ConstitutionofAustria
Adopted
in 1929
CHAPTER IGeneral
ProvisionsARTICLE 1Republic,
Democracy
Austria is a democratic republic.
Its law emanates from the people.
ARTICLE 2Federal
State
(1) Austria is a federal
state.cralaw:red
(2) The Federal State is
composed of the autonomous States of Burgenland, Carinthia, Lower
Austria,
Upper Austria, Salzburg, Styria, Tirol, Vorarlberg, and Vienna.
ARTICLE 3Territory
(1) The federal territory
comprises the territories of the Federal States.cralaw:red
(2) A change in the federal
territory, which is at the same time a change in State territory, just
as the change of a State boundary within federal territory, can, apart
from peace treaties, only be effected by corresponding constitutional
laws
of the Federation and the State whose territory undergoes change.
ARTICLE 4Currency,
Customs
(1) The federal territory
constitutes a uniform currency, economic, and customs area.cralaw:red
(2) Intermediate customs
barriers or other traffic restrictions may not be established within
federal
territory.
ARTICLE 5Capital
(1) The federal capital and
seat of the highest federal authorities is Vienna.cralaw:red
(2) For the duration of extraordinary
circumstances the Federal President can, at the request of the Federal
Government, remove the seat of the highest federal authorities
elsewhere
in federal territory.
ARTICLE 6[-]ARTICLE 7Equality,
Political
Rights
(1) All federal nationals
are equal before the law. Privileges based upon birth, sex, estate,
class,
or religion are excluded.cralaw:red
(2) Public employees, including
members of the Federal Army, are guaranteed the unrestricted exercise
of
their political rights.
ARTICLE 8Official
Language
German is the official language
of the Republic without prejudice to the rights provided by federal law
for linguistic minorities.
ARTICLE
8aState
Colors,
Flag,
Coat of Arms, Seal
(1) The colors of the Republic
of Austria are red-white-red. The flag consists of three identically
broad
horizontal stripes of which the intermediate is white the upper and the
lower are red.cralaw:red
(2) The federal Coat of Arms
consists of an unfettered single-headed, black, gilt-armed and
red-tongued
eagle on whose breast is imposed a red shield intersected by a silver
crosspiece.
On its head, the eagle bears a mural crown with three visible merlons.
A sundered iron chain rings both talons. The right holds a golden
sickle
with inward turned blade, the left a golden hammer.cralaw:red
(3) Detailed provisions,
in particular as to safeguard of the colors, the coat of arms, and the
seal of the Republic, are settled by federal law.
ARTICLE 9International
Law,
Transfer
of Powers
(1) The generally recognized
rules of international law are regarded as integral parts of federal
law.cralaw:red
(2) Legislation or a treaty
requiring sanction in accordance with Article 50 (1) can transfer
specific
federal competencies to intergovernmental organizations and their
authorities
and can within the framework of international law regulate the activity
of foreign states' agents inside Austria as well as the activity of
Austrian
agents abroad.
ARTICLE
9aDefence,
Military
Service
(1) Austria subscribes to
universal national defence. Its task is to preserve the federal
territory's
outside independence as well as its inviolability and its unity,
especially
as regards the maintenance and defence of permanent neutrality. In this
connection, too, the constitutional establishments and their capacity
to
function as well as the democratic freedoms of residents require to be
safeguarded and defended against acts of armed attack from outside.cralaw:red
(2) Universal national defence
comprises military, intellectual, civil, and economic national defence.cralaw:red
(3) Every male Austrian national
is liable for military service. Conscientious objectors who refuse the
fulfillment of compulsory military service and are exonerated therefrom
must perform an alternative service. The details are settled by law.
ARTICLE
10Federal
Legislation
and Execution
(1) The Federation has powers
of legislation and execution in the following matters:
1. the
Federal
Constitution,
in particular elections to the House of Representatives, and referenda
as provided by the Federal Constitution; the Constitutional Court;
2.
external
affairs, including
political and economic representation with regard to other countries
and
in particular the conclusion of international treaties of all kinds,
demarcation
of frontiers; trade in goods and livestock with other countries;
customs;
3.
regulation and
control
of entry into and exit from the federal territory; immigration and
emigration;
passports; deportation, turning back at the frontier, expulsion, and
extradition
from or through the federal territory;
4.
federal
finances, in particular
taxes to be collected exclusively or in part on behalf of the
Federation;
monopolies;
5. the
monetary,
credit,
stock exchange and banking system; the weights and measures, standards,
and hallmark system;
6. civil
law,
including the
rules relating to economic association, but excluding regulations which
render real property transactions with aliens subject to restrictions
by
the administrative authorities; criminal law, excluding administrative
penal law and administrative penal procedure in matters which fall
within
the autonomous sphere of competence of the States; administration of
justice;
establishments, such as compulsory labor and similar institutions, for
the protection of society against criminal, degenerate or otherwise
dangerous
elements; the Administrative Court; copyright; Press affairs;
expropriation
for the purposes of urban and rural reclamation, reconditioning,
restoration;
expropriation in so far as it does not concern matters falling within
the
autonomous sphere of competence of the States, matters of notaries,
lawyers,
and related professions;
7. the
maintenance
of peace,
order and security, excluding the local public safety administration;
the
right of association and assembly; matters of personal status,
including
the registration of births, marriages and deaths, and change of name;
aliens
police and residence registration; matters of weapons, ammunition and
explosives,
and the use of fire-arms;
8.
matters of trade
and industry;
public advertising and commercial brokerage; restraint of unfair
competition;
patent matters and the protection of designs, trade marks, and other
commodity
descriptions; matters of patent agents; matters of civil engineering;
chambers
of commerce, trade, and industry; establishment of professional
associations
in so far as they extend to the federal territory as a whole, but with
the exception of those in the field of agriculture and forestry;
9. the
traffic
system relating
to the railways, aviation, and shipping in so far as the last of these
does not fall under Article 11; motor traffic; matters, with exception
of the highway police, which concern roads declared by federal law as
federal
highways on account of their importance for transit traffic; river and
navigation police in so far as these do not fall under Article 11; the
postal, telegraph, and telephone system;
10.
mining;
forestry, including
timber flotage; water rights; control and conservation of waters for
the
safe diversion of floods or for shipping and raft transport; regulation
of torrents; construction and maintenance of waterways regulation and
standardization
of electrical plants and establishments as well as safety measures in
this
field; provisions of electric power transmission in so far as the
transmission
extends over two or more States, matters of steam- and other
power-driven
engines; surveying;
11. labor
legislation in
so far as it does not fall under Article 12; social and contractual
insurance;
chambers for workers and salaried employees with the exception of those
relating to agriculture and forestry;
12.
public health
with the
exception of burial and disposal of the dead and community sanitation
and
first aid services, but only sanitary supervision with respect to
hospitals,
nursing homes, health resorts and natural curative resources; measures
to counter factors hazardous to the environment through the
transcendence
of input limits, veterinary affairs; nutrition affairs, including
foodstuffs
inspection;
13.
archive and
library services
for the sciences and specialist purposes; matters of federal
collections
and establishments serving the arts and sciences, all matters of the
federal
theaters not however including the settlement of their structural
alignment
and level nor the treatment accorded by the official building
authorities
to constructions which concern surface elements in such edifices; the
preservation
of monuments; religious affairs; census as well as, allowing for the
rights
of the States to engage within their own territory in every kind of
statistical
activity, other statistics in so far as they do not serve the interests
of one State only; endowments and foundations when their purposes
extend
beyond a single State's sphere of interests and they have hitherto not
been autonomously administered by the States;
14.
organization
and conduct
of the federal police and the federal gendarmerie; settlement of the
conditions
of establishment and organization of other protective forces, including
their armament and the right to make use of their weapons;
15.
military
affairs; matters
of war damage and welfare measures for combatants and their surviving
dependents;
care of war graves; whatever measures seem necessary by reason or in
consequence
of war to ensure the uniform conduct of economic affairs, in particular
with regard to the population's supply with essentials;
16. the
establishment of
federal authorities and other federal agencies; service code for and
staff
representation rights of federal employees; and
17.
population
policy in
so far as it concerns the grant of children's allowances and the
organization
of burden equalization on behalf of families.
(2) In federal laws on the right
of succession to undivided farm estate as well as in federal laws
promulgated
in accordance with Paragraph (1) No.10, State legislatures can be
empowered
to issue implementing provisions with respect to individual provisions
which must be specifically designated. The provisions of Article 15 (6)
shall be analogously applied to these State laws. Execution of the
implementing
laws issued in such cases lies with the Federation, but the enabling
ordinances,
in so far as they relate to the implementing provisions of the State
law,
need foregoing agreement with the State government concerned.
(3) The Federation must allow
the States opportunity to present their views before its conclusion of
treaties which within the meaning of Article 1 render necessary
enabling
measures or affect the autonomous sphere of competence of the States in
another way.
ARTICLE
11Federal
Legislation
and State Execution
(1) In the following matters
legislation is the business of the Federation, execution that of the
States:
1.
nationality and
right
of citizenship;
2.
professional
associations
in so far as they do not fall under Article 10, but with the exception
of those in the field of agriculture and forestry;
3.
national housing
affairs;
4.
highway police;
5.
sanitation; and
6. inland
shipping
as regards
shipping licenses, shipping facilities and compulsory measures of such
facilities in so far as it does not apply to the Danube, Lake
Constance,
Lake Neusiedl, and boundary stretches of other frontier waters.
(2) In so far as a need for
the issue of uniform regulations is considered to exist, the
administrative
procedure the general provisions of administrative penal law, the
administrative
penal procedure and the administrative execution also in matters where
legislation lies with the States in particular also in matters of
taxation,
are prescribed by federal law; divergent regulations can be made in
Federal
or State laws settling the individual spheres of administration only
when
they are requisite for regularization of the matter in hand.
(3) Enabling ordinances to
the federal laws promulgated in accordance with Paragraphs (1) and (2)
shall be issued, save as otherwise provided in these laws, by the
Federation.
The manner of publication for enabling ordinances whose issue by the
States
in matters concerning Paragraph (1) no.4 and 6 is empowered by federal
law can be prescribed by federal law.cralaw:red
(4) The application of the
laws promulgated pursuant to Paragraph (2) and the enabling ordinances
issued hereto lies with the Federation or the States, depending on
whether
the business which forms the subject of the procedure is a matter for
execution
by the Federation or the States.cralaw:red
(5) In proceedings before
the administrative authorities the final decision on administrative
contraventions
lies with administrative penal tribunals to be constituted within the
framework
of the competent authorities. The members of these tribunals are
independent
in the exercise of their office and not bound by any instructions. The
senior official of the authority concerned or a deputy delegated by
him,
who must have legal training, presides. The Federation appoints two
members
also in cases where the tribunals have not been constituted within the
framework of the federal authorities. Acting on applications from the
administrative
penal tribunals, the State-Governors are competent to exercise the
right
of pardon provided for by law where penal administrative business
arises
under the indirect federal administration, the State Governments in
matters
of the autonomous sphere of competence of the States. Details regarding
the establishment of administrative penal tribunals and their activity
will be prescribed by federal law.
ARTICLE
12Federal
Framework
Legislation
(1) In the following matters,
framework legislation is the business of the Federation, the issue of
implementing
laws and execution the business of the States:
1. social
welfare;
population
policy in so far as it does not fall under Article 10; public social
and
welfare establishments; maternity, infant, and adolescent welfare;
hospitals
and nursing homes; requirements to be imposed for health reasons on
health
resorts, sanatoria, and health establishments; natural curative
resources;
2. public
institutions for
the adjustment of disputes out of court;
3. land
reform, in
particular
land consolidation measures and resettlement;
4. the
protection
of plants
against diseases and pests;
5.
matters of
electric power
in so far as they do not fall under Art. 10; and
6. labor
legislation and
the protection of workers and employees in so far as it is a matter of
workers and employees engaged in agriculture and forestry.
(2) In matters of land reform
the final decision and that at State level lies with tribunals composed
of a chairman and judges, administrative officials, and experts the
tribunal
qualified to pronounce final judgment will be appointed within the
framework
of the competent Federal Ministry. The organization, the duties and the
procedure of the tribunals as well as the principles for the
organization
of other authorities concerned with matters of land reform will be
prescribed
by federal law. This shall provide that the decisions by the tribunals
are not subject to repeal and change by way of administrative ruling;
the
exclusion of ordinary appeal from the authority of first instance to
the
State jurisdiction is inadmissible.
(3) If and inasmuch as the
rulings of State authorities in matters of electric power deviate from
one another or a State Government was the sole competent State
authority,
the competence in such a matter passes, provided a party so demands
within
the deadline to be fixed by federal law, to the Federal Ministry
competent
in the business. As soon as the Ministry has reached a decision, the
rulings
hitherto made by the State authorities are invalidated.
ARTICLE
13Taxation
The competencies of the Federation
and the States in the field of taxation will be prescribed in a special
federal constitutional law.
ARTICLE
14Education
(1) Save as provided otherwise
in the following paragraphs, legislation and execution in the field of
schooling and in the field of education in matters of pupil and student
hostels are the business of the Federation. The matters settled in
Article
14a do not belong to schooling and education within the meaning of this
Article.cralaw:red
(2) Save as provided otherwise
by Paragraph (4)(a), legislation is the business of the Federation,
execution
the business of the States in matters of the service code for and staff
representation rights of teachers at public compulsory schools. Such
federal
laws can empower State legislatures to issue implementing provisions to
individual provisions which shall be precisely specified; in these
instances
the provisions of Article 15 (6) apply analogously. The enabling
ordinances
in respect of such federal laws, save as provided otherwise herein,
shall
be issued by the Federation.cralaw:red
(3) In the following matters
framework legislation is the business of the Federation, the issue of
implementing
laws and execution the business of the States:
(a)
composition and
disposition,
including their members' appointment and remuneration, of the boards to
be constituted in the States and political Districts as part of the
federal
school authorities;
(b)
framework
organization
(structure, organizational forms, establishment, maintenance,
dissolution,
local districts, sizes of classes and instruction periods) of public
compulsory
schools;
(c)
framework
organization
of publicly maintained student hostels provided exclusively or mainly
for
pupils of compulsory schools; and
(d)
professional
employment
qualifications for kindergarten teachers and educational assistants to
be employed by the States, Counties, or County Associations at the
centers
and student hostels provided exclusively or mainly for pupils of
compulsory
schools.
