Professor Isabel Gemma Fajardo García holds a PhD in Law and has been a lecturer in Commercial Law at the Faculties of Law and Economics at the University of Valencia since 1986. At this University she has been founder and secretary of IUDESCOOP; promoter and director of its Master in Social Economy; founder and director from 1990 to 2020 of the Legal Journal of Social Economy, published by CIRIEC-Spain, and director of the official doctorate programmes in ‘Commercial and Business Law’, and in ‘Social Economy’.
-From September 2021 to July 2023 she was Regional Secretary of Justice and Public Administration of the Department of Justice, Interior and Public Administration of the Generalitat Valenciana.
-In the international sphere, she was a promoter and member since 2005 of RULESCOOP (Network of Euro-Latin American universities with studies in Social and Cooperative Economy, and technical secretary of the same from 2012 to 2015. In 2011 she was a promoter of the research group SGECOL (Study Group on European Cooperative Law), and is currently member of the international scientific committee of the Osservatorio de Diritto del Terzo Settore of the Fondazione TerzJus (Italy).
In relation to the topic of Employee Involvement in the Company:
Research projects:
-She has directed the following competitive projects: between 2007 and 2008: ‘Analysis of the economic and legal viability of the European Cooperative Society domiciled in the Valencian Community’, funded by the Generalitat Valenciana (AE-2007-155), and between 2016-2020: R&D&I Project ‘Social Economy, Self-management and Employment’ http://www.ecosocial2020.es/ (DER2016-78732-R), funded by the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities, the State Research Agency and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).
-Between 2004-2006, she participated in the ‘The European Company and the Reform of Company Law. Its repercussions on Spanish Company Law’, directed by Josefina Boquera Matarredona and financed by the Generalitat Valenciana (GV2004-B-188).
Research contracts for public administrations:
-For the European Parliament ‘’Sociedades Laborales: An academic’s view’. Employee Financial Participation: Spain’s Sociedades Laborales, financed by: European Parliament. Directorate General for Internal Policies. Principal Investigator: Gemma Fajardo García. Duration: 2016 (July-September)
Web:http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/STUD/2016/587300/IPOL_STU(2016)587300_EN.pdf
-For the European Commission and the International Cooperative Alliance: Memorandum of Understanding. Activity A2.2. Legal Framework Analysis ‘Cooperatives in Development- People-centred Businesses in Action’. Funded by: International Co-operative Alliance and the European Commission. Duration: March-July 2020
-For the Spanish Ministry of Employment: Report for the elaboration of a Law for the Promotion of Social Economy. Funded by: Ministry of Labour and Immigration. Principal Investigator: Jose Luis Monzón Campos Duration: 2009 (February-December)
-For the governments of the Autonomous Regions with regard to the approval or reform of their legislation on cooperatives: Generalitat Valenciana (1994; 1995; 2002 and 2010); Comunidad de Madrid (1997-1998) and Principado de Asturias (2020-2021).
For private organisations and companies:
-For Mondragón Corporación Cooperativa ‘The imputation and compensation of losses. Incidence on the liability of the member with regard to third parties’. Project: Cooperatives: employee participation in company results. Funded by: Mondragón Corporación Cooperativa (MCC). Principal Investigator: Fajardo García, Duration: 2002 (Feb-Dec.).
-For CONFESAL (Spanish Confederation of Worker Owned Companies): ‘Report and Proposal for the reform of the law on worker owned companies’ (2001-2002); ‘Advice on the reform of the legislation on worker owned and participated companies’ (2012-2013) and ‘Drafting of statutes and internal regulations for worker owned companies’ (2001-2002 and 2013-2014).
-For FEVECTA (Valencian Federation of Worker Cooperatives): ‘Study of the Cooperatives Act and its application to worker cooperatives (1997); Preparation of materials for legal, tax and labour advice for worker cooperatives (2000 and 2003).
Main publications:
– Among her most relevant publications are the following: La gestión económica de la Cooperativa: Responsabilidad de los socios (Tecnos 1997); Cooperativas. Régimen jurídico y fiscal (Dir.) (Tirant 2011); International Handbook of Cooperative Law. Spain (Springer 2013); Worker-managed enterprises (Dir.) (Ciriec, 2015); Worker Cooperatives and the Legal Status of their worker-members (Dir.) (Tirant 2016); Principles of European Cooperative Law. Principles, Commentaries and National Reports (coed.) (Intersentia 2017); Participation of workers in the company and worker-owned companies, (Tirant, 2018). This book received the Prize of the School of Cooperative Studies of the Complutense University of Madrid, for the best research in the field of participatory organisations in 2017-2018. The latest publication was: ‘La transmisión de empresas en crisis a sociedades de la economía social, propiedad de sus trabajadores’, Cuadernos del Mercado de Trabajo, nº 12, Ed. SEPE. Ministry of Labour and Social Economy, 2024 (https://www.sepe.es/HomeSepe/que-es-observatorio/Revista-cuadernos-del-mercado-de-trabajo/detalle-articulo.html?detail=/revista/Econom-a-Social/latransmisiondeempresasencrisisasociedadesdelaeconomiasocialpropiedaddesustrabajadores)
Website: http://www.uv.es/fajardo
E-mail: isabel.fajardo@uv.es