Terms of Use
Last updated: 10 July 2026
Version: LN V26.02
1. Scope
These Terms of Use govern access to and use of the website lifeguard.org and any associated online pages, digital materials or communications that expressly refer to these terms (together, the “Website”).
The Website is made available under the public brand LIFEGUARD. References in these Terms of Use to “LIFEGUARD”, “we”, “us” or “our” refer to the legal entity identified in the Legal Notice, together with any authorised persons acting on its behalf where appropriate.
These Terms of Use apply to all visitors and users of the Website, including prospective clients, professional advisers, institutional representatives, applicants, service providers and other persons accessing Website content.
The Legal Notice, Privacy Notice and Cookie Notice form part of the Website’s legal framework and should be read together with these Terms of Use.
2. Acceptance of These Terms
By accessing, browsing or using the Website, you agree to comply with these Terms of Use.
Where you do not agree with these Terms of Use, you should not access or use the Website.
Nothing in these Terms of Use is intended to exclude, restrict or override any mandatory rights available under applicable law, including mandatory consumer, employment, data-protection or procedural protections.
3. Purpose of the Website
The Website provides general information regarding LIFEGUARD, its areas of capability, professional standards, selected appointments and available contact channels.
The Website is not intended to:
- provide legal, financial, tax, investment, insurance, employment, medical, regulatory or other professional advice;
- provide operational security, emergency, law-enforcement, crisis-management or protective instructions;
- create a client, adviser, employment, contractor, fiduciary, agency or other professional relationship;
- constitute an offer, invitation, quotation, proposal or commitment to provide services;
- confirm that a particular service, capability or appointment is available in a particular jurisdiction;
- confirm that LIFEGUARD is licensed, authorised, qualified or willing to accept a particular matter, instruction, candidate or engagement.
Any professional engagement with LIFEGUARD is subject to formal mandate acceptance, conflicts review, legal and regulatory assessment, client due diligence and a written agreement signed or otherwise formally accepted by an authorised LIFEGUARD representative.
4. No Emergency or Operational Response
The Website and its published communication channels are not emergency-response, crisis-response, law-enforcement, medical, rescue, protective or operational-command channels.
You must not use the Website, ordinary email or any other general communication channel published on the Website to report:
- an immediate threat to life or safety;
- a criminal incident requiring urgent response;
- an emergency security incident;
- a medical emergency;
- an urgent safeguarding concern;
- a cyber incident requiring immediate containment; or
- any matter requiring immediate intervention by public authorities or emergency services.
In an emergency, contact the competent emergency services, law-enforcement authorities, medical providers, public authorities or other appropriate local responders.
LIFEGUARD does not guarantee that messages sent through the Website, ordinary email or published contact channels will be monitored continuously or responded to within a particular period.
5. Permitted Use of the Website
You may access and use the Website solely for lawful, legitimate and non-disruptive purposes.
Subject to these Terms of Use, you may:
- view Website content for personal, professional or internal business-information purposes;
- print or save limited extracts for lawful internal reference;
- contact LIFEGUARD through the published channels for an appropriate and legitimate purpose;
- share a direct link to a Website page, provided that doing so does not imply endorsement, affiliation, approval or authorisation by LIFEGUARD.
Any permitted use must preserve all copyright, proprietary, source and other legal notices.
6. Restricted Activities
You must not use, or attempt to use, the Website in a manner that is unlawful, harmful, deceptive, disruptive, unauthorised or inconsistent with these Terms of Use.
In particular, you must not:
- obtain or attempt to obtain unauthorised access to the Website, its servers, systems, databases, accounts, infrastructure or associated data;
- interfere with, interrupt, overload, impair, damage or disrupt the Website or related infrastructure;
- introduce or transmit viruses, malware, ransomware, malicious code, harmful files or other disruptive technologies;
- circumvent, disable, defeat or interfere with access controls, security measures, technical restrictions or protective mechanisms;
- conduct unauthorised vulnerability scanning, penetration testing, security testing or technical probing;
- use bots, crawlers, spiders, scrapers, scripts, agents or similar automated tools to access, monitor, copy, harvest, index or extract Website content without LIFEGUARD’s prior written permission;
- reproduce, republish, distribute, adapt, commercialise, sell, license or exploit Website content except as expressly permitted by law or authorised in writing by LIFEGUARD;
- use Website content for competitive intelligence, benchmarking, commercial data aggregation, profiling, surveillance or similar activities;
- impersonate another person or organisation, misrepresent your identity, authority, affiliation or purpose, or submit misleading information;
- use the Website to facilitate fraud, phishing, social engineering, harassment, intimidation, discrimination, unlawful surveillance or other improper conduct;
- use the Website in a way that could damage LIFEGUARD’s reputation, security, confidentiality, systems, personnel, clients or professional relationships;
- create, publish or use any website, domain name, email address, social-media account or digital identifier that falsely suggests an affiliation with LIFEGUARD.
