General meeting of an association

A member of an association who has first presented a written request to the board of the association to convene a general meeting as per the Associations Act may then apply to the Regional State Administrative Agency for the right to convene a general meeting or for an order for the board to convene a general meeting. 

You may apply for the right to convene a general meeting when such a meeting has not been convened as provided for by law or in the by-laws of the association.

You must, however, first present a written request to the board of the association to convene a general meeting. You may not immediately submit an application to us unless it is impossible to deliver the aforementioned request to the board. 

Submit a freeform written application to the Regional State Administrative Agency for the region where the association has its domicile. A link to the contact information of Regional State Administrative Agency registries is provided at the bottom of this page.

The application must be in writing but may be free in form. It must include the following details and appendices:

• the name of the association in its official form, and preferably also its register number or business ID
• the by-laws of the association
• specification of which general meeting is the one for which the right to convene is being sought 
• copy of the request delivered to the board of the association or an explanation of why such a request could not be delivered
• explanation of the applicant’s right to submit the application (e.g. membership list)
• name and address of the chair of the board of the association, if the details in the Register of Associations are outdated
• contact information of the applicant (or applicant’s contact person) (mailing address for delivering the decision)
• power of attorney if any, and the contact details of the representative.

First, we investigate the grounds for the application. If the requirements specified by law are not satisfied, we will dismiss the application. 

If the matter as explained in the application is unclear, we will send a request for further information to the applicant, asking for additional clarification.

Once we have received a satisfactory explanation that the requirements specified by law are satisfied, we will consult the board of the association concerning the application.

Having received a written rejoinder from the board, we may consult the applicant concerning the rejoinder. 
We will issue a decision once we have received the necessary rejoinders and clarifications.

A fee will be charged from the applicant for the processing of the application; in 2021, the fee is EUR 250.

If the applicant withdraws the application, we will charge a portion of the fee equivalent to the work done in processing the application up until that time.

The applicant will be invoiced for the fee once we have issued a decision in the matter. 

If a meeting has been convened and held, and the applicant does not withdraw the application, we will reject the application.

If the applicant withdraws the application, we will charge a portion of the fee equivalent to the work done in processing the application up until that time.

Decisions made by the Regional State Administrative Agency may be appealed to the Administrative Court. Either the applicant or the board of the association may appeal the decision. 

The decision includes directions for appeal.

The Associations Act contains no provision allowing the implementation of a decision that has not acquired legal force.

A member of an association who has first presented a written request to the board of the association to convene an extraordinary meeting as per the Associations Act may then apply to the Regional State Administrative Agency for the right to convene an extraordinary meeting or for an order for the board to convene an extraordinary meeting.

An extraordinary meeting shall be held if at least 1/10 of the voting members of an associations so demand for the purpose of dealing with a matter that they specify. 

If the membership of the association may only consist of associations, or if it may consist of both associations and private individuals, then the by-laws may stipulate the minimum portion of members needed to demand an extraordinary meeting as either more or less than 1/10. In all other cases, the aforementioned portion may only be set at 1/10 or less in the by-laws.

You may also apply for the right to convene an extraordinary meeting when the general meeting of the association has decided to convene an extraordinary meeting but no such meeting has been convened. You must, however, first present a written request to the board of the association to convene an extraordinary meeting.

Submit a freeform written application to the Regional State Administrative Agency for the region where the association has its domicile. A link to the contact information of Regional State Administrative Agency registries is provided at the bottom of this page.

The application must be in writing but may be free in form. It must include the following details and appendices:

• the name of the association in its official form, and preferably also its register number or business ID
• the by-laws of the association
• the matter(s) for the purpose of which the right to convene an extraordinary meeting is being sought 
• copy of the request delivered to the board of the association or an explanation of why such a request could not be delivered
• explanation of the applicant’s right to submit the application and a report detailing that the demand delivered to the board of the association was signed by at least 1/10 of the voting members of the association (e.g. membership list)
• list of the members of the board of the association (if the applicant is applying for an order for the board to convene the meeting)
• name and address of the chair of the board of the association, if the details in the Register of Associations are outdated
• contact information of the applicant (or applicant’s contact person) (mailing address for delivering the decision)
• power of attorney if any, and the contact details of the representative.

First, we investigate the grounds for the application. If the requirements specified by law are not satisfied, we will dismiss the application. 

If the matter as explained in the application is unclear, we will send a request for further information to the applicant, asking for additional clarification.

Once we have received a satisfactory explanation that the requirements specified by law are satisfied, we will consult the board of the association concerning the application.

Having received a written rejoinder from the board, we may consult the applicant concerning the rejoinder. 
We will issue a decision once we have received the necessary rejoinders and clarifications.

A fee will be charged from the applicant for the processing of the application; in 2021, the fee is EUR 250.

If the applicant withdraws the application, we will charge a portion of the fee equivalent to the work done in processing the application up until that time.

The applicant will be invoiced for the fee once we have issued a decision in the matter. 

If a meeting has been convened and held, and the applicant does not withdraw the application, we will reject the application.

If the applicant withdraws the application, we will charge a portion of the fee equivalent to the work done in processing the application up until that time.

Decisions made by the Regional State Administrative Agency may be appealed to the Administrative Court. Either the applicant or the board of the association may appeal the decision. 

The decision includes directions for appeal.

The Associations Act contains no provision allowing the implementation of a decision that has not acquired legal force.

You may submit your application without the supporting documents. You must note in the application that you will submit the supporting documents once you have received them.

We usually send the applicant a request for further information to ask for any missing supporting documents. If you mention in the application that you will submit the documents later, we will generally wait for a while before sending a request for further information.