Legal basis
Anti-Doping Federal Act 2007
The Austrian 
Anti-Doping Federal Act 2007 (PDF
Size: 149.87 KB) is the basis for Austrian Anti-Doping Work in addition to the World-Anti-Doping-Code. The tasks and responsibilities of NADA Austria are listed in §4:
§ 4. (1) The Federal Minister of Defence and Sports shall commission a professionally qualified organization by contract to carry out the tasks which have been assigned to the Independent Anti-Doping Organization under this Federal Act. They shall include in particular:
- doping prevention measures pursuant to § 2 paras 1 and 2;
- anti-doping information and education pursuant to § 2 paras 1 and 2;
- monitoring compliance with funding prerequisites pursuant to § 3 and, in conjunction with it, ordering and conducting testing as well as reporting on compliance with anti-doping rules within the meaning of this Act;
- initiating and enforcing disciplinary measures and decisions pursuant to § 15 on behalf of the competent national sports federation;
- expert-level representation in anti-doping affairs at international organizations.
The Federal Minister of Defence and Sports shall announce by ordinance which organization is entrusted with these tasks.
(2) The Independent Anti-Doping Organization shall establish the following commissions:
- the Ethics Commission, which shall consist of at least three, but no more than five professionally qualified members with experience in the fight against doping, to provide support in doping prevention measures as well as anti-doping information and education;
- the General Commission of Physicians, consisting of at least four, but no more than six physicians experienced in sports medicine, and one expert in pharmaceutics, to decide on requests for therapeutic use exemptions pursuant to § 8 para 3 and to provide counselling in medical issues;
- the Dentists' Commission, consisting of at least two, but no more than four dentists with relevant experience, and one expert in pharmaceutics, to decide on requests for therapeutic use exemptions with regard to dental treatment pursuant to § 8 para 3 and to provide counselling in dental issues;
- the Veterinary Commission, consisting of at least two, but no more than four veterinarians with relevant experience, and one expert in pharmaceutics, to provide counselling in veterinarian issues;
- the Legal Commission, consisting of five members, to decide on first-instance disciplinary measures if anti-doping rules pursuant to § 15 para 6 have been violated; Three members must have a law degree and experience in conducting formal investigations; one member must be an expert in analytical chemistry or toxicology, and one member must be a sports medicine expert;
- the Selection Commission pursuant to § 9 para 3, which shall consist of at least three, but no more than five professionally qualified members.
The members of the Commissions pursuant to nos. 1 to 5 shall be appointed for a period of four years, and the members of the Commission pursuant to no. 6 for a period of one year. For each member a substitute member with the required qualifications and experience shall be appointed to represent them if they are unable to attend. The members shall appoint one of them as chairman and one member as deputy chairman. Reappointments shall be admissible. A premature dismissal is allowed only for material reasons. The members of the Commissions make their decisions in an independent and autonomous fashion. They shall decide by majority of votes and shall have a quorum if at least half of the appointed members are present or represented by a substitute member. The Commissions may also pass resolutions by means of a circulatory decision, if the facts are clear and need not be discussed in a meeting and no member disagrees with this mode of passing a resolution.
(3) The bodies as well as the employees of the Independent Anti-Doping Organization, members of the testing team (§ 11 para 2) and the Commissions pursuant to para 2 nos. 2 to 6 shall be bound to secrecy about their activities, unless the law stipulates otherwise. They shall abstain from carrying out their job and call their substitutes if there is a conflict of interest pursuant to § 7 of the General Law on Administrative Procedure (Allgemeines Verwaltungsverfahrensgesetz; AVG) 1991, Federal Law Gazette no. 51/1999. The obligation of secrecy shall not apply vis-à-vis the body in charge of issuing sanctions and disciplinary measures in the actual case, the Independent Arbitration Commission, the courts and administrative authorities.
(4) The Independent Anti-Doping Organization shall issue photo IDs to the members of the testing team to allow them to identify themselves at doping control procedures.
