LEGAL FRAMEWORK OF LEGAL ENTITIES IN BOLIVIA

CIVIL, COMMERCIAL, AND INTERNATIONAL LAW ENTITIES

This category also includes civil and commercial companies governed by the Civil Code and the Commercial Code, as well as international organizations, foreign states, and the Holy See, in accordance with the principles of International Law.

LEGAL CAPACITY AND REGISTERED OFFICE OF LEGAL ENTITIES IN BOLIVIA

Legal entities have legal capacity limited to the purposes for which they were created. Their registered office is the one set forth in their founding document. If they establish agencies or branches, these acquire their own domicile for the acts and obligations they generate.

For example, if a cultural association based in La Paz opens a branch in Cochabamba, the latter will have its own legal domicile for activities carried out in that city.

LEGAL LIABILITY OF LEGAL ENTITIES FOR UNLAWFUL ACTS

When the representatives of a legal entity cause damage while acting in their official capacity, liability falls on the entity, provided the unlawful act is related to the exercise of its functions.

INCORPORATION AND OPERATION OF ASSOCIATIONS

To incorporate an association with legal personality, it is necessary to submit the founding act, bylaws, and regulations to the departmental authority, who, based on a public prosecutor’s opinion, will order their protocolization before the Government Notary. Subsequently, recognition is obtained through a Supreme Resolution.

The bylaws must specify the association’s purpose, initial assets, sources of funding, management structure, and the requirements for admission and expulsion of members. Any amendments to the bylaws must follow the same procedure as the initial incorporation.

RIGHTS, OBLIGATIONS, AND DISSOLUTION OF ASSOCIATIONS

Members enjoy equal rights and obligations, and membership is strictly personal. Representatives are liable as established in the bylaws or, in their absence, under the rules of civil agency.

Associations may be dissolved upon fulfillment or impossibility of their objectives, due to inactivity, or by court order if they engage in activities contrary to public order or morality. In the event of dissolution, remaining assets are distributed as provided in the bylaws or, if not specified, to the public university of the district.

In the case of de facto associations—without formal legal personality—decisions are governed by internal agreements, and their assets form an indivisible common fund while the entity exists.

FOUNDATIONS: NON-PROFIT PURPOSES AND PUBLIC OVERSIGHT

Foundations are characterized by allocating assets to a specific non-profit purpose, either by will during the founder’s lifetime or through a testament. Their incorporation requires a public deed or a notarized testament, following a process similar to that of associations, with the particularity that they are subject to the supervision of the Public Prosecutor’s Office.

In summary, Bolivia’s legal framework for legal entities combines the guarantee of freedom of association with control and accountability mechanisms, ensuring that such entities operate according to their stated purposes and respect public interest. Compliance with both formal and substantive requirements is essential for their lawful operation and for maintaining legal personality.