LIFEGUARD may investigate suspected misuse and take proportionate technical, legal, administrative or other action, including restricting access, preserving relevant records and referring concerns to competent authorities where appropriate.
7. Artificial Intelligence, Text and Data Mining
To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, LIFEGUARD reserves all rights in relation to the reproduction, extraction, scraping, indexing, storage, analysis, aggregation and use of Website content for text and data mining.
Without LIFEGUARD’s prior written permission, Website content may not be used to develop, train, validate, evaluate, improve, fine-tune or operate:
- artificial-intelligence systems;
- machine-learning models;
- large-language models;
- automated content-generation systems;
- data-aggregation or commercial intelligence platforms;
- profiling, monitoring or surveillance tools;
- automated search, retrieval or indexing systems beyond ordinary search-engine access expressly permitted by LIFEGUARD.
This restriction applies in addition to technical restrictions, robots directives, access controls, proprietary notices and any rights reserved under applicable copyright, database, unfair-competition or related laws.
Nothing in this provision is intended to restrict a use that cannot lawfully be restricted under mandatory law.
8. Intellectual Property and Brand Use
The Website, its content and all related intellectual-property rights are protected to the extent permitted by applicable law.
This includes, without limitation:
- the LIFEGUARD name;
- The LIFEGUARD Organisation designation;
- LIFEGUARD logos, visual identifiers and distinctive brand elements;
- Website design, layout, typography, structure and visual composition;
- service descriptions, reports, editorial content and original text;
- graphics, photographs, illustrations, diagrams, audio, video and other media;
- source code, technical components, compilations and databases;
- proprietary methodologies, frameworks, processes, documents and know-how;
- the domain name lifeguard.org and related digital identifiers.
All rights are reserved.
You must not use the LIFEGUARD name, logo, visual identity or other distinctive identifier in a manner that suggests affiliation, sponsorship, endorsement, approval or authorisation without LIFEGUARD’s prior written permission
.
For further information concerning intellectual-property rights and permitted brand use, please refer to the Legal
Notice or contact:
Legal and Intellectual Property Office
Email: legal@lifeguard.org
9. Communications and Confidential Information
The Website is not designed for the transmission of highly sensitive information.
You must not send classified, legally privileged, security-restricted, operationally sensitive, highly confidential, personal-data-intensive or otherwise protected information through ordinary email or other unencrypted general communication channels unless LIFEGUARD has specifically requested it through an agreed secure process.
An initial communication with LIFEGUARD does not create a duty of confidence, professional secrecy obligation, client relationship or legal privilege unless and until LIFEGUARD has expressly agreed otherwise in writing.
LIFEGUARD may decline to review, retain, respond to, forward or act upon information sent through an inappropriate or insecure channel.
Where an initial discussion is appropriate, LIFEGUARD may propose a secure communication arrangement before receiving or discussing sensitive information in greater detail.
10. Private Office Enquiries
The Private Office is intended for initial professional enquiries from institutions, corporate groups, family offices, diplomatic missions, authorised representatives, advisers and private clients.
An enquiry submitted through a published contact channel:
- does not oblige LIFEGUARD to respond;
- does not constitute an instruction or mandate;
- does not create an advisory, fiduciary, client or professional relationship;
- may be subject to preliminary conflict, suitability, legal, compliance and capacity review;
- may be declined without explanation, subject to applicable law.
LIFEGUARD may request further information before deciding whether an initial discussion, secure communication arrangement or formal proposal process is appropriate.
11. Careers and Applications
The Careers section is intended for defined appointments actively published by LIFEGUARD.
Vacancy descriptions are provided for general recruitment purposes only. They do not constitute a binding offer of employment, an employment contract, a guarantee of appointment or an assurance that a role will remain open for any specified period.
LIFEGUARD may amend, suspend, close, extend or withdraw any recruitment process or appointment notice at any time, subject to applicable law.
Applicants must provide accurate and complete information. LIFEGUARD may verify information supplied during a recruitment process to the extent lawful, necessary and proportionate to the role.
Applicants should not send passports, identity documents, security-clearance records, service records, weapons documentation, medical records, criminal-record documentation or other highly sensitive information at the initial application stage unless specifically requested through an appropriate secure channel.
Recruitment-related personal data is processed in accordance with the Privacy Notice and any additional recruitment notice provided in connection with a particular appointment.
12. Third-Party Websites and Services
The Website may contain links to websites, resources, platforms or materials operated by third parties.
These links are provided for convenience or general information only. Their inclusion does not constitute endorsement, approval, verification, sponsorship, partnership or recommendation by LIFEGUARD.
LIFEGUARD is not responsible for third-party websites, including their:
- content;
- security;
- availability;
- legal compliance;
- privacy practices;
- cookies or tracking technologies;
- services, products, statements or materials.