(4) In the following matters,
legislation and execution is the business of the States:
(5) In the following matters,
legislation and execution are, in deviation from the provisions of
Paragraphs
(2) to (4), the business of the Federation:
(a) public
demonstration
schools, demonstration kindergartens, demonstration centers, and
demonstration
student hostels attached to a public school for the purpose of
practical
instruction as provided by the curriculum;
(b)
publicly
maintained student
hostels intended exclusively or mainly for pupils of the demonstration
schools mentioned in Sub-Paragraph (a); and
(c) the
service
code for
and staff representation rights of teachers, educational assistants,
and
kindergarten teachers at the public institutions mentioned in
Sub-Paragraphs
(a) and (b).
(6) Public schools are those
schools which are established and maintained by authorities so required
by law. The Federation is the authority so required by law in so far as
legislation and execution in matters of the establishment, maintenance,
and dissolution of public schools are the business of the Federation.
The
State or, according to the statutory provisions, the County, or a
County
Association is the authority so required by law in so far as
legislation
or implementing legislation and execution in matters of establishment,
maintenance and dissolution of public schools are the business of the
State.
Admission to public school is open to all without distinction of birth,
sex race, status, class, language and religion, and in other respects
within
the limits of the statutory requirements. The same applies analogously
to kindergartens, centers, and student hostels.
(7) Private schools are different
from public schools; they shall be accorded public status according to
the statutory provisions.cralaw:red
(8) The Federation is entitled,
in matters which in accordance with Paragraphs (2) and (3) belong to
execution
by the States, to obtain confirmation about adherence to the laws and
ordinances
issued on the basis of these paragraphs and can for this purpose
delegate
officials to the schools and student hostels. Should shortcomings be
observed,
the State-Governor can be instructed (Article 20 (1)) to redress the
shortcomings
within an appropriate deadline. The State-Governor must see to the
redress
of the shortcomings according to the statutory provisions and, to
effect
the execution of such instructions, is bound also to employ the means
at
his disposal in his capacity as an authority acting on behalf of the
State
in its autonomous sphere of competence.cralaw:red
(9) The general rules in
Articles 10 and 21 as to the distribution of competencies for
legislation
and execution regarding conditions of service with the Federation, the
States, the Counties, and the County Associations apply in respect of
the
service code for teachers, educational assistants, and kindergarten
teachers,
save as provided otherwise by the preceding paragraphs. The same
applies
to the staff representation rights of teachers, educational assistants,
and kindergarten teachers.cralaw:red
(10) In matters of the school
authorities of the Federation in the States and political Districts,
compulsory
schooling, school organization, private schools, and the relationship
between
school and the Churches including religious instruction at school, the
House of Representatives, in so far as matters of universities and fine
arts academies are not concerned, can adopt federal legislation only in
the presence of at least half the members and by a two thirds majority
of the votes cast. The same applies to the ratification of treaties
negotiated
on these matters and which fall into the category specified in Article
50.
ARTICLE
14aState
Legislation
and
Execution, Exceptions
(1) Save as provided otherwise
in the following paragraphs, legislation and execution are the business
of the States with regard to agricultural and forestry schooling as
well
as with regard to agricultural and forestry education in matters of
student
hostels, and in matters of the service code for and staff
representation
rights of teachers and educational assistants at the schools and
student
hostels falling under this Article. Matters of university training do
not
fall under agricultural and forestry schooling.cralaw:red
(2) Legislation and execution
is the business of the Federation in the following matters:
(a)
secondary
agricultural
and forestry schools and schools for the training and supplementary
training
of teachers at agricultural and forestry schools;
(b)
technical
colleges for
the training of forestry employees;
(c)
public
agricultural and
forestry technical colleges linked organizationally with one of the
public
schools mentioned in Sub-Paragraphs (a) and (b) or with a federal
agricultural
and forestry research institute to ensure provision of the
demonstrations
scheduled in the curricula;
(d)
student hostels
exclusively
or mainly designated for pupils of the schools mentioned in
Sub-Paragraphs
(a) to (c);
(e)
service code
for and
staff representational rights of the teachers and educational
assistants
in the establishments mentioned in Sub-Paragraphs (a) to (d) above;
(f)
subsidies for
staff expenditure
of the denominational agricultural and forestry schools; and
(g)
federal
agricultural
and forestry institutes linked organizationally with an agricultural
and
forestry school supported by the Federation to ensure provision of the
demonstrations scheduled in the curricula of these schools.
(3) Save as it concerns matters
mentioned in Paragraph (2), legislation is the business of the
Federation,
execution the business of the States in matters of:
(a)
religious
instruction;
and
(b) the
service
code for
and staff representation rights of teachers at public agricultural and
forestry vocational schools and technical colleges and of educational
assistants
at publicly maintained student hostels exclusively or mainly designated
for pupils of these schools, excepting however matters of official
competence
for the exercise of the service prerogative over these teachers and
educational
assistants. State legislatures can be authorized in federal laws
promulgated
by reason of the provisions under Sub-Paragraph (b) to issue
implementing
provisions for individual regulations which shall be precisely
specified,
in this connection the provisions of Article 15 (6) apply analogously.
Enabling ordinances for the federal laws shall, save as otherwise
provided
there, be issued by the Federation.
(4) Framework legislation is
the business of the Federation, the issue of implementing laws and
execution
is the business of the States:
(a) as
regards the
agricultural
and forestry vocational schools in matters of definitions of t,he
instructional
objective, the obligatory subjects, and free tuition as well as in
matters
of compulsory schooling and the transfer from the school in one State
to
the school in another State;
(b) as
regards the
agricultural
and forestry technical colleges in matters of the definition of
admission
prerequisites, instructional objective, organizational forms, extent of
the teaching and obligatory subjects, free tuition, and the transfer
from
the school in one State to the school in another State;
(c) in
matters of
the public
status of private agricultural and forestry vocational schools and
training
colleges with the exception of schools falling under para. 2 sub-para.
b above; and
(d) as
regards the
organization
and competence of advisory boards who in the matters of Paragraph (1)
participate
in the execution by the States.
(5) The establishment of the
agricultural and forestry technical colleges and research institutes
specified
under Paragraph (2)(c) and (g) is only admissible if the State
government
of the State in which the vocational school or technical college is to
have its location has agreed to the establishment. This agreement is
not
requisite if the establishment concerns an agricultural and forestry
school
which is to be organizationally linked to a school for the training and
supplementary training of teachers and agricultural and forestry
schools
to ensure provision of the demonstrations scheduled in their curricula.
(6) It lies within the competence
of the Federation to see to the observance of the regulations issued by
it in matters whose execution in accordance with Paragraphs (3) and (4)
belongs to the States.cralaw:red
(7) The provisions of Article
14 (6), (7), and (9) analogously also apply for the spheres specified
in
the first sentence of Paragraph (1).cralaw:red
(8) Federal laws on matters
pursuant to Paragraph (4) can be passed by the House of Representatives
only ill the presence of at least half the members and by a two thirds
majority of the votes cast.
ARTICLE
15General
Competence
of
the States
(1) In so far as a matter
is not expressly assigned by the Federal Constitution to the Federation
for legislation or also execution, it remains within the States'
autonomous
sphere of competence.cralaw:red
(2) In matters of local public
safety administration, i.e., that part of public safety
administration
which exclusively or preponderantly affects the interests of the local
community personified by the County and which, like preservation of
public
decency and defence against the improper creation of noise, can
suitably
be undertaken by the community within its local boundaries, the
Federation
has authority to supervise the conduct of these matters by the County
and
to redress any observed shortcomings by instructions to the
State-Governor.
Inspectoral authorities of the Federation can for this purpose be
delegated
to the County; in each and every case the State-Governor shall be
informed
hereof.cralaw:red
(3) The provisions of States
legislation in matters of theaters and cinemas, public shows,
performances,
and entertainments shall assign to the federal public safety
administration
within its local sphere of competence at least the superintendence of
the
events, in so far as this does not extend to technical operation,
building
police, and fire police considerations, and the participation by the
administration
in the initial stage of grant of licenses as stipulated by such
legislation.cralaw:red
(4) To what extent the federal
public safety administration shall within its local sphere of
competence
be assigned executive responsibility in the domain of the highway
police,
except the local traffic police (Article 118 (4) no.4) and the river
and
navigation police on the Danube, Lake Constance, Lake Neusiedl, and
boundary
stretches of other frontier waters, shall be prescribed in
corresponding
laws of the Federation and the State concerned.cralaw:red
(5) In so far as executive
acts in building matters concern federally owned buildings which serve
public purposes, like accommodation for federal authorities and offices
or public institutions including schools and hospitals or barracks
quarters
for members of the Army or other federal employees, these executive
acts
fall under the indirect federal administration; the final decision on
appeals
rests with the State-Governor. Nevertheless determination of alignment
and level in these cases too falls under the executive power of the
States.cralaw:red
(6) In so far as framework
legislation has been reserved to the Federation, detailed
implementation
within the framework laid down by federal law is incumbent on State
legislatures.
The federal law can fix for the issue of the implementing legislation a
deadline which may not without the consent of the Senate, be shorter
than
six months and not longer than one year. If a State does not observe
this
deadline, competence for the issue of the implementing legislation
passes
from that State to the Federation. As soon as the State has issued the
implementing legislation the federal implementing legislation becomes
invalidated.
If the Federation has not established any framework, State legislation
is free to settle such matters. As soon as the Federation has
established
a framework, the provisions of State legislation shall within the
deadline
to be appointed by federal law be adjusted to the framework legislation.cralaw:red
(7) If an executive act on
the part of one State in matters covered by Articles 11, 12, 14 (2) and
(3), and 14a (3) and (4) is to be effective in several States, the
participant
States shall take the lead in reaching an agreed basis. If within six
months
from the legal business arising no agreed ruling has been laid down,
the
competence for such an act passes, upon request by one of the States or
one of the parties participating in the matter, to the competent
Federal
Ministry. The details can be settled by federal laws promulgated under
Articles 11, 12, 14 (2) and (3), and 14a (3) and (4).cralaw:red
(8) In matters reserved to
federal legislation in conformity with Articles 11 and 12, the
Federation
is entitled to control the observance of the regulations it has issued.cralaw:red
(9) States are competent
within the scope of their legislation to make likewise in the field of
civil and criminal law the provisions necessary to dispose of an item.cralaw:red
(10) State legislation which
alters or settles along the lines the existent organization of the
ordinary
public administration in the States, may only be promulgated with the
consent
of the Federal Government.
ARTICLE
15aAgreements
Between
Federation
and States
(1) Federation and States
can make agreements among themselves about matters within their
respective
sphere of competence. The conclusion of such agreements in the name of
the Federation is, depending on the subject, incumbent on the Federal
Government
or Federal Minister. Agreements which are to be binding also on the
authorities
of the federal legislature can be concluded by the Federal Government
only
with the approval of the House of Representatives. Article 50 (3) shall
by analogy be applied to such resolutions of the House of
Representatives;
they shall he published in the federal law Gazette.cralaw:red
(2) Agreements between the
States can only be made about matters of their autonomous sphere of
competence
and must without delay be brought to the Federal Government's knowledge.cralaw:red
(3) The principles of international
law concerning treaties shall apply to agreements within the meaning of
Paragraph (1). The same applies for agreements within the meaning of
Paragraph
(2), save as provided otherwise by corresponding constitutional laws of
the States in question.
ARTICLE
16Implementation
of
Treaties
(1) The States are bound
to take measures which become necessary within their autonomous sphere
of competence for the implementation of international treaties; should
a State fail to comply punctually with this obligation, competence for
such measures, particularly issuing the necessary laws, passes to the
Federation.
A measure taken by the Federation pursuant to this provision,
particularly
issuing a law or an ordinance, becomes invalid as soon as the State has
taken the requisite action.cralaw:red
(2) Likewise, in the implementation
of treaties with foreign states, the Federation has the right of
supervision
in matters which belong to the autonomous sphere of competence of the
States.
In such case the Federation has the same rights with respect to the
States
as in matters of the indirect federal administration (Article 102).
ARTICLE
17Competences
Not
Restricting
Civil Rights
(1) The provisions of Articles
10 to 15 with regard to competence of legislation and execution in no
way
affects the position of the Federation as the holder of civil rights.cralaw:red
(2) The Federation can in
all these legal relations never be placed by State legislation in a
position
less favorable than that of the State concerned.
ARTICLE
18Rule of
Law
(1) The entire public administration
shall be based on law.cralaw:red
(2) Every administrative
authority can on the basis of law issue ordinances within its sphere of
competence.cralaw:red
(3) If the immediate issue
of measures, which require in accordance with the Constitution a
resolution
by the House of Representatives, becomes necessary to prevent obvious
and
irreparable damage to the community at a time when the House of
Representatives
is not assembled, cannot meet in time, or is impeded from action by
circumstances
beyond its control, the Federal President can at the recommendation of
the Federal Government and on his and their responsibility take these
measures
by way of provisional law-amending ordinances. The Federal Government
must
present its recommendation with the consent of the Standing
Sub-Committee
to be appointed by the Main Committee of the House of Representatives
[Article
55 (2)]. Such an ordinance requires the countersignature of the Federal
Government.cralaw:red
(4) Every ordinance issued
in accordance with Paragraph (3) shall without delay be submitted by
the
Federal Government to the House of Representatives which if it is not
in
session at this time shall be convened by the Federal President, but if
it is in session by the President of the House of Representatives, on
one
of the eight days following its submission. Within four weeks of the
submission,
the House of Representatives must either vote a corresponding federal
law
in place of the ordinance or pass a resolution demanding that the
ordinance
immediately become invalidated. In the latter case the Federal
Government
must immediately meet this demand. In order that the resolution of the
House of Representatives may be adopted in time, the President shall at
the latest submit the motion to the vote on the last day but one before
expiry of the four weeks deadline; detailed provisions shall be made in
the Standing Orders.cralaw:red
(5) The ordinances specified
in Paragraph (3) may not contain an amendment to provisions of federal
constitutional law and may have for their subject neither a permanent
financial
burden on the Federation nor a financial burden on the States,
Districts,
or Counties nor financial commitments for federal citizens nor an
alienation
of state property nor measures of matters specified in Article 10 (1)
no.11
nor, finally, such as concern the right of collective association or
rent
protection.
ARTICLE
19Governmental
Power,
Incompatibility
(1) The highest executive
authorities are the Federal President, the Federal Ministers and the
Secretaries
of State, and the members of the State Governments.cralaw:red
(2) The admissibility of
activities in the private sector of the economy by the authorities
specified
in Paragraph (1) and other public functionaries can be restricted by
federal
law.
