The changes in the AGBU were not, however, limited to the transfer of its head office to Paris. On 22 December 1923, an extraordinary general assembly elected to transform the Union into an association endowed with a legal personality; as the assembly did not reach a quorum, the formal decision was made at the 22 March 1924 extraordinary general assembly. Nubar explained to the delegates at the 1924 general assembly that the AGBU’s old bylaws were considerably complicating its task and that endowing the organization with the legal status it had so far lacked would enable it to defend its rights in court, should the need arise. The fact is that, to this date, even real estate had had to be purchased in the president’s name, and the organization had not been entitled to file claims in court. But, after the genocide perpetrated against the Armenians of the Ottoman Empire, untold legal problems cropped up, many of them having to do with settling the estates of the AGBU’s benefactors, big or small. The incorporation of the Union had thus become indispensable. “With the advice and counsel of Krikor Sinabian,” Nubar noted, “we looked for a country whose laws would allow an association like ours to acquire a legal personality; this is possible in Switzerland. . . . Read all
Transfer of the AGBU's Head Office to Paris
Aram Jevahirjian, a member of AGBU's Central Board in May 1921 (Coll. Bibl. Nubar/Paris).
Aram Jevahirjian, a member of AGBU's Central Board in May 1921 (Coll. Bibl. Nubar/Paris).
A meeting of the AGBU's central board of directors in Paris in 1921 (Coll. Bibl. Nubar/Paris).
Members of the AGBU's Cairo Committee (Arch. Bibl. Nubar).