ding a visa cannot be fought by way of an appeal, but only by way of a cost- and time-intensive process through the highest courts. If one considers the average duration of a proceeding before the highest courts, it appears evident that in actual practice this path is closed to many people living in foreign countries. Place permit law There are deficits with regard to judicial remedies in the area of plant permit law as well. For years, the AOB has been pointing out the problems inherent in the fact that in some parts of the Trade and Commercial Regulations residents do not have the status of a participating party. The complainants frequently do not even know to what extent a plant or business can be operated, what inspections have already been carried out by the authorities and whether subsequent requirements have been stipulated. The legislative recommendations by the AOB in this area have unfortunately not been addressed and therefore continue to be valid. No authority In one investigative proceeding regarding a mobile phone tower on top of a school building, the Bundesimmobiliengesellschaft – BIG (the company responsible for the management of real estate used by government authorities and bodies) refused to give a statement, noting the lack of authority on the part of the AOB to investigate. Only after it was pointed out that the management of the BIG had explicitly agreed to cooperate with the AOB was the required information provided after all. to investigate divested legal entities In this context, the AOB would like to refer to a longstanding recommendation to align its authority under the law with that of the Court of Auditors with regard to the monitoring of divested legal entities. The reason for this is that the authority of the AOB to investigate has been gradually reduced since 1990 by more than 50 entities that have been divested. This means the transfer of areas where the government exercises power over their administration ("Hoheitsverwaltung") and areas that govern private economic activities ("Privatwirtschaftsverwaltung") to legal entities that are set up having the legal form of companies under private law (e.g. BIG, ASFINAG or ÖBB). With this broadened mandate of the AOB, the existing gap relative to monitoring activities would be closed. 20