ARTICLE
20Administration
(1) Under the direction of
the highest authorities of the Federation and the States elected
temporary
functionaries or permanent appointees conduct the administration in
accordance
with the provisions of the laws. They are, except for differing
regulations
by Constitutional laws, bound by the instructions of their superiors
and
responsible to these for the exercise of their office. The subordinate
officer can refuse compliance with an instruction if the instruction
was
given by an authority not competent in the matter or compliance would
infringe
the criminal code.cralaw:red
(2) If Federal or State law
has appointed for decision in the last instance a tribunal whose
rulings
are, according to the provisions of the law, not subject to rescission
or alteration through administrative authorities and whose membership
includes
at least one judge, the other members of this tribunal are likewise
bound
by no instructions in the exercise of their office.cralaw:red
(3) All functionaries entrusted
with administrative duties of Federation, States, and Counties are,
except
for differing regulations by law, pledged to secrecy about all facts of
which they have obtained knowledge exclusively from their official
activity
and whose concealment is enjoined by the public interest or that of the
parties concerned. Official secrecy does not exist for functionaries
appointed
by a popular representative body if it expressly asks for such
information.
ARTICLE
21Service
Code
(1) Legislation and execution
in matters of the service code for and staff representation rights of
employees
of the States, the Counties, and the County Associations are, save as
provided
otherwise, in all matters in Paragraph (2) and Article 14 (2) and
(3)(d),
incumbent on the States. The laws and ordinances issued by the States
in
matters of the service code may not differ in such degree from the laws
and ordinances of the Federation relating to the service code as
substantially
to impede the alternation of service stipulated pursuant to Paragraph
(4).cralaw:red
(2) The State laws promulgated
in accordance with Paragraph (1) in the field of service contract
regulations
may only contain provisions dealing with establishment and severance of
the employment relationship and the rights and duties arising
therefrom.
Legislation and execution in matters of employee protection for
functionaries
[Paragraph (1)] and to staff representation of States functionaries, in
so far as they are not engaged in public enterprises, are incumbent on
the States. In so far as in accordance with this paragraph the States
are
not competent, the aforementioned matters fall within the competence of
the Federation.cralaw:red
(3) The service prerogative
with regard to employees of the Federation is exercised by the highest
authorities of the Federation, the service prerogative with regard to
employees
of the States by the highest authorities of the States. The service
prerogative
with regard to the employees of the Auditing Board is exercised on
behalf
of the Federation by the president of the Auditing Board.cralaw:red
(4) The possibility of an
alternation of service between the Federation, the States, the
Counties,
and the County Associations pertains guaranteed at all times to public
employees. The alternation of service will take place with the
agreement
of the authorities competent to exercise the service prerogative.
Special
arrangements to facilitate the alternation of service can be made by
federal
law.cralaw:red
(5) Official titles for the
functionaries of the Federation, the States, the Counties, and the
County
Associations can be laid down by federal law in a standardized form.
Their
use is safeguarded by law.
ARTICLE
22Mutual
Assistance
All authorities of the Federation,
the States, and the Counties are bound within the framework of their
legal
sphere of competence to render each other mutual assistance.
ARTICLE
23State
Liability
(1) The Federation, the States,
the Districts, the Counties, and the other bodies and institutions
established
under public law are liable for the injury which persons acting on
their
behalf in execution of the laws have by illegal behavior culpably
inflicted
on whomsoever.cralaw:red
(2) Persons acting on behalf
of one of the legal entities specified in Paragraph (1) are liable to
it,
in so far as intent or gross negligence can be laid to their charge,
for
the injury for which the legal entity has indemnified the injured party.cralaw:red
(3) Persons acting on behalf
of one of the legal entities specified in Paragraph (1) are liable for
the injury which in execution of the laws they have by illegal behavior
inflicted directly on the legal entity.cralaw:red
(4) The detailed provisions
with respect to Paragraphs (1) to (3) will be established by federal
law.cralaw:red
(5) A federal law can also
provide to what extent special provisions deviating from the principles
laid down in Paragraph (1) to (3) above apply in the field of the
postal,
telegraph, and telephone system.
CHAPTER
IIFederal
LegislationPART AThe
House of
RepresentativesARTICLE
24Legislative
Power
The legislative power of
the Federation is exercised by the House of Representatives jointly
with
the Senate.
ARTICLE
25Seat
(1) The seat of the House
of Representatives is Vienna, the federal capital.cralaw:red
(2) For the duration of extraordinary
circumstances, the Federal President can at the request of the Federal
Government convoke the House of Representatives elsewhere within
federal
territory.
ARTICLE
26Election
(1) The House of Representatives
is elected by the nation in accordance with the principles of
proportional
representation on the basis of equal, direct, secret, and personal
suffrage
for men and women who have completed their nineteenth year of life on a
day appointed prior to the election. Voting is compulsory in the
Federal
States where this has been enacted by State law. Detailed provisions
about
the electoral procedure and compulsory voting, if necessary, will be
made
by federal law. This federal law shall in particular lay down the
reasons
held to excuse non-participation in the election notwithstanding
compulsory
voting.cralaw:red
(2) The federal territory
will be divided into self-contained constituencies whose boundaries may
not overlap States boundaries. The number of deputies shall be divided
among the qualified voters of a constituency in proportion to the
number
of nationals in the constituencies, i.e., the number of federal
nationals who in accordance with the result of the last census had
their
domicile in the constituencies. A division of the electorate into other
electoral bodies is not admissible.cralaw:red
(3) The day of the poll must
be a Sunday or other public holiday.cralaw:red
(4) Eligible for election
is every qualified voter who has completed his/her twenty first year of
life before the day appointed prior to the election.cralaw:red
(5) Exclusion from the right
to vote and from eligibility can only ensue from a sentence or order by
the courts.cralaw:red
(6) Electoral boards shall
be appointed for the implementation and conduct of elections to the
House
of Representatives, the election of the Federal President, and
referenda
in accordance with Article 46 as well as for assistance in the scrutiny
of initiatives. Their members, with voting rights, shall include
representatives
from the participant political parties. The main electoral board shall
include members who belong or have belonged to the judiciary. The
electoral
regulations shall lay down, notwithstanding members originating from
the
professional judiciary, number of members to be allocated to the
participant
political parties in accordance with their strength as ascertained at
the
last House of Representatives election.cralaw:red
(7) The electoral register
will be drawn up by the Counties as part of their assigned sphere of
competence.
ARTICLE
27Term
(1) The legislative period
of the House of Representatives lasts four years, calculated from the
day
of its first meeting but in any case until the day on which the new
House
of Representatives meets.cralaw:red
(2) The newly elected House
of Representatives shall be convened by the Federal President within
thirty
days after the election. The latter shall be so arranged by the Federal
Government as to enable the newly elected House of Representatives to
meet
on the day after the expiry of the fourth year of the legislative
period.
ARTICLE
28Sessions
(1) The Federal President
convokes the House of Representatives each year for an ordinary session
which shall not begin before 15 September and not last longer than 15
July
the following year.cralaw:red
(2) The Federal President
can also convoke the House of Representatives for extraordinary
sessions.
If the Federal Government or at least one third of the members of the
House
of Representatives or if the Senate so demands, the Federal President
is
bound to convoke the House of Representatives for an extraordinary
session
to meet within two weeks of the demand; the convocation needs no
countersignature.
A request by members of the House of Representatives or by the Senate
does
not require a recommendation by the Federal Government.cralaw:red
(3) The Federal President
declares sessions of the House of Representatives closed in pursuance
of
a vote by the House of Representatives.cralaw:red
(4) Upon the opening of a
new House of Representatives session within the same legislative period
work will be continued in accordance with the stage reached at the
close
of the last session. At the end of a session individual committees can
be instructed by the House of Representatives to continue their work.cralaw:red
(5) During a session the
President of the House of Representatives convokes the individual
sittings.
If within a session at least a quarter of the House of Representatives'
members or the Federal Government so demands, the President is bound to
convoke a sitting in such manner that the House of Representatives
meets
within five days of the demand.cralaw:red
(6) The federal law on the
House of Representatives' Standing Orders shall lay down special
provisions
for its convocation in the event of the elected Presidents being
precluded
from the performance of their office or being deprived of their
functions.
ARTICLE
29Dissolution
(1) The Federal President
can dissolve the House of Representatives, but he may avail himself of
this prerogative only once for the same reason. In such case the new
election
shall be so arranged by the Federal Government that the newly elected
House
of Representatives can at the latest meet on the hundredth day after
the
dissolution.cralaw:red
(2) Before expiry of a legislative
period the House of Representatives can vote its own dissolution by
simple
law.cralaw:red
(3) After a dissolution pursuant
to Paragraph (2) as well as after expiry of the period for which the
House
of Representatives has been elected, the legislative period lasts until
the day on which the newly elected House of Representatives meets.
ARTICLE
30Organization
(1) The House of Representatives
elects the President, the Second, and Third Presidents from among its
members.cralaw:red
(2) The business of the House
of Representatives is conducted in pursuance of a special federal law.
The federal law on the House of Representatives' Standing Orders can
only
be passed in the presence of half the members and by a two thirds
majority
of the votes cast.cralaw:red
(3) The Parliamentary Staff,
which is subordinate to the President of the House of Representatives,
is competent for the conduct of Parliamentary auxiliary services and
administrative
matters within the scope of the federal legislature. The internal
organization
of the Parliamentary Staff for matters of the Senate shall be settled
in
agreement with the Chairman of the Senate who is likewise invested with
authority to issue instructions as to implementation of the functions
assigned
to the Senate on the basis of this law.cralaw:red
(4) The nomination of Parliamentary
Staff employees and all other competencies in personnel matters lie
with
the President of the House of Representatives.cralaw:red
(5) The President of the
House of Representatives can delegate parliamentary Staff employees to
parliamentary parties for help in the fulfillment of parliamentary
duties.cralaw:red
(6) The President of the
House of Representatives is the highest administrative authority in the
execution of the administrative matters for which he is, according to
this
Article, competent and he exercises these powers in his own right. He
may
issue ordinances inasmuch as these exclusively concern administrative
matters
regulated by this Article.
ARTICLE
31Majority
Save as otherwise provided
in this law or as otherwise laid down in the federal law on the House
of
Representatives' Standing Orders with regard to individual matters, the
presence of at least one third of the members and an absolute majority
of the votes cast is requisite to a vote by the House of
Representatives.
ARTICLE
32Publicity
(1) The sessions of the House
of Representatives are public.cralaw:red
(2) The public shall be excluded
if the chairman or one fifth of the members present so demand and the
House
of Representatives votes this after the withdrawal of the audience.
ARTICLE
33Publications
No one shall be called to
account for publishing true accounts of proceedings in the public
sessions
of the House of Representatives and its committees.
Part BThe
SenateARTICLE
34Representation
(1) Pursuant, to the following
provisions, the States are represented in the Senate in proportion to
the
number of nationals in each of them.cralaw:red
(2) The State with the largest
number of citizens delegates twelve members, every other State as many
as the ratio in which its nationals stand to those in the
first-mentioned
State, with remainders which exceed half the coefficient counting as
full.
However, every State is entitled to a representation of at least three
members. A substitute will be appointed for each member.cralaw:red
(3) The number of members
to be delegated by each State accordingly will be re-calculated after
every
general census by the Federal President.
ARTICLE
35Election
(1) The members of the Senate
and their substitutes are elected by the State Parliaments for the
duration
of their respective legislative periods in accordance with the
principle
of proportional representation, but at least one seat must fall to the
party having the second largest number of seats in a State Parliament
or,
should several parties have the same number of seats, the second
highest
number of votes at the last election to the State Parliament. When the
claims of several parties are equal, the issue shall be decided by lot.cralaw:red
(2) The members of the Senate
need not belong to the State Parliament which delegates them, but they
must be eligible for that State Parliament.cralaw:red
(3) After expiry of the legislative
period of a State Parliament or after its dissolution, the members
delegated
by it to the Senate remain in office until such time as the new State
Parliament
has held the election to the Senate.cralaw:red
(4) The provisions of Articles
34 and 35 can only be amended, apart from the majority of votes
requisite
in general to the adoption of a resolution there, if in the Senate the
majority of the representatives from at least four States has approved
the amendment.
ARTICLE
36Chairman,
Convocation
(1) The States succeed each
other in alphabetical order every six months in the chairmanship of the
Senate.cralaw:red
(2) The representative who
heads the delegation of the State entitled to the chairmanship acts as
Chairman; the appointment of the Deputy Chairmen will be prescribed by
the Senate's Standing Orders.cralaw:red
(3) The Senate will be convoked
by its Chairman at the seat of the House of Representatives. The
Chairman
is bound immediately to convoke the Senate if at least one quarter of
its
members or the Federal Government so demands.
ARTICLE
37Quorum,
Majority,
Standing
Orders, Publicity
(1) Save as provided differently
by law, the presence of at least one third of the members and an
absolute
majority of the votes cast is requisite to a resolution by the Senate.cralaw:red
(2) The Senate furnishes
itself with Standing Orders by way of resolution. This resolution can
only
be adopted in the presence of half the members with a two thirds
majority
of the votes cast.cralaw:red
(3) The meetings of the Senate
are public. The public can, pursuant to the provisions of the Standing
Orders, be excluded by resolution. The provisions of Article 33 also
apply
to public meetings of the Senate and its committees.
PART CThe
Federal
AssemblyARTICLE
38Functions
The House of Representatives
and the Senate meet, together building the Federal Assembly, in public
session at the seat of the House of Representatives for the affirmation
of the Federal President as well as for the adoption of a resolution on
a declaration of war.
ARTICLE
39Chairman
(1) Apart from the cases
stated in Articles 60 (6), 63 (2), 64 (4), and 68 (2), the Federal
Assembly
is convoked by the Federal President. The chairmanship alternates
between
the President of the House of Representatives and the Chairman of the
Senate,
beginning with the former.cralaw:red
(2) The House of Representatives'
Standing Orders are applied analogously in the Federal Assembly.cralaw:red
(3) The provisions of Article
33 apply for the sessions of the Federal Assembly.
ARTICLE
40Resolutions
(1) The resolutions of the
Federal Assembly are authenticated by its Chairman and countersigned by
the Federal Chancellor.cralaw:red
(2) The resolutions of the
Federal Assembly upon a declaration of war shall be officially
published
by the Federal Chancellor.
PART DFederal
Legislative
ProcedureARTICLE
41Bills
(1) Legislative proposals
are submitted to the House of Representatives either as motions by its
members or as Federal Government bills. The Senate can propose
legislative
motions to the House of Representatives by way of the Federal
Government.cralaw:red
(2) Every motion proposed
by 100,000 voters or by one sixth each of the voters in three States
shall
be submitted by the main electoral board to the House of
Representatives
for action. The initiative must be put forward in the form of a draft
law.
ARTICLE
42Objection
(1) Every enactment of the
House of Representatives shall without delay be conveyed by the
President
to the Senate.cralaw:red
(2) Save as otherwise provided
by constitutional law, an enactment can be authenticated and published
only if the Senate has not raised a reasoned objection to this
enactment.cralaw:red
(3) This objection must be
conveyed to the House of Representatives in writing by the Chairman of
the Senate within eight weeks of the enactment's arrival; the Federal
Chancellor
shall be informed thereof.cralaw:red
(4) If the House of Representatives
in the presence of at least half its members once more carries its
original
resolution, this shall be authenticated and published. If the Senate
resolves
not to raise any objection or if no reasoned objection is raised within
the deadline laid down in Paragraph (3), the enactment shall be
authenticated
and published.
(5) The Senate can
raise
no objection to resolutions of the House of Representatives relating to
a law on the House of Representatives' Standing Orders, the dissolution
of the House of Representatives, the appropriation of the Federal
Budget
estimates, the sanction of the final Federal Budget, the raising or
conversion
of federal loans, or the disposal of federal property. These enactments
of the House of Representatives shall be authenticated and published
without
further formalities.
ARTICLE
43Referendum
If the House of Representatives
so decides or if the majority of members of the House of
Representatives
so demands, every enactment of the House of Representatives shall be
submitted
to a referendum upon conclusion of the procedure pursuant to Article 42
but before its authentication by the Federal President.
ARTICLE
44Constitutional
Laws
(1) Constitutional laws or
constitutional provisions contained in simple laws can be passed by the
House of Representatives only in the presence of at least half the
members
and by a two thirds majority of the votes cast, they shall be
explicitly
specified as such.cralaw:red
(2) Any total revision of
the Federal Constitution shall upon conclusion of the procedure
pursuant
to Article 42 but before its authentication by the Federal President be
submitted to a referendum by the entire nation, whereas any partial
revision
requires this only if one third of the members of the House of
Representatives
or the Senate so demands.
ARTICLE
45Referendum
Majority
(1) For a referendum, the
absolute majority of the validly cast votes is decisive.cralaw:red
(2) The result of a referendum
shall be officially announced.
ARTICLE
46Initiative
and
Referendum
Law
(1) The procedure for an
initiative and a referendum will be prescribed by federal law.cralaw:red
(2) Everyone who is eligible
for the House of Representatives has the right to vote.cralaw:red
(3) A referendum takes place
at the order of the Federal President.
ARTICLE
47Signatures
(1) The constitutional enactment
of federal laws is authenticated by the signature of the Federal
President.cralaw:red
(2) The submission for authentication
is effected by the Federal Chancellor.cralaw:red
(3) The authentication shall
be countersigned by the Federal Chancellor.
ARTICLE
48Publication
Federal laws and the treaties
specified in Article 50 will be published with reference to their
adoption
by the House of Representatives; federal laws based upon a referendum
with
reference to the result of that referendum.
ARTICLE
49Promulgation
(1) Federal laws and the
treaties specified in Article 50 shall be published by the Federal
Chancellor
in the Federal Law Gazette. Unless explicitly provided otherwise, their
entry into force begins with expiry of the day on which the number of
the
Federal Law Gazette containing their publication is issued and
distributed
and it extends, unless explicitly provided otherwise, to the entire
federal
territory; this does not apply to treaties which are to be implemented
by the issue of laws [Article 50 (2)].cralaw:red
(2) The House of Representatives
can on the occasion of giving its sanction to treaties pursuant to
Article
50 resolve that a treaty or individual explicitly specified parts of it
shall be published not in the federal law Gazette, but in another
appropriate
manner. Such a resolution by the House of Representatives has to state
the manner of publication, which must guarantee the accessibility of
the
treaty for the duration of its validity, and shall be notified by the
Federal
Chancellor in the Federal Law Gazette. Unless explicitly provided
otherwise,
the entry into force of such treaties begins with expiry of the day on
which the number of the Federal Law Gazette containing the notification
of the resolution by the House of Representatives is issued and
distributed
and it extends, unless explicitly provided otherwise, to the entire
federal
territory.cralaw:red
(3) A special federal law
on the Federal Law Gazette will be promulgated.
ARTICLE
49aRepublication
(1) The Federal Chancellor
is empowered jointly with the competent Federal Ministers to restate
with
binding effect federal laws in their valid version by publication in
the
Federal Law Gazette.cralaw:red
(2) On the occasion of the
republication:
1.
obsolete
terminological
expressions can be rectified and outdated spelling assimilated to the
new
manner of writing;
2.
references to
other regulations
which no longer fit in with current legislation as well as other
inconsistencies
can be rectified;
3.
provisions which
have
been nullified by later regulations or otherwise rendered void can be
declared
invalid;
4. title
abridgements and
alphabetical abbreviations of titles can be laid down;
5. the
designations
of articles,
sections, paragraphs, and the like can in case of elimination or
insertion
be correspondingly altered and in this connection references thereto
within
the text of the regulation be appropriately rectified; and
6.
interim
provisions as
well as earlier still applicable versions of the federal law in
question
can by specification of their purview be recapitulated and
simultaneously
with the republication be separately issued.
(3) From the day following the
issue of the republication, all courts and administrative authorities
are
bound by the restated text of the federal law in respect of facts
materializing
thereafter.
PART EParticipation
of
the
House of Representativesand of
the Senate
in
Execution by the BundARTICLE
50Treaties
(1) Political treaties, and
others in so far as their contents modify or complement existent laws,
may only be concluded with the sanction of the House of Representatives.cralaw:red
(2) At the time of giving
its sanction to a treaty which falls under Paragraph (1), the House of
Representatives can decide that the treaty in question shall be
implemented
by the issue of laws.cralaw:red
(3) The provisions of Article
42 (1) to (4) and, should constitutional law be modified or
complemented
by the treaty, the provisions of Article 44 (1) apply analogously to
resolutions
of the House of Representatives in accordance with Paragraphs (1) and
(2).
In a vote of sanction adopted pursuant to Paragraph (1), such treaties
or such provisions as are contained in treaties shall be explicitly
specified
as "constitutionally modifying".
ARTICLE
51Budget
(1) At the latest ten weeks
before expiry of the fiscal year the Federal Government shall submit to
the House of Representatives an estimate of the revenue and expenditure
of the Federation for the ensuing fiscal year. Its contents may not be
made public before the beginning of the deliberations in the House of
Representatives.cralaw:red
(2) Federal expenditure not
earmarked in the Federal Finance Act or by a special law requires
before
its execution constitutional sanction by the House of Representatives
which
shall be obtained by the Federal Minister of Finance. Should delay be
dangerous,
such federal expenditure, in so far as it does not exceed 1,000,000.00
Schilling, can be undertaken with the consent of the Main Committee of
the House of Representatives; the sanction of the House of
Representatives
shall subsequently be requested.cralaw:red
(3) If the draft Federal
Budget submitted by the Federal Government in due time [Paragraph (1)]
to the House of Representatives is not constitutionally sanctioned
before
expiry of the fiscal year and by that date no temporary provision has
been
made by federal law, then, during the first two months of the ensuing
fiscal
year, the taxes, levies, and imposts revenue shall be collected in
accordance
with the existing regulations and federal expenditure shall be defrayed
to the account of the appropriations to be laid down by law, with the
exception
of expenditure of a kind not specially earmarked in the last Federal
Finance
Act. The ceiling of the admissible federal expenditure is formed by the
expenditure appropriations contained in the draft Federal Budget
submitted
to the House of Representatives, and one twelfth of these
appropriations
shall serve as the foundation for each month's expenditure. The
expenditure
requisite to the fulfillment of legal liabilities shall be defrayed in
accordance with maturity. The filling of official appointments likewise
ensues on the basis of the draft Federal Finance Act submitted to the
House
of Representatives. In other respects, the provision of the last
Federal
Finance Act, in so far as they do not concern figures relating to the
administration
of public funds remain analogously in force for the above-mentioned two
months.
ARTICLE
52Government
Interrogation
(1) The House of Representatives
and the Senate are entitled to examine the administration of affairs by
the Federal Government, to interrogate its members about all subjects
of
its execution, and to demand all relevant information as well as to
ventilate
in resolutions their wishes about exercise of the executive power.cralaw:red
(2) Every member of the House
of Representatives and the Senate is entitled during the sessions of
the
House of Representatives and the Senate to address brief oral questions
to members of the Federal Government.cralaw:red
(3) The detailed regulations
respecting the right of interrogation will be settled by the federal
law
on the House of Representatives' Standing Orders as well as in the
Senate's
Standing Orders.
ARTICLE
53Committees
of
Inquiry
(1) The House of Representatives
can, by resolution, set up committees of inquiry.cralaw:red
(2) The detailed regulations
respecting the establishment of and the procedure for committees of
inquiry
will be settled by the federal law on the House of Representatives'
Standing
Orders.cralaw:red
(3) The courts and all other
authorities are obliged to comply with the request of these committees
to take evidence; all public departments must on demand produce their
files.
ARTICLE
54Tariffs
The House of Representatives
participates in laying down railway fares, postal, telegraph, and phone
rates, and the prices for monopoly commodities as well as the payment
for
persons regularly employed in federal establishments. This
participation
will be prescribed by federal constitutional law.
ARTICLE
55Main
Committee
(1) The House of Representatives
elects its Main Committee from its members in accordance with the
principle
of proportional representation; it can be laid down by federal law that
certain ordinances by the Federal Government or a Federal Minister need
the agreement of the Main Committee and that reports by the Federal
Government
or a Federal Minister shall be rendered to the Main Committee. Should
the
need arise, the Main Committee shall be convoked between sessions of
the
House of Representatives (Article 28).cralaw:red
(2) The Main Committee elects
from among its members a Standing Sub-Committee upon which it devolves
the powers stipulated by law. The election takes place in accordance
with
proportional representation notwithstanding inclusion of at least one
member
of every party belonging to the Main Committee. The Standing Orders
must
provide that the Standing Sub-Committee can be convoked and can meet at
any time. If the House of Representatives in accordance with Article 29
(1) is dissolved by the Federal President, participation in the
executive
power which in accordance with this law otherwise lies with the House
of
Representatives devolves to the Standing Sub-Committee.
PART FStatus
of Members
of
the House of Representativesand the
SenateARTICLE
56Independence
The members of the House
of Representatives and the members of the Senate are not bound in the
exercise
of their function by any mandate.
ARTICLE
57Indemnity,
Immunity
(1) The members of the House
of Representatives may never be made responsible for votes cast in the
exercise of their function and only by the House of Representatives on
the grounds of oral or written utterances made in the course of their
function.cralaw:red
(2) The members of the House
of Representatives may, on the ground of a criminal offence - except
for
apprehension in flagrante delicto - be arrested only with the
consent
of the House of Representatives. Searches of the home of House of
Representatives
members likewise require the House of Representatives' consent.cralaw:red
(3) Other legal action on
the ground of a criminal offence may be taken against members of the
House
of Representatives without the House of Representatives' consent only
if
it is manifestly not connected to the political activity of the member
in question. The authority concerned must seek a ruling by the House of
Representatives on the existence of such a connection if the member in
question or a third of the members belonging to the Standing Committee
entrusted with these matters so demands. Every act of legal process
shall
in the case of such a demand immediately cease or be discontinued.cralaw:red
(4) In all these instances
the consent of the House of Representatives counts as granted if within
eight weeks it has not given a ruling on an appropriate request by the
authority competent for the institution of legal action; the President,
with a view to the House of Representatives' adoption of a resolution
in
good time, shall at the latest put such a request to the vote on the
day
but one before expiry of the deadline. The latter does not include the
period when the House of Representatives is not in session.cralaw:red
(5) In case of a member's
apprehension in the act of committing a crime, the authority concerned
must immediately notify the President of the House of Representatives
of
the occurrence of the arrest. If the House of Representatives or, when
it is not in session, the Standing Committee entrusted with these
matters
so demands, the arrest must be suspended or the legal process as a
whole
be dropped.cralaw:red
(6) The immunity of members
ends with the day of the meeting of the newly elected House of
Representatives,
that of functionaries of the House of Representatives whose tenure of
office
extends beyond this date on the expiry of this term of office.cralaw:red
(7) The detailed provisions
are settled by the federal law on the House of Representatives'
Standing
Orders.
ARTICLE
58Immunity
in the
Senate
The members of the Senate
enjoy for the whole duration of their tenure of office the immunity of
the members of the State Parliament which has delegated them.
ARTICLE
59Incompatibility,
Public
Employment
(1) No one can simultaneously
belong to the House of Representatives and the Senate.cralaw:red
(2) Public employees, including
members of the Federal Army, require no leave of absence to hold a seat
in the House of Representatives or in the Senate. If they seek a seat
in
the House of Representatives, they shall be granted the requisite free
time. The service code will provide details.
CHAPTER
IIIFederal
ExecutionPART AAdministrationTITLE 1The
Federal
PresidentARTICLE
60Election
(1) The Federal President
is elected by the nation on the basis of equal, direct, secret, and
personal
suffrage. If there is only one candidate, the election takes place by
way
of referendum. Anyone with House of Representatives suffrage is
entitled
to vote. Voting in the election is compulsory in Federal States where
State
law so provides. Detailed provisions about the electoral procedure and
possible compulsory voting will be established by a federal law. This
same
law shall in particular lay down the reasons held to excuse
non-participation
in the election regardless of compulsory voting.cralaw:red
(2) The candidate who polls
more than half of all valid votes has been elected. If no such majority
results, a second ballot takes place. Votes in this can validly be cast
only for one of the two candidates who have polled the most votes in
the
first ballot; but each of the two groups of voters who put up these two
candidates can in the second ballot nominate another individual to
replace
its original candidate.cralaw:red
(3) Only a person who has
House of Representatives franchise and was thirty five years old before
the first of January of the year in which the election is held can be
elected
Federal President. Members of reigning houses or of formerly regnant
families
are excluded from eligibility.cralaw:red
(4) The result of the election
of the Federal President shall be officially published by the Federal
Chancellor.cralaw:red
(5) The Federal President
holds office for six years. Re-election for the immediately following
term
of office is admissible once.cralaw:red
(6) Before expiry of his
term of office the Federal President can be deposed by referendum. The
referendum shall be held if the Federal Assembly so demands. The
Federal
Assembly shall be convoked by the Federal Chancellor for this purpose
if
the House of Representatives has passed such a motion. The House of
Representatives
vote requires the presence of at least half the members and a majority
of two thirds of the votes cast. By such a House of Representatives
vote,
the Federal President is prevented from the further exercise of his
office.
Rejection by the referendum of the deposition works as a new election
and
entails the dissolution of the House of Representatives [Article 29
(1)].
The Federal President's total term of office may not exceed twelve
years.
ARTICLE
61Incompatibility
(1) During his tenure of
office, the Federal President may not belong to any popular
representative
body nor exercise any other occupation.cralaw:red
(2) The title "Federal President"
may not, even with an addition or in the context of another
designation,
be used by anyone else. It is protected by law.
ARTICLE
62Oath
(1) On his assumption of
office the Federal President renders the following affirmation before
the
Federal Assembly:
"I
solemnly
promise
that I shall faithfullyobserve
the
Constitution
and all the laws of the Republic and shall fulfill my dutyto
the best
of my
knowledge and belief."
(2) The addition of a religious
assertion is admissible.
ARTICLE
63Immunity
(1) The institution of legal
process against the Federal President is only admissible if the Federal
Assembly has agreed.cralaw:red
(2) The application for the
institution of legal process against the Federal President shall be
filed
by the competent authority with the House of Representatives which
votes
whether the Federal Assembly shall deal with the matter. If the House
of
Representatives pronounces in favor of this, the Federal Chancellor
must
immediately convoke the Federal Assembly.
ARTICLE
64Temporary
Discharge
(1) All of the Federal President's
responsibilities, should he be prevented from their discharge, pass in
the first instance to the Federal Chancellor. If the impediment lasts
longer
than twenty days or if pursuant to Article 60 (6) the Federal President
is prevented from the discharge of his office, the President, the
Second
President, and the Third President of the House of Representatives
acting
as a committee shall undertake the responsibilities of the Federal
President.
The same applies if the position of the Federal President is
continuously
deficient.cralaw:red
(2) The committee entrusted
with the exercise of the Federal President's functions according to
Paragraph
(1) decides by majority vote. Chairmanship of the committee and its
public
representation belong to the President of the House of Representatives.cralaw:red
(3) Is one or are two of
the House of Representatives' Presidents prevented from the discharge
of
their responsibilities or is their position continuously deficient, the
committee constitutes a quorum even without their participation; in the
event of a tied vote, the President senior in rank has the casting vote.cralaw:red
(4) If the position of the
Federal President is continuously deficient, the Federal Government
shall
immediately arrange the election of the new Federal President; after
the
ensuing election, the committee shall without delay convoke the Federal
Assembly for the affirmation of the Federal President.
ARTICLE
65Functions
(1) The Federal President
represents the Republic internationally, receives and accredits envoys,
sanctions the appointment of foreign consuls, appoints the consular
representatives
of the Republic abroad, and concludes treaties. At the time of
conclusion
of a treaty not falling under Article 50, he can direct that the treaty
in question shall be implemented by the issue of ordinances.cralaw:red
(2) Furthermore, the following
powers - notwithstanding the powers assigned to him by other provisions
of this Constitution - are vested in the President:
(a) to
appoint federal
civil
servants, including officers as well as other federal functionaries,
and
to bestow official titles on them;
(b) to
create and
to bestow
professional titles;
(c) in
individual
cases to
pardon persons sentenced without further resources of appeal, to
mitigate
and commute sentences pronounced by the courts, as an act of grace to
annul
sentences and to grant remission from their legal consequences, and
moreover
to quash criminal proceedings in actions subject to prosecution ex
officio;
and
(d) on
the petition
of parents
to declare illegitimate children legitimate.
(3) Special laws provide to
what extent powers are additionally vested in the Federal President
with
respect to the grant of honorary privileges, extraordinary
gratifications,
allowances and pensions, the right to nominate and confirm persons in
appointments,
and to exercise other powers in personnel matters.
ARTICLE
66Authorization
(1) The Federal President
can assign to the competent members of the Federal Government the right
vested in him to appoint certain categories of federal civil servants.cralaw:red
(2) The Federal President
can authorize the Federal Government or the competent members of the
Federal
Government to conclude certain categories of treaties which do not fall
under the terms of Article 50; such an authorization extends also to
the
power to issue ordinances in accordance with Article 65 (1) second
sentence.
ARTICLE
67Recommendation,
Countersignature
(1) Save as otherwise provided
by the Constitution, all official acts of the Federal President shall
be
based on recommendation by the Federal Government or the Federal
Minister
authorized by it. The law provides to what extent the Federal
Government
or the competent Federal Minister is herein dependent on
recommendations
from other quarters.cralaw:red
(2) Save as otherwise provided
by the Constitution, all official acts of the Federal President require
for their validity the countersignature of the Federal Chancellor or
the
competent Federal Minister.
ARTICLE
68Responsibility
(1) Pursuant to Article 142,
the Federal President is responsible to the Federal Assembly for the
exercise
of his functions.cralaw:red
(2) To assert this responsibility,
the Federal Assembly shall on the vote of the House of Representatives
or the Senate be convoked by the Federal Chancellor.cralaw:red
(3) The presence of more
than half the members of each of the two representative bodies and a
majority
of two thirds of the votes cast is requisite to a vote whereby a
charge,
consonant with Article 142, is proffered against the Federal President.
TITLE 2The
Federal
GovernmentARTICLE
69Government
(1) The Federal Chancellor,
the Vice-Chancellor, and the other Federal Ministers are entrusted with
the highest administrative business of the Federation in so far as this
is not assigned to the Federal President. They constitute as a body the
Federal Government under the chairmanship of the Federal Chancellor.cralaw:red
(2) The Vice-Chancellor is
entitled to deputize for the Federal Chancellor in his entire sphere of
competence. Should the Federal Chancellor and the Vice-Chancellor
simultaneously
be prevented from the discharge of their responsibilities, the Federal
President entrusts a member of the Federal Government to deputize for
the
Federal Chancellor.
ARTICLE
70Appointment
(1) The Federal Chancellor
and, on his recommendation, the other members of the Federal Government
are appointed by the Federal President. No recommendation is requisite
to the dismissal of the Federal Chancellor or the whole Federal
Government;
the dismissal of individual members of the Federal Government ensues on
the recommendation of the Federal Chancellor. The appointment of the
Federal
Chancellor or the whole Federal Government is countersigned by the
newly-appointed
Federal Chancellor; dismissal requires no countersignature.cralaw:red
(2) Only persons eligible
for the House of Representatives can be appointed Federal Chancellor,
Vice-Chancellor,
or Federal Minister; members of the Federal Government need not belong
to the House of Representatives.cralaw:red
(3) Should a new Federal
Government be appointed by the Federal President at a time when the
House
of Representatives is not in session, he must convoke the House of
Representatives
for an extraordinary session [Article 28 (2)] to meet within one week
for
the purpose of introducing the new Federal Government.
ARTICLE
71Interim
Government
Should the Federal Government
have left office, the Federal President shall entrust members of the
outgoing
Government or senior civil servants of the Federal departments with
continuation
of the administration and one of them with the chairmanship of the
provisional
Federal Government until the formation of the new Federal Government.
This
provision applies analogously if individual members of the Federal
Government
have left office.
ARTICLE
72Affirmation
(1) Before assuming office,
the members of the Federal Government render an affirmation to the
Federal
President. The addition of a religious assertion is admissible.cralaw:red
(2) The instruments of appointment
for the Federal Chancellor, the Vice-Chancellor, and the other Federal
Ministers are executed by the Federal President on the day of the
affirmation
and are countersigned by the newly appointed Federal Chancellor.cralaw:red
(3) These provisions shall
apply analogously to the cases mentioned in Article 71.
ARTICLE
73Deputy
Minister
Should a Federal Minister
be temporarily prevented from discharging his responsibilities, the
Federal
President entrusts one of the other Federal Ministers or a senior civil
servant of a Federal department to deputize for the Minister. This
deputy
carries the same responsibility as a Federal Minister (Article 76).
ARTICLE
74Vote of
No
Confidence
(1) If the House of Representatives
passes an explicit vote of no confidence in the Federal Government or
individual
members thereof, the Federal Government or the Federal Minister
concerned
shall be removed from office.cralaw:red
(2) The presence of half
of the members of the House of Representatives is required for a vote
of
no confidence. Voting shall be adjourned until the next working day but
one if one fifth of the members present so demands. Another adjournment
of the division can ensue only from a decision by the House of
Representatives.cralaw:red
(3) Notwithstanding the power
otherwise vested in the Federal President in accordance with Article 70
(1), the Federal Government or its individual members shall in the
legally
specified contingencies or at their own wish be removed from office.
ARTICLE
75Presence
of
Government
The members of the Federal
Government as well as the Secretaries of State are entitled to
participate
in all deliberations by the House of Representatives, the Senate, and
the
Federal Assembly as well as the committees of these representative
bodies,
but only at special invitation in the deliberations by the Standing
Sub-Committee
of the House of Representatives' Main Committee and by the House of
Representatives'
Committees of Inquiry. On each occasion they must, in accordance with
the
detailed provisions of the federal law on the House of Representatives'
Standing Orders and the Senate's Standing Orders, at their request be
given
a hearing. The House of Representatives, the Senate, and the Federal
Assembly
as well as their committees can require attendance by members of the
Federal
Government and request them to initiate investigations.
ARTICLE
76Responsibility
(1) Pursuant to Article 142,
the members of the Federal Government (Articles 69 and 71) are
responsible
to the House of Representatives.cralaw:red
(2) The presence of more
than half the members is required for a motion which proffers a charge
pursuant to Article 142.
ARTICLE
77Federal
Ministries
(1) The Federal Ministries
and the authorities subordinate to them shall perform the business of
the
Federal administration.cralaw:red
(2) The number of the Federal
Ministries, their competence, and their internal organization will be
prescribed
by federal law.cralaw:red
(3) The Federal Chancellor
is entrusted with the direction of the Federal Chancellery and a
Federal
Minister is entrusted with the direction of each of the other Federal
Ministries.
The Federal President can assign to special Federal Ministers the
direction
of particular matters which fall within the Federal Chancellery's
competence,
including the personnel establishment and organization of such
business,
notwithstanding that these matters continue to belong to the Federal
Chancellery;
such Federal Ministers have, in respect of the matters in question, the
status of a competent Federal Minister.cralaw:red
(4) The Federal Chancellor
and other Federal Ministers can exceptionally be entrusted with the
direction
of a second Federal Ministry.
ARTICLE
78Special
Ministers,
Secretaries
of State
(1) In special cases, Federal
Ministers can be appointed without at the same time being put in charge
of a Federal Ministry.cralaw:red
(2) Secretaries of State,
who are appointed and leave office in the same way as Federal
Ministers,
can be attached to Federal Ministers for assistance in the conduct of
business
and to deputize for them in Parliament.cralaw:red
(3) A Secretary of State
is subordinate to a Federal Minister and bound by his instructions.
TITLE 3The
Federal ArmyARTICLE
79Military
Defence,
Other
Functions
(1) The country' s military
defence is the duty of the Federal Army.cralaw:red
(2) The Federal Army, in
so far as the lawful civil power claims its co-operation, has
furthermore:
1. over and
above the
sphere
of the country's military defence:
2. to render
assistance
in the case of natural catastrophes and disasters of exceptional
magnitude.
(3) Additional tasks of the
Federal Army will be prescribed by Federal constitutional law.
(4) The Defence Law regulates
which officials and authorities can lay direct claim to the
co-operation
of the Federal Army for the purposes mentioned in Paragraph (2).cralaw:red
(5) Intervention by the military
on its own initiative for the purposes mentioned in Paragraph (2) is
admissible
only if circumstances outside their control have put it beyond capacity
of the competent officials to effect intervention by the military and
irreparable
damage to the community at large would arise from a further wait or if
it concerns the repulse of an actual attack, or the elimination of
active
resistance directed against a section of the Federal Army.
ARTICLE
80Command
(1) Commander-in-Chief of
the Federal Army is the Federal President.cralaw:red
(2) Save in so far as the
Defence Law reserves disposal over the Federal Army to the Federal
President,
disposal over it lies with the competent Federal Minister within the
limits
of the authorization conferred on him by the Federal Government.cralaw:red
(3) Supreme command over
the Federal Army is exercised by the competent Federal Minister
[Article
76 (1)].
ARTICLE
81State
Participation
Federal law prescribes to
what extent the States participate in the recruitment, provisioning,
and
accommodation for the Army and the supply of its other requirements.
TITLE 4The
Federal School
AuthoritiesARTICLE
81aCompetence,
School
Boards
(1) The administration of
the Federation in the field of schooling and in the field of education
in matters of student hostels shall be undertaken by the competent
Federal
Minister and - in so far as neither the university and fine arts
academical
system nor the agricultural and forestry school system nor the forestry
and agricultural educational system in matters of student hostels are
concerned
- by the school authorities of the Federation subordinate to the
competent
Federal Minister. The Counties can, as part of the Federation's
assigned
sphere of competence, be called upon to maintain registers of those who
are of school-attendance age.cralaw:red
(2) A school authority shall
be established in each State and in each political District and be
known
as the State school board and the District school board respectively.
In
Vienna, the State school board shall also undertake the duties of the
District
school board and be known as the Vienna City School Board. The
applicable
sphere of competence for members of the State and District school
boards
shall be prescribed by federal law.cralaw:red
(3) The following guiding
principles shall apply to the establishment, to be prescribed by law,
of
the Federal school authorities:
(a)
Committees shall
be
appointed within the framework of the Federal school authorities
structure.
Committee members of the State school boards, with voting rights, shall
be appointed in proportion to party strength in the State Parliament,
committee
members of the District school boards, with voting rights, in
proportion
to the votes polled in the District by the parties represented in the
State
Parliament at the last State Parliament election. The appointment of
all
or some of the committee members by the State Parliament is admissible.
(b) The
president
of the
State school board is the State-Governor, the chairman of the District
school board is the head of the District administrative authority.
Should
the appointment of an executive State school board president be
foreseen
by law, he shall deputize for the president in all business which the
president
does not reserve to himself. Should the appointment of a vice-president
be prescribed by law, he is entitled to inspect documents and to offer
advice; such a vice-president shall in any case be appointed for those
five States which, in accordance with the result of the last census
taken
prior to this Federal constitutional law coming into force, have the
largest
number of inhabitants.
(c) The
terms of
reference
for the committees and the presidents of the State and District school
boards shall be regulated by law. The committees shall be competent to
issue rules and general instructions, to appoint officials and to
render
proposals for nominations as well as to render opinions on drafts of
laws
and ordinances.
(d) In
cases of
urgency which
do not admit of postponement until the committee's next meeting, the
president
shall take action in the sphere of competence allocated to the
committee
as of its business and without delay inform the committee of this.
(e)
Should for more
than
two months a committee lack a quorum, the tasks of the committee for
the
further period of its numerical incapacity devolve upon the president.
In these cases the president replaces the committee.
(4) Instructions [Article 20
(1)] cannot be given on matters which fall into the committees' sphere
of competence. This does not apply to instructions which forbid the
implementation
of a committee resolution as being contrary to law or which direct the
repeal of an ordinance issued by the committee. The reasons for such
instructions
shall be stated. In accordance with Article 129 [ff], the authority in
receipt of the instruction can on the basis of a committee resolution
immediately
make complaint to the Administrative Court.
