Legal Issues Surrounding the Board of Directors of Noah’s Ark Association in Austria

Whether a traditional club, a singing club or a sports club – in Austria, according to the law, all registered clubs require at least two people for the board and another two people as auditors. That is exactly the problem of the association that runs “Noah’s Ark,” says Graz lawyer Rainer Beck, because according to the current association register extract from September 28th, there has been no board of directors in the association since June of the previous year.

“There is a civil ruling from the Graz Regional Court for Civil Law Matters, which states that the association board, which was registered until recently, cannot be registered because it was formed in an election that was not legal,” explains Beck – the According to his own statements, the lawyer represents “some members and the auditors” of the association.

Impact on employees, partners and sponsors

The lack of a board, which is also mentioned by name on the “Noah’s Ark” homepage, has far-reaching consequences, says Beck: “An association that is registered still exists as a legal personality, but is not able to act. Because the association would only be able to act through bodies that are elected to the board in accordance with the statutes and also registered.”

This has an impact on almost all club activities, because if there is no board, no contracts of any kind can be concluded. According to the lawyer, this creates an intolerable situation: “Just because of the employees, because of business partners, because of funding agencies, etc.”

The country paid 730,000 euros last year

The state of Styria concluded a contract with the association for a certain number of home places for official animal protection and paid compensation of around 730,000 euros for this last year. Despite inquiries from ORF Steiermark, there has been no answer to ORF Steiermark’s question of how the state checks whether the money is spent correctly despite the club’s apparently unclear structures.