(5) The Federal Minister of Defence and Sports is authorized, in agreement with the Federal Minister of Finance, to establish a non-profit limited liability company (Gesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung) with the statutory minimum share capital, with the federal government holding more than 50% in the share capital, with the Nationale Anti-Doping Agentur Austria GmbH, as well as with the business purpose of functioning as the Independent Anti-Doping Organization, and to put it in charge of the tasks pursuant to para 1. In addition to the company name, it may be referred to as NADA Austria. Unless specified otherwise in this Federal Act, the provisions of the Federal Act on Limited Liability Companies (Gesetz über Gesellschaften mit beschränkter Haftung; GmbHG), Imperial Law Gazette no. 58/1906, shall apply to this company. The federal shares in the company shall be managed by the Federal Minister of Defence and Sports.
(6) In carrying out its tasks, the Independent Anti-Doping Organization is entitled to forward any personal data, except health-related data, to authorities, courts, and social security institutions, provided that the corresponding data is a substantial prerequisite for carrying out the relevant statutory tasks. Obligations under federal or provincial law on forwarding personal data shall remain unaffected thereof.
Excerpts from NADA Austria's articles of association
Preamble
Pursuant to § 4 para. 8 of the Anti-Doping Federal Act 2007, Federal Law Gazette I no. 30, the Federal Chancellor is authorized, in agreement with the Federal Minister of Finance, to establish a non-profit limited liability company (Gesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung) with the statutory minimum share capital, with the federal government holding more than 50% in the share capital, with the company name "Nationale Anti-Doping Agentur Austria GmbH", as well as with the business purpose of functioning as the Independent Anti-Doping Organization and to put it in charge of the tasks pursuant to paras 1 to 4. In addition to the company name, it may also be referred to as NADA Austria. Unless specified otherwise in this Federal Act, the provisions of the Federal Act on Limited Liability Companies (Gesetz über Gesellschaften mit beschränkter Haftung; GmbHG), Imperial Law Gazette no. 58/1906, shall apply to this company. The federal shares in the company shall be managed by the Federal Chancellor. For reasons of efficiency, the federal provinces also wish to act through this company in order to implement the anti-doping measures within their competence.
1 Name of the company
The name of the company is "Nationale Anti-Doping Agentur Austria GmbH" or "NADA Austria".
2 Head office
- The company has its head office in Vienna.
- The company has the right to establish branches in the federal provinces.
- A change of the head office requires the consent of all shareholders.
3 Object of the company
1. The object of the company is to carry out the tasks of the Independent Anti-Doping Organization pursuant to the Anti-Doping Federal Act 2007 or of comparable institutions pursuant to the provisions under the laws of the federal provinces. These include in particular:
- Anti-doping information and education as well as doping prevention measures;
- Monitoring the implementation of anti-doping measures;
- Setting up and maintaining a National Testing Pool for the selection of athletes for out-of-competition testing;
- Granting therapeutic use exemptions;
- Ordering and conducting testing;
- Instituting and conducting disciplinary measures in response to suspected violations of anti-doping rules for the sport organizations.
2. The object of the company further includes:
- Carrying out all other activities conducive to combating doping in sport;
- Carrying out the tasks of the national anti-doping organization at an international level;
- The tasks are carried out exclusively not-for-profit within the meaning of § 34 ff. of the Federal Tax Code (Bundesabgabenordnung; BAO).
4 Duration of the company
The company shall be established for an indefinite period of time. The first financial year commences upon entry of the company into the company register and ends on the subsequent 31 December. The following financial years shall correspond to the calendar years.
5 Bodies of the company
The bodies of the company shall be as follows:
- The Management Board (§ 7);
- The General Meeting (§ 10);
- The Board of Trustees (§ 13).
6 Special bodies of the company
The managing director(s) shall establish the bodies listed below in accordance with the Anti-Doping Federal Act 2007 and resort to them when making decisions:
- An Ethics Commission, to provide support in doping prevention measures as well as in anti-doping information and education;
- A General Commission of Physicians, to decide on applications for therapeutic use exemptions for athletes and to provide counseling on medical issues;
- A Dental Commission, to decide on applications for therapeutic use exemptions for athletes in the case of dental treatment and to provide counseling on dental issues;
- A Veterinary Commission to decide on applications for therapeutic use exemptions for animals;
- A Legal Commission, to decide on first-instance disciplinary measures in the case of anti-doping rule violations;
- A Selection Commission, to select specific athletes, competitions, championships, squad trainings and courses, where testing should be conducted.