(5) The competent Federal
Minister can control in person or through officials of the Federal
Ministry
in his charge the condition and performance of those schools and
student
hostels which are subordinate to the Federal Ministry by way of the
State
school board. Noticed shortcomings - in so far as they do not concern
such
in the sense of Article 14 (8) - shall be revealed to the State school
board for the purpose of their redress.
ARTICLE
81bProposals
(1) The State school board
shall render three sets of proposals:
(a) for
the filling of
Federation
vacancies for headmasters or headmistresses as well as other teachers
and
educational assistants at schools and student hostels subordinate to
the
State school boards;
(b) for
the filling
of Federation
vacancies for the school supervisory officials serving with the State
and
District school boards as well as for the appointment of teachers with
school supervisory functions; and
(c) for
the
appointment of
chairmen and members of the examination boards for the teaching diploma
at upper primary schools and special schools.
(2) The proposals in accordance
with Paragraph (1) shall be rendered, pursuant to Article 66 (1) or 67
(1) or by reason of other provisions, to the competent Federal
Minister.
The selection of individuals from among those proposed is incumbent on
the Federal Minister.
(3) Every State school board
shall establish eligibility and disciplinary school boards of first
instance
for headmasters or headmistresses and other teachers as well as
educational
assistants who are employees under public law of the Federation and are
employed at a school or student hostel subordinate to the State school
board. The details shall be prescribed by federal law.
PART BJurisdictionARTICLE
82Judgments
(1) The Federation is the
source of all jurisdiction.cralaw:red
(2) Judgments and decisions
are pronounced and drawn up in the name of the Republic.
ARTICLE
83Court
Organization,
Constitutional Judge
(1) The constitution and
competence of the courts is laid down by federal law.cralaw:red
(2) No one may be deprived
of his lawful judge.
ARTICLE
84Military
Tribunals
Military jurisdiction, except
in time of war, is repealed.
ARTICLE
85Capital
Punishment
Capital punishment is abolished.
ARTICLE
86Appointment
(1) Save as provided otherwise
by this law, judges are appointed pursuant to the proposal of the
Federal
Government by the Federal President or, by reason of his authorization,
by the competent Federal Minister; the Federal Government or the
Federal
Minister shall obtain proposals for appointment from the tribunals
competent
through the law on the organization of the courts.cralaw:red
(2) If a sufficient number
of candidates is available, the proposal for appointment to be
submitted
to the competent Federal Minister and to be forwarded by him to the
Federal
Government shall comprise at least three names, but if there is more
than
one vacancy to be filled at least twice as many names as there are
judges
to be appointed.
ARTICLE
87Independence
(1) Judges are independent
in the exercise of their judicial office.cralaw:red
(2) A judge is independent
in the exercise of his judicial office, during the performance of any
judicial
function properly his by law, and in the allocation of business, though
to the exclusion of the judiciary's administrative business which in
accordance
with the provisions of the law shall not be discharged by tribunals or
commissions.cralaw:red
(3) Business shall be allocated
in advance among the judges of a court for the period provided by the
law
on the organization of the courts. A matter devolving upon a judge in
accordance
with this allocation may be removed from his jurisdiction by decree of
the judiciary's administrative authorities only if he is prevented from
the discharge of his responsibilities.
ARTICLE
87aSmall
Business
(1) The performance of certain
kinds of business, which shall be exactly specified and fall within the
jurisdiction of a civil court of first instance, can by federal law be
assigned to specially trained employees of the Federation who are not
Judges.cralaw:red
(2) The judge competent in
accordance with the allocation of business can at any time reserve to
himself
or take over the discharge of such business.cralaw:red
(3) Employees of the Federation
who are not judges are bound in the performance of business specified
in
Paragraph (1) only by instructions from the judge competent in
accordance
with the allocation of business. Article 20 (1) third sentence applies.
ARTICLE
88Retirement,
Suspension
(1) The law on the organization
of the courts will prescribe an age limit upon whose attainment judges
will be put on the permanently retired list.cralaw:red
(2) Otherwise judges may
be removed from office or transferred against their will or
superannuated
only in the cases and ways prescribed by law and by reason of a formal
judicial decision. These provisions do not apply to transfers and
retirements
which become necessary through changes in the organization of the
courts.
In such a case the law will lay down within which period judges can,
without
the formalities otherwise prescribed, be transferred and superannuated.cralaw:red
(3) The temporary suspension
of judges from office may take place only by decree of the senior judge
or the higher judicial authority together with simultaneous reference
of
the matter to the competent court.
ARTICLE
89Judicial
Review of
Laws
(1) Save as otherwise provided
by this Article, the courts are not entitled to examine the validity of
duly published laws, ordinances, and treaties.cralaw:red
(2) Should a court have scruples
against the application of an ordinance on the ground of it being
contrary
to law, it shall file an application with the Constitutional Court for
rescission of this ordinance. Should the Supreme Court or a court of
second
instance competent to give judgment have scruples against the
application
of a law on the ground of its being unconstitutional, it shall file an
application with the Constitutional Court for rescission of this law.cralaw:red
(3) If the legal regulation
to be applied has already ceased to be in force, the Court's
application
to the Constitutional Court must request a decision that the legal
regulation
was contrary to law or unconstitutional.cralaw:red
(4) Paragraphs (2) and (3)
apply analogously to treaties as provided in Article 140a.cralaw:red
(5) Federal law shall determine
what effects an application pursuant to Paragraphs (2), (3), or (4) has
on the pending legal proceedings.
ARTICLE
90Publicity,
Indictment
(1) Hearings in civil and
criminal cases are oral and public. Exceptions are regulated by law.cralaw:red
(2) In criminal proceedings,
the procedure is by indictment.
ARTICLE
91Juries
in Criminal
Proceedings
(1) The people shall participate
in the administration of justice.cralaw:red
(2) A jury returns a verdict
upon the guilt of the accused in crimes entailing severe penalties, to
be specified by law, and in all cases of political felonies and
misdemeanors.cralaw:red
(3) In criminal proceedings
for other punishable offenses Jurors take part in the administration of
justice if the penalty to be imposed exceeds a limit to be determined
by
law.
ARTICLE
92Supreme
Court
(1) The Supreme Court is
the court of final instance in civil and criminal suits.cralaw:red
(2) Members of the Federal
Government, a State government, or a popular representative body cannot
be members of the Supreme Court. For members of a popular
representative
body elected for a fixed term of legislation or office such
incompatibility
continues until the expiry of that term of legislation or office even
though
they prematurely renounce their seat. Anyone who during the preceding
four
years has exercised one of the aforesaid functions cannot be appointed
President or Vice-President of the Supreme Court.
ARTICLE
93Pardons
Pardons for acts punishable
by the courts are extended by federal law.
ARTICLE
94Separation
of
Powers
Judicial and administrative
powers shall be separate at all levels of proceedings.
CHAPTER
IVLegislation
and
Execution
by the StatesPART AGeneral
ProvisionsARTICLE
95State
Parliaments
(1) The legislation of the
States is carried out by the State Parliaments. Their members are
elected
on the basis of proportional representation by equal, direct, secret,
and
personal suffrage of all male and female federal nationals who in
accordance
with the State Parliament electoral regulations are entitled to vote
and
who have their domicile in the State concerned. The provision of
Article
26 (1) last sentence applies analogously; the reasons which are held to
excuse abstention may not be more restrictive than in the electoral
regulations
for the House of Representatives.cralaw:red
(2) The State Parliament
electoral regulations may not impose more stringent conditions for
suffrage
and electoral eligibility than the electoral regulations for the House
of Representatives.cralaw:red
(3) The voters exercise their
franchise in constituencies each of which must comprise a territorial
unit.
The number of members shall be divided among the constituencies in
proportion
to the number of nationals. A division of the electorate into other
electoral
bodies is not admissible.cralaw:red
(4) Public employees, including
members of the Federal Army, who seek a seat in or are elected for
membership
of a State Parliament shall be granted the time necessary for
canvassing
or fulfilling their membership duties. Service regulations will lay
down
details.
ARTICLE
96Immunity
(1) The members of a State
Parliament enjoy the same immunity as the members of the House of
Representatives,
the provisions of Article 57 apply analogously.cralaw:red
(2) The provisions of Articles
32 and 33 apply to the meetings of State Parliaments and their
committees.
ARTICLE
97State
Legislation
(1) A State law requires
a vote by a State Parliament, authentication and countersignature in
accordance
with the provisions of the State concerned, and publication by the
State-Governor
in the State Law Gazette.cralaw:red
(2) Inasmuch as a State law
foresees in its execution the cooperation of Federal authorities, the
approval
of the Federal Government must be obtained. The approval shall be
deemed
given if within eight weeks from the day of the enactment's receipt at
the Federal Chancellery the Federal Government has not informed the
State-Governor
that the cooperation of the Federal authorities is refused. Before the
expiry of this deadline publication of the enactment may only ensue if
the Federal Government has expressly agreed.
ARTICLE
98Notification,
Objection
(1) All State Parliament
enactments shall, immediately after they have been passed by a State
Parliament,
be notified by the State-Governor to the competent Federal Ministry
prior
to their publication.cralaw:red
(2) The Federal Government
can within eight weeks from the day of an enactment's receipt at the
Federal
Chancellery enter a reasoned objection to a State Parliament enactment
as endangering Federal interests. If the Federation was prior to the
initiation
of the legislative procedure for enactment given opportunity to comment
on the draft bill, the objection may only be founded on an alleged
encroachment
on the Federation's competence. In case of an objection, the law may
only
be published if the State Parliament in the presence of at least half
the
members once more votes its enactment.cralaw:red
(3) Publication prior to
expiry of the deadline for objection is admissible only if the Federal
Government expressly agrees.cralaw:red
(4) The provisions of the
Constitutional Finance Law apply to State Parliament enactments which
deal
with taxation.
ARTICLE
99State
Constitutions
(1) The State Constitution
to be enacted by a State constitutional law can, inasmuch as the
Federal
Constitution is not affected thereby, be amended by State
constitutional
law.cralaw:red
(2) A State constitutional
law can be passed only in the presence of half the members of the State
Parliament and with a two thirds majority of the votes cast.
ARTICLE
100Dissolution
(1) Every State Parliament
can be dissolved by the Federal President at the request of the Federal
Government and with the sanction of the Senate. The motion in the
Senate
must be carried in the presence of half the members and with a two
thirds
majority of the votes cast. The representatives of the State whose
State
Parliament is to be dissolved may not participate in the division.cralaw:red
(2) In case of dissolution,
writs for new elections shall be issued within three weeks in
accordance
with the provisions of the State constitution; the convocation of the
newly
elected State Parliament must take place within four weeks after the
election.
ARTICLE
10State
Government
(1) The executive power in
each State is exercised by a State Government to be elected by the
State
Parliament.cralaw:red
(2) The members of a State
Government need not belong to the State Parliament. Nevertheless, only
persons eligible for the State Parliament can be elected to membership
of the State Government.cralaw:red
(3) The State Government
consists of the State-Governor, the requisite number of deputies, and
other
members.cralaw:red
(4) Before assumption of
office, the State-Governor renders to the Federal President, the other
members of the State Government render to the State-Governor, an
affirmation
with respect to the Federal Constitution. The addition of a religious
assertion
is admissible.
ARTICLE
102State-Governor
(1) In the sphere of the
States, in so far as no direct federal administration exists, the
State-Governor
and the State authorities subordinate to him exercise the executive
power
of the Federation. In so far as federal authorities, especially Federal
public safety authorities, are entrusted with the execution of matters
which are performed as indirect Federal administration, these federal
authorities
are subordinate to the State-Governor and bound by his instructions
[Article
20 (1)]; whether and to what extent such federal authorities are
entrusted
with executive acts is regulated by federal laws; these may, in so far
as they do not concern the mandate stated in Paragraph (2), only be
published
with the sanction of the States concerned.cralaw:red
(2) The following matters
can, within the framework of the constitutionally established sphere of
competence, be directly performed by the federal authorities:
-
demarcation of
frontiers,
trade in goods and livestock with other countries, customs regulation
and
control of entry into and exit from federal territory,
- Federal
finances
monopolies,
the weights and measures, standards and hallmark system, technical
experiments,
-
administration of
justice,
passports, residence registration,
- matters
of
weapons, ammunition
and explosives as well as the use of fire-arms,
- patent
matters
and the
protection of designs, trade marks, and other commodity descriptions,
- the
traffic
system, river
and navigation police, the postal and telecommunications system,
mining,
Danube control and conservation, regulation of torrents, construction
and
maintenance of waterways,
-
surveying, labor
legislation,
social insurance, the preservation of monuments,
-
operation and
conduct of
the Federal police and the Federal gendarmerie, including the
exceptional
circumstances where on the day of entry into force of this Federal
Constitutional
Law the local sphere of competence for a Federal public safety
authority
does not coincide with the territory of a Federal State,
- the
maintenance
of peace,
order and security, excluding the local public safety authorities,
- Press
affairs,
matters
of association and assembly, and the aliens police,
-
military affairs,
welfare
measures for combatants and their dependents,
-
population policy
in so
far as it concerns the grant of children's allowances and the
organization
of burden equalization on behalf of families schooling as well as
education
in matters of pupil and student hostels with the exception of
agricultural
and forestry education in matters of student hostels.
(3) The Federation remains entitled
to delegate to the State-Governor its executive power also in the
matters
enumerated in Paragraph (2).
(4) The establishment of
federal authorities for matters other than those specified in Paragraph
(2) above can ensue only with the sanction of the States concerned.cralaw:red
(5) No other regional authority
may set up and maintain a constabulary in the local sphere of
competence
of a Federal public safety administration to which a Federal police
force
is attached. The dissolution of constabularies whose establishment or
continuance
is contrary to this provision falls under the executive power of the
Federation.cralaw:red
(6) The establishment of
Federal public safety authorities, the definition of their local sphere
of competence and of their substantive sphere of competence in
administrative
fields which in accordance with Article 10 provide for execution by
Federal
public safety authorities, as well as the issue of a special service
code
for their officials ensue on Federal Government ordinance. In so far as
such an authority is to be assigned the performance of matters which
fall
into the autonomous sphere of execution by a State, the ordinance can
be
issued only if the assignment of such business to the Federal public
safety
authority has been enunciated in a law of the State in question.cralaw:red
(7) Should in particular
Counties the need arise to take special measures because of danger to
public
peace and order, the competent Federal Minister can for the duration of
the danger entrust special Federal officials with these measures.
ARTICLE
103Instructions
(1) In matters of the indirect
Federal administration the State-Governor is bound by instructions from
the Federal Government and individual Federal Ministers (Article 20)
and
he is obliged, in order to effect the implementation of such
instructions,
to employ the powers available to him in his capacity as a functionary
of the State's autonomous sphere of competence.cralaw:red
(2) A State Government, when
it draws up its Standing Orders, can decide that specific categories of
business of the indirect Federal administration shall be conducted by
members
of the State Government in the name of the State-Governor because of
their
substantive relationship with matters of the State's autonomous sphere
of competence. In such business the members concerned of the State
Government
are as much bound by the instructions of the State-Governor (Article
20)
as is the latter by the instructions of the Federal Government or
individual
Federal Ministers.cralaw:red
(3) Instructions issued by
the Federal Government or individual Federal Ministers in accordance
with
Paragraph (1) shall also in instances falling under Paragraph (2) be
addressed
to the State-Governor. The latter, should he not himself be conducting
the relevant business of the indirect Federal administration, is
responsible
[Article 142 (2)(d)] for passing the instruction in writing without
delay
and unaltered to the State Government member concerned and for
supervising
its implementation. If the instruction is not complied with although
the
State-Governor has made the necessary arrangements, the State
Government
member concerned is, pursuant to Article 142, responsible to the
Federal
Government as well.cralaw:red
(4) In matters of indirect
Federal administration, in so far as it is the State-Governor's
responsibility
as the appeal authority to reach a decision and federal law because of
the matter's importance does not exceptionally provide otherwise, the
State-Governor
is the final instance of appeal; if the decision rests in the first
instance
with the State-Governor, the stages of administrative appeal in matters
of the indirect Federal administration extend, unless provided
otherwise
by federal law, to the competent Federal Minister.
ARTICLE
104Assignment
(1) The provisions of Article
102 shall not apply to agencies for the performance of Federal business
specified in Article 17.cralaw:red
(2) Nonetheless, the Federal
Minister entrusted with the administration of Federal assets can assign
the performance of such business to a State-Governor and the
authorities
subordinate to him. Such an assignment can at any time be revoked in
part
or in whole. To what extent in exceptional instances the Federation
makes
recompense for the accrued costs of performing such business will be
regulated
by federal law.
ARTICLE
105Representation,
Deputy
State-Governor, Responsibility
(1) The State-Governor represents
the State. In matters of the indirect Federal administration, he is,
pursuant
to Article 142, responsible to the Federal Government. The
State-Governor
has a member of the State Government as Deputy State-Governor selected
by the State Government to substitute him. This appointment shall be
notified
to the Federal Chancellor. Should the need for substitution occur, the
member of the State Government appointed as substitute is, pursuant to
Article 142, likewise responsible to the Federal Government in matters
of the indirect Federal administration. Immunity does not bar
responsibility
on the part of the State-Governor or the member of the State
Government,
who acts for him. Immunity also does not bar responsibility on the part
of a member of the State Government in a case arising under Article 103
(3).cralaw:red
(2) The members of the State
Government are responsible to the State Parliament pursuant to Article
142.cralaw:red
(3) A vote to prefer a charge
within the meaning of Article 142 requires the presence of half the
members.
ARTICLE
106State
Administrative
Director
An administrative civil servant
with legal training will be appointed to take charge as State
Administrative
Director of the State Government Office's internal services. He is also
the official assistant of the State-Governor in matters of the indirect
Federal administration.
ARTICLE
107[-]PART BThe
Federal
Capital,
ViennaARTICLE
108Institutions,
Offices
For the Federal capital,
Vienna, in its capacity as a State, the County Parliament has the
additional
function of a State Parliament, the Town Senate the function of a State
Government, the Mayor the function of the State-Governor, the
Magistrate
the function of the State Government Office, and the Magistrate
Director
the function of the State Administrative Director.
ARTICLE
109Appeal
In the State Vienna the chain
of appeal in matters of the indirect Federal administration, unless
precluded
by federal law, is from the Magistrate acting as District
administrative
authority or, in so far as federal authorities are in the first
instance
entrusted with their execution [Article 102 (1) second sentence], from
them to the Mayor in his capacity as State-Governor; in other respects
Article 103 (4) applies.
ARTICLE
110Administrative
Tribunal
The administrative tribunal
to be constituted pursuant to Article 11 (5) at the Magistrate of the
Federal
capital, Vienna, in its capacity as the State Government Office, for
the
delivery of judgments as authority of last resort in administrative
penal
business within the State's autonomous sphere of competence shall at
the
same time also undertake the delivery of judgments as authority of last
resort in administrative penal business of the indirect Federal
administration;
in these cases the Mayor, in his capacity as State-Governor, is
competent
to exercise the right of clemency on the ground of recommendations by
the
administrative penal tribunals.
ARTICLE
111Special
Committees
The final decision in matters
of building and taxation lies with special committees of officials.
Their
composition and appointment will be prescribed by State law.
ARTICLE
112
Except for the provisions
in Articles 108 to 111, the provisions in Part C of this Chapter apply
to the Federal capital, Vienna, with the exception of Article 119 (4),
119a. Article 142 (2)(d) also applies to the conduct of the sphere of
competence
assigned by the Federation to the Federal capital, Vienna.
Article
113[-]Article
114[-]PART CCountiesARTICLE
115Local
Counties,
Competence
(1) In so far as in the following
Articles the term County is used, the reference is to be taken as
meaning
Local County.cralaw:red
(2) Save as competence on
the part of the Federation is expressly stipulated, State legislation
shall
prescribe laws of Counties in accordance with the principles of the
Articles
contained in this Part. Competence for the settlement of matters which,
pursuant to Articles 118 and 119, are to be performed by the Counties,
will be determined in accordance with the general provisions of this
Federal
Constitutional Law.
ARTICLE
116Self-Administration
(1) Every State is divided
into Counties. The County is a territorial corporate body entitled to
self-administration
while being at the same time an administrative local district. Every
piece
of State must form part of a County.cralaw:red
(2) The County is an independent
economic entity. It is entitled, within the limits of the laws of the
Federation
and the States, to possess assets of all kinds, to acquire and to
dispose
of such at will, to operate economic enterprises as well as to manage
its
budget independently within the framework of the constitutional finance
provisions and to levy taxation.cralaw:red
(3) A County with at least
20,000 inhabitants shall, at its own request, if State interests are
not
thereby jeopardized, be awarded its own charter by way of State
legislation.
Such an enactment may only be published with Federal Government
approval.
This shall be deemed given if the Federal Government, within eight
weeks
from the day of the enactment's arrival at the competent Federal
Ministry,
has not informed the State-Governor that the approval is refused. A
town
with its own charter shall perform besides its local administrative
duties
also those of the District administration.cralaw:red
(4) The formation of County
Associations for specific purposes can be planned on the basis of the
competent
legislation (Articles 10 to 15). In so far as such County Associations
are to undertake matters within the County's own sphere of competence,
the members of the County Association shall be accorded decisive
influence
upon the performance of the association's functions. The Counties
concerned
shall be given a hearing prior to the formation of County Associations
by way of an executive measure.
ARTICLE
117Authorities,
Elections
(1) The authorities of the
County shall in every instance include:
(a) the
County
Parliament,
being a popular representative body to be elected by those entitled to
vote in the County
(b) the
County
Board, also
known as the Town Council or, in towns with their own charter, the Town
Senate, and
(c) the
Mayor.
(2) Elections to the County
Parliament take place on the basis of proportional representation by
equal,
direct, secret, and personal suffrage of all Federal nationals who have
their domicile in the County. In the electoral regulations the
conditions
for suffrage and electoral eligibility may not be more restrictive than
in the electoral regulations for the State Parliament. It can be
provided,
however, that individuals who have not yet been residents in the County
for at least one year shall not be entitled to vote or to stand for
election
to the County Parliament if their residence in the County is manifestly
temporary. The provisions about compulsory voting in the elections to
the
State Parliament [Article 95 (1) last sentence] apply analogously to
elections
to the County Parliament. The electoral regulations can provide that
the
voters exercise their suffrage in constituencies each of which must
comprise
a territorial unit. A division of the electorate into other electoral
bodies
is not admissible.
(3) A simple majority by
members present in sufficient numbers to form a quorum is requisite to
a vote by the County Parliament; for certain matters, though, other
requirements
for the adoption of resolutions can be provided.cralaw:red
(4) Meetings of the County
Parliament are public, but provision can be made for exceptions. The
public
may not be excluded when the County Budget or the County's final
accounts
are on the agenda.cralaw:red
(5) Electoral parties represented
in the County Parliament have a claim to representation on the County
Board
in accordance with their strength.cralaw:red
(6) The business of the Counties
will be performed by the County Administration or Town Administration,
that of towns with their own charter by the Magistrate. A civil servant
with legal training shall be appointed to take charge as Magistrate
Director
of the Magistrate's internal services.
ARTICLE
118Competencies
(1) A County has its own
sphere of competence and one assigned to it either by the Federation or
the State.cralaw:red
(2) Its own sphere of competence
comprises, apart from the matters mentioned in Article 116 (2), all
matters
exclusively or preponderantly concerning the local community as
personified
by a County, and suited to performance by the community within its
local
boundaries. Legislation shall expressly specify matters of that kind as
being such falling within the County's own sphere of competence.cralaw:red
(3) A County is guaranteed
official responsibility in its own sphere of competence particularly
for
performance of the following matters:
1.
appointment of the
local
authorities, notwithstanding the competence of selection boards at a
higher
level; settlement of the internal arrangements for performance of the
County
functions;
2.
appointment of
the County
staff and exercise of the official responsibility over them,
notwithstanding
the competence of disciplinary, eligibility, and investigatory
commissions
at a higher level;
3. local
public
safety administration
(Article 15 (2)), local events control;
4.
administration
of County
traffic areas, local traffic police;
5. crops
protection
police;
6. local
market
police;
7. local
sanitary
police,
especially in the field of emergency and first aid services as well as
matters of deaths and interment;
8. public
decency;
9. local
building
police
excluding federally owned buildings which serve public purposes
[Article
15 (5)]; local fire control; local environment planning;
10.
public services
for extra-judicial
settlement of disputes; and
11.
debtors' sale
of goods.
(4) The County shall perform
the business for which it is competent within the framework of the laws
and ordinances of the Federation and the State on its own
responsibility
free from instructions and - subject to the provisos of Article 119a
(5)
- to the exclusion of legal redress to administrative authorities
outside
the County. A right of supervision (Article 119a) pertains to the
Federation
and to the State over the County with respect to its performance in its
own sphere of competence. The provisions of Article 12 (2) remain
unaffected.
(5) The Mayor, the members
of the County Board, and, if appointed, other County officials are
responsible
to the County Parliament for the performance of their functions
relating
to the County's own sphere of competence.cralaw:red
(6) The County is entitled
in matters of its own sphere of competence to issue on its own
initiative
local police ordinances for the prevention or elimination of nuisances
interfering with local community life as well as to declare
non-compliance
with them an administrative contravention. Such ordinances may not
violate
existent laws and ordinances of the Federation and State.cralaw:red
(7) On application by a County,
the performance of certain matters in its own sphere of competence can,
in accordance with Article 119a (3), be assigned by ordinance of the
State
Government or by ordinance of the State-Governor to a state authority.
In so far as such an ordinance is meant to assign competence to a
Federal
authority, it requires the approval of the Federal Government. In so
far
as such an ordinance by the State-Governor is meant to assign
competence
to a State authority, it requires the approval of the State Government.
Such an ordinance shall be rescinded as soon as the reason for its
issue
has ceased. Assignment does not extend to the right to issue ordinances
in accordance with Paragraph (6).
ARTICLE
119Assignment
(1) The assigned sphere of
competence comprises those matters which the County, in accordance with
federal laws, must undertake at the order and in accordance with the
instructions
of the Federation or in accordance with State laws at the order and in
accordance with instructions of the State.cralaw:red
(2) The business of the assigned
sphere of competence is performed by the Mayor. In doing so, he is in
matters
of Federal execution bound by instructions from the competent Federal
authorities,
in matters of State execution by instructions from the competent State
authorities, he is responsible in accordance with Paragraph (4).cralaw:red
(3) The Mayor can, without
deviation from his responsibility, on account of their factual
connection
with matters of the County's own sphere of competence transfer
individual
categories of matters of the assigned sphere of competence to members
of
the County Board other authorities created in accordance with Article
117
(1), or members of official bodies for performance in his name. In
these
matters the authorities concerned or their members are bound by the
instructions
of the Mayor and responsible in accordance with Paragraph (4).cralaw:red
(4) In so far as malice or
gross negligence can be laid to their charge, the authorities named in
Paragraphs (2) and (3) can on account of breach of law as well as on
account
of non-compliance with an ordinance or instruction be declared to have
forfeited their office, by the State-Governor if they were acting in
the
field of Federal execution, by the State Government if they were acting
in the field of State execution. Should such a person belong to the
County
Parliament, the membership is not affected.
ARTICLE
119aSupervision
(1) The Federation and the
State exercise the right of supervision over a County to the purpose
that
it does not infringe laws and ordinances in dealing with its own sphere
of competence, in particular does not overstep its sphere of
competence,
and fulfills the duties legally devolving upon it.cralaw:red
(2) The State has the right
to examine the financial administration of a County with respect to its
thrift, efficiency, and expediency. The result of the examination shall
be conveyed to the Mayor for submission to the County Parliament. The
Mayor
shall within three months inform the supervisory authority of the
measures
taken by reason of the result of the check.cralaw:red
(3) In so far as a County's
own sphere of competence comprises matters deriving from the sphere of
Federal execution, the right of supervision and its legislative
regulation
lie with the Federation, in other respects with the States, the right
of
supervision shall be exercised by the authorities of the ordinary
public
administration.cralaw:red
(4) The supervisory authority
is entitled to inform itself about every kind of County business. The
County
is bound to give the information demanded in individual cases by the
supervisory
authority and to allow examination to be conducted on the spot.cralaw:red
(5) Whoever alleges infringement
of his rights through the ruling of a local authority in matters
belonging
to its own sphere of competence can, after exhausting all channels of
appeal
[Article 118 (4)], within two weeks after issuing of the ruling make
representations
against it to the supervisory authority. The latter shall rescind the
ruling
if the right of the intervener has been infringed and remand the matter
to the County. For towns with their own charter, the competent
legislature
[Paragraph (3)] can direct that representation to the supervisory
authority.cralaw:red
(6) The County shall without
delay advise the supervisory authority of ordinances issued in its own
sphere of competence. The supervisory authority shall, after a hearing
of the County, rescind ordinances which are contrary to law and advise
the County of the reasons.cralaw:red
(7) In so far as the competent
legislature [Paragraph (3)] contemplates the dissolution of the County
Parliament as a supervisory expedient, this measure rests with the
State
Government in exercise of the State's right of supervision, with the
State-Governor
in exercise of the Federation's right of supervision. The admissibility
of effecting a substitution shall be restricted to cases of absolute
necessity.
Supervisory expedients shall be applied with greatest possible
consideration
for third parties' acquired rights.cralaw:red
(8) Individual measures to
be taken by a County in its own sphere of competence, but which to a
certain
degree affect extra-local interests particularly such having a distinct
financial bearing, can be tied by the competent legislature [Paragraph
(3)] to a sanction on the part of the supervisory authority. Only a
state
of affairs which unequivocally justifies the preference of extra-local
interests may come into consideration as a reason for withholding the
sanction.cralaw:red
(9) The County has the status
of a party to supervisory authority proceedings; it is entitled to
lodge
complaints with the Administrative Court (Articles 131 and 132) and
with
the Constitutional Court (Article 144) against the supervisory
authority.cralaw:red
(10) This Article applies
analogously to supervision of County Associations in so far as these
perform
matters pertaining to a County's own sphere of competence [Article 116
(4)].
ARTICLE
120Local
and Regional
Counties
The combination of Local
Counties into Regional Counties, their establishment in line with the
pattern
of self-administration, and the determination of other principles for
the
organization of the ordinary public administration in the States is the
business of Federal constitutional legislation; its implementation
devolves
upon the State legislatures. Settlement of the competence in matters
pertaining
to the service code for and staff representation rights of the
employees
of Regional Counties is the business of Federal constitutional
legislation.
CHAPTER VControl
of Public
Accountsand
Administration
of
Public FundsARTICLE
121Auditing
Board
(1) The Auditing Board is
competent to examine the administration of public funds by Federation,
States, County Associations, Counties and other legal entities
determined
by law.cralaw:red
(2) The Auditing Board draws
up the final Federal budget accounts and submits them to the House of
Representatives.
The contents of the final Federal budget accounts may not be published
before the beginning of the debate thereon in the House of
Representatives.cralaw:red
(3) All vouchers about financial
debts of the Federation, in so far as they result in liability on the
part
of the Federation, shall be countersigned by the President of the
Auditing
Board or, should he be impeded, by his deputy. The countersignature
guarantees
only the legality of the debt incurred and its proper entry in the
National
Debt ledger.
ARTICLE
122Responsibility,
Independence,
Establishment
(1) The Auditing Board is
directly subordinate to the House of Representatives. It acts in
matters
pertaining to Federal administration of public funds as agent for the
House
of Representatives, in matters pertaining to States, County
Associations,
and local administration of public funds as agent for the State
Parliament
concerned.cralaw:red
(2) The Auditing Board is
independent of the Federal Government and the State Governments and
subject
only to the provisions of the law.cralaw:red
(3) The Auditing Board consists
of a President, a Vice-President, and the requisite officials and
auxiliary
personnel.cralaw:red
(4) The President and Vice-President
of the Auditing Board are elected on the proposal of the Main Committee
of the House of Representatives. Before their assumption of office they
render an affirmation to the Federal President.cralaw:red
(5) The President and the
Vice-President of the Auditing Board may neither belong to any popular
representative body nor may they, during the past four years, have held
office in the Federal Government.
ARTICLE
123President
of the
Board
(1) With regard to accountability,
the President of the Auditing Board has the same status as members of
the
Federal Government or members of the State Government concerned,
depending
on whether the Auditing Board acts as agent of the House of
Representatives
or a State Parliament.cralaw:red
(2) The President and/or
the Vice-President of the Auditing Board can be relieved of office by a
vote of the House of Representatives.
ARTICLE
123aParticipation
in
Debates
(1) The President and the
Vice-President of the Auditing Board are entitled to participate in the
debates by the House of Representatives and its committees
(sub-committees)
on reports by the Auditing Board, on the final Federal budget accounts,
and on the sections relating to the Auditing Board in the Federal
Finance
bill.cralaw:red
(2) The President of the
Auditing Board has, in accordance with the detailed provisions of the
Federal
law on the House of Representatives' Standing Orders, always the right
to be heard at his own request in the debates on the subjects listed in
Paragraph (1).
ARTICLE
124Temporary
Discharge
(1) Should the President
of the Auditing Board be prevented from the discharge of his
responsibilities,
the Vice-President will act for him, and if the Vice-President too is
impeded,
the senior official of the Auditing Board will deputize. This also
holds
good if the office of President is vacant. Who shall act in the House
of
Representatives as deputy for the President of the Auditing Board is
settled
by the Federal law on the House of Representatives' Standing Orders.cralaw:red
(2) If someone deputizes
for the President, the provisions of Article 123 (1) apply to the
deputy.
ARTICLE
125Appointment
(1) The officials of the
Auditing Board are appointed by the Federal President upon the
recommendation
and with the countersignature of the President of the Auditing Board;
the
same applies to granting official titles. The Federal President may,
however,
authorize the President of the Auditing Board to appoint officials of
certain
categories.cralaw:red
(2) The President of the
Auditing Board appoints the auxiliary personnel.
ARTICLE
126Incompatibilities
No member of the Auditing
Board may be a participant in the management and administration of
enterprises
subject to control by the Auditing Board. Just as little may a member
of
the Auditing Board participate in the management and administration of
any other enterprises operating for profit.
ARTICLE
126aRuling
About
Competence
Should divergences of opinion
arise between the Auditing Board and the Federal Government or a
Federal
Minister or a State Government on interpretation of the legal
provisions
which prescribe the competence of the Auditing Board, the
Constitutional
Court, upon request by the Federal or State Government or the Auditing
Board, decides the issue in closed proceedings. The Procedure will be
prescribed
by Federal law.
ARTICLE
126bScope of
Examination
(1) The Auditing Board shall
examine the entire management, of the Federation and, furthermore, the
financial administration of endowments, funds, and institutions
administered
by Federal authorities or persons or groups of persons appointed for
this
purpose by authorities of the Federation.cralaw:red
(2) The Auditing Board also
examines the financial administration of enterprises where the
Federation
is either the sole participant or holds at least fifty percent of the
share
capital together with other legal entities falling within the
competence
of the Auditing Board or where the Federation is either their sole or
joint
operator with other such legal entities. Such a financial participation
shall be deemed equivalent to the control of enterprises by other
financial,
economic, or organizational measures. Moreover, the competence of the
Auditing
Board extends to enterprises of any additional category where the
conditions
pursuant to this paragraph exist.cralaw:red
(3) The Auditing Board is
competent to examine the financial administration of corporations under
public law using Federal funds.cralaw:red
(4) The Auditing Board shall,
on a vote by the House of Representatives or at the request of House of
Representatives members, carry out special measures of investigation
into
financial administration which falls into its sphere of competence. The
more detailed regulation will be laid down by the Federal law on the
House
of Representatives' Standing Orders. The Auditing Board shall likewise
carry out such measures at the substantiated request of the Federal
Government
or a Federal Minister and report the result to the applicant authority.cralaw:red
(5) Examination by the Auditing
Board shall extend to arithmetical correctness, compliance with
existing
regulations, and the employment of thrift, efficiency and expediency.
ARTICLE
126cFinancial
Examination
The Auditing Board is competent
to examine the financial administration of the social insurance
institutions.
ARTICLE
126dAnnual
Report
(1) The Auditing Board annually
renders the House of Representatives, not later than 15 October, in any
year a report on its activities. The Auditing Board can also, at any
time,
report to the House of Representatives its observations on individual
matters
and, if necessary, make proposals. The Auditing Board must
simultaneously
with its submission to the House of Representatives inform the Federal
Chancellor of every report. The annual report of the Auditing Board on
its activities shall be published; a publication of the contents may
not,
however, ensue before the beginning of the House of Representatives
deliberation.cralaw:red
(2) A Standing Committee
shall be appointed by the House of Representatives to discuss the
reports
of the Auditing Board. Its appointment shall maintain the principle of
proportional representation.
ARTICLE
127State
Examination
(1) The Auditing Board shall
examine the financial administration of the States in their autonomous
sphere of competence as well as the financial administration of
endowments,
funds, and institutions administered by the authorities of a State or
persons
of groups of persons appointed for the purpose by authorities of the
State.
The examination shall extend to arithmetical correctness, compliance
with
existing regulations, and the employment of thrift, efficiency, and
expedience
in the financial administration; it shall not, however, include the
resolutions
passed by the constitutionally competent representative bodies with
respect
to the financial administration.cralaw:red
(2) The State Governments
shall annually transmit to the Auditing Board the budget estimates and
the final budget accounts.cralaw:red
(3) The Auditing Board also
examines the financial administration of enterprises where the State is
either the sole participant or holds at least fifty per cent of the
share
capital together with other legal entities falling within the
competence
of the Auditing Board or where the State is either their sole or joint
operator with other such legal entities. As regards the concept of
financial
participation, Article 126b (2) applies analogously. The competence of
the Auditing Board also extends to enterprises of any additional
category
where the conditions pursuant to this paragraph exist.cralaw:red
(4) The Auditing Board is
competent to examine the financial administration of corporations under
public law using State funds.cralaw:red
(5) The Auditing Board shall
inform the State Government of the result of its examination for
submission
to the State Parliament and for the delivery, if need be, of comment
which
must be made within three weeks. The State Government shall, within
three
months, advise the Auditing Board of the measures taken by reason of
the
result of the examination.cralaw:red
(6) The Auditing Board shall
also notify the Federal Government of the report rendered to the State
Parliament together with any possible comment by the State Government.cralaw:red
(7) The Auditing Board shall,
at the substantiated request of a State Government, carry out special
measures
of examination into financial administration which fall into its sphere
of competence and report the result to the applicant authority.cralaw:red
(8) The provisions of this
Article also hold good for the examination into the financial
administration
of the City of Vienna, the County Parliament taking the place of the
State
Parliament, and the Town Senate taking the place of the State
Government.
ARTICLE
127aCounty
Examination
(1) The Auditing Board shall
examine the financial administration of Counties with at least 20,000
inhabitants
as well as the financial administration of endowments, funds, and
institutions
administered by the authorities of a County or persons or groups of
persons
appointed for the purpose by the authorities of a County. The
examination
shall extend to the arithmetical correctness, compliance with existing
regulations, and the employment of thrift, efficiency, and expediency
in
the financial administration.cralaw:red
(2) The Mayor shall annually
transmit to the Auditing Board and simultaneously to the State
Government
the budget estimates and the final budget accounts.cralaw:red
(3) The calculation shall
also examine the financial administration of enterprises where a County
with at least 20,000 inhabitants is either the sole participant or
holds
at least fifty per cent of the share capital together with other legal
entities falling within the competence of the Auditing Board or where
the
County is either their sole or joint operator with other such legal
entities.
As regards the concept of financial participation, Article 126b (2)
applies
analogously. The competence of the Auditing Board also extends to
enterprises
of any additional category where the conditions pursuant to this
paragraph
exist.cralaw:red
(4) The Auditing Board is
competent to examine the financial administration of corporations under
public law using funds of a County with at least 20,000 inhabitants.cralaw:red
(5) The Auditing Board shall
inform the Mayor of the result of its examination for submission to the
County Parliament and for the delivery of possible comment which must
be
made within three weeks. Upon the expiry of this deadline, the Auditing
Board transmits the result of the examination together with the
possibly
accompanying comment to the State Government which informs the State
Parliament
of the submission. The Mayor shall, within three months, advise the
Auditing
Board of the measures taken by reason of the result of the examination.cralaw:red
(6) The Auditing Board shall
also inform the Federal Government of the result of its examination of
the financial administration.cralaw:red
(7) The Auditing Board shall
also, at the substantiated request of the competent State Government,
examine
in individual cases the financial administration of Counties with less
than 20,000 inhabitants and inform the State Government of the result
of
this examination. Paragraphs (1) and (3) apply analogously.cralaw:red
(8) The provisions applying
for the examination of the financial administration of Counties with at
least 20,000 inhabitants shall apply analogously to the examination of
the financial administration of County Associations.
ARTICLE
128Auditing
Law
The more detailed provisions
about the establishment and activity of the Auditing Board will be laid
down by Federal law.
CHAPTER
VIConstitutional
and
Administrative
GuaranteesPART AThe
Administrative
CourtARTICLE
129Jurisdiction
The authority competent to
secure the legality of all acts of public administration is the
Administrative
Court at Vienna.
ARTICLE
130Cases of
Illegality
(1) The Administrative Court
pronounces on complaints which allege:
(a)
illegality of
rulings
by administrative authorities;
(b)
illegality in
the exercise
of direct administrative power and compulsion against a particular
person;
or
(c)
breach of
administrative
authorities' duty to take a decision.
The
Administrative
Court
also decides complaints against instructions received pursuant to
Article
81a (4).
(2) No illegality exists where
legislation forbears from the establishment of a binding rule on an
administrative
authority's conduct, leaving the determination of such conduct to the
authority
itself, and the authority has made use of this discretion in the spirit
of the law.
ARTICLE
131Standing
(1) Complaint about illegality
can be brought against the ruling of an administrative authority by:
(1) anyone
who, after
exhausting
all appellate stages, alleges that the ruling infringes their rights;
(2) the
competent
Federal
Minister in matters pertaining to Articles 11, 12, 14 (2) and (3) and
14a
(3) and (4) as well as in those matters where the ruling of a State or
District school board is based on a committee decision and the parties
are no longer able to contest the ruling by way of appeal; and
(3) the
competent
State government
against rulings by the Federal Minister competent in matters pertaining
to the first sentence in Article 15 (5).
(2) The Federal or State laws
relating to the individual fields of administration regulate under what
conditions complaints about illegality are admissible against
administrative
authorities' rulings in cases other than those stated in Paragraph (1).
ARTICLE
131aInfringement
of
Personal
Rights
A party subject to the exercise
of direct administrative power and compulsion can lay complaint against
the alleged infringement of personal rights by the measure concerned.
ARTICLE
132Complaint
About
Non-Activity
Complaint for breach of the
duty to take a decision can be brought by the party who in
administrative
proceedings was entitled to claim fulfillment of that duty of decision.
ARTICLE
133Excluded
Matters
The following matters art
excluded from the jurisdiction of the Administrative Court:
(1) matters pertaining to
the jurisdiction of the Constitutional Court;
(2) [-];
(3) patent matters;
(4) matters where the final
decision rests with a tribunal if, in accordance with the Federal or
State
law which prescribes the organization of this authority, its membership
includes at least one judge, the remaining members too are in the
exercise
of this office not bound by any instructions, the rulings of this
authority
are not subject to administrative rescission of alteration, and
complