The Austrian Bar Association (ÖRAK) gets a new president on Thursday. Rupert Wolff is retiring after eleven years – one year before the end of his fourth term. Vice President and Viennese commercial lawyer Armenak Utudjian (58) is applying to succeed him. The new President will be elected at the Lawyers’ Day in Andau, Burgenland.
Wolff (65) from Salzburg was the first ÖRAK president who did not come from Vienna – and overall the fourth of the federal umbrella organization of bar associations founded in 1969, which currently represents 6,900 lawyers and 2,300 candidates. His greatest concerns were the protection of fundamental rights and freedoms and the expansion of the rule of law. Since his first election in 2011, he has constantly warned that fundamental rights should be handled sensitively, most recently also in view of the corona protection measures. “Do you still want fundamental rights and freedoms?” is also the topic of the Lawyers’ Day 2022, where Wolff’s successor will be chosen.
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