You access third-party websites at your own risk and should review their applicable terms, legal notices and privacy information.
13. Website Availability and Changes
LIFEGUARD seeks to maintain a secure and reliable Website. However, it does not guarantee that the Website will be uninterrupted, error-free, secure, available at all times or free from harmful components.
LIFEGUARD may, at any time and without prior notice:
- amend, update, remove or correct Website content;
- restrict or suspend access to all or part of the Website;
- change Website functionality, design, technical arrangements or access methods;
- discontinue particular pages, contact routes, content categories or services;
- carry out maintenance, security work, updates or technical improvements.
Website content may become outdated or cease to reflect current circumstances. LIFEGUARD is under no obligation to update all published information immediately or continuously.
14. Disclaimer and Limitation of Liability
The Website is made available on an “as available” basis.
To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, LIFEGUARD excludes all representations, warranties and conditions, whether express, implied or statutory, relating to the Website or its content, including implied warranties of accuracy, completeness, merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, non-infringement, availability and security.
LIFEGUARD shall not be liable for any loss, damage, cost or expense arising from or connected with:
- use of, or inability to use, the Website;
- Reliance on Website content;
- interruption, delay, error, technical malfunction or unavailability;
- data loss, unauthorised access or system compromise;
- viruses, malware or other harmful code;
- communications sent through ordinary or unsecured channels;
- third-party content, websites, systems or services;
- decisions taken or not taken based on information published on the Website.
Nothing in these Terms of Use excludes or limits liability for fraud, fraudulent misrepresentation, wilful misconduct, death or personal injury caused by negligence, or any other liability that cannot lawfully be excluded or limited.
15. Indemnity
To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, you agree to indemnify and hold harmless LIFEGUARD, its officers, employees, advisers, agents and authorised providers against claims, losses, damages, liabilities, costs and expenses arising from:
- your breach of these Terms of Use;
- your unlawful, fraudulent, negligent or improper use of the Website;
- content, information or material submitted by you in breach of applicable law or the rights of another person;
- your infringement or misuse of LIFEGUARD intellectual-property rights, systems, content or brand identifiers.
This provision does not apply to the extent that liability arises from LIFEGUARD’s own unlawful conduct, fraud, wilful misconduct or liability that cannot lawfully be excluded.
16. Privacy and Cookies
LIFEGUARD’s processing of personal data is governed by the Privacy Notice.
Information regarding cookies, similar technologies and preference-management arrangements is set out in the Cookie Notice, where applicable.
By using the Website, you acknowledge that certain necessary technical information may be processed to operate, protect and maintain the Website, as described in the Privacy Notice.
17. Suspension and Termination of Access
LIFEGUARD may suspend, restrict or terminate access to the Website, or any part of it, where reasonably necessary to:
- protect the security, integrity or availability of the Website;
- investigate suspected misuse or breach of these Terms of Use;
- comply with legal, regulatory, contractual or security obligations;
- protect LIFEGUARD, its personnel, clients, advisers or third parties;
- perform maintenance, updates or technical work.
LIFEGUARD may exercise these rights without prior notice where immediate action is reasonably necessary.
18. Changes to These Terms of Use
LIFEGUARD may revise these Terms of Use from time to time to reflect changes in applicable law, Website functionality, business activities, professional standards, security requirements or operational practices.
The current version will be published on the Website together with the relevant “Last updated” date.
Where a change is material and notification is required by applicable law, LIFEGUARD will take appropriate steps to provide additional notice.
Your continued use of the Website after updated Terms of Use have been published constitutes acceptance of the revised terms to the extent permitted by applicable law.
19. Governing Law and Jurisdiction
These Terms of Use and any non-contractual obligations arising out of or in connection with them shall be governed by the laws of Switzerland, Malta, Austria, the EU, the UK, excluding its conflict-of-law rules.
The courts of Valletta, Malta, and Vienna, Austria shall have exclusive jurisdiction over disputes arising out of or in connection with these Terms of Use.
This clause does not limit or exclude mandatory rights, remedies, procedural protections or jurisdictional rules that apply under the law of your habitual residence, place of work, consumer status or other applicable mandatory legal framework.
20. Severability
If any provision of these Terms of Use is found to be invalid, unlawful, unenforceable or ineffective, that provision shall be interpreted, modified or limited to the minimum extent necessary to make it valid and enforceable.
The remaining provisions shall remain in full force and effect.
21. Contact
For questions regarding these Terms of Use or the Website, please contact:
Legal Affairs Department
LIFEGUARD Legal Affairs
Email: legal@lifeguard.org
Postal address: Gußhausstraße 6, 1040 Vienna
For privacy-related enquiries:
Privacy Enquiries
Email: privacy@lifeguard.org
For confidential professional enquiries:
Private Office
Email: private.office@lifeguard.org
Phone: +43 1 688 9000