either business or non- profit legal persons with limited
liability. they are formed under state laws and, though these statutes vary,
they have accommodating provisions that are supervised through the judicial system.
the basic incorporation formalities are generally simple and can often be accomplished
in a day. the corporate “charter” is “the articles of incorporation.”
this is typically brief and complemented by more detailed “by-laws.” these two
documents correspond to the Greek form of charter, i.e. the “katastatiko.” american
directors have broad powers in organizing internal management structures,
appointing statutory auditors, and amending the articles and by-laws, further empowering
them and enabling this legal structure to be fairly flexible. Phaedon J.
Kozyris, “Business Associations” 12 II K in K and K.
46. four forms of non-profit entities can be created under Greek domestic law: (a)
the “membership association” (“somatio” or “somatia,” in the plural) of 20 plus
persons, the majority of whom are Greek, who are pursuing a common purpose,
and whose general assembly governs (civil code or “cc” arts.78-107); (b) the
“foundation” (“idryma”), which is truly institutional, but focused on managing
property donated for a given purpose (cc arts.108-121); (c) the short-term charitable
“fundraising committee” (“epitropi eranou”), which can transform into a
foundation (cc arts. 122-126); and (d) the “civil company” or “partnership”
(“astiki etairia”), of two or more partners, which can either have an economic or
philanthropic purpose. (cc arts.741-784). the somatio and civil company are
created by court approval and the foundation and fundraising committee by Presidential
decree.
In addition, there are domestic operations of foreign legal entities and orthodox
charity organizations. also, in the public sector, there are certain private law companies
performing non-profit functions that are governed by boards appointed by
the Government. the usefulness of these organizations is limited by the political
and funding dependance on government.
More important, none of these entities allow the flexibility of the american nonprofit
corporation. as matters stand, the civil company is the least formalistic and
is favored by many cultural and educational organizations. It is indicative of the
limitations faced by international philanthropy intended for Greek causes - and
such limitations include political risk and tax considerations besides legal structure
- that foreign legal entities are used. the onassis liechtenstein foundations
(www.onassis.gr) stand out. also see, Gijselinck on the Belgian and salole on the
eu legal experiences in note 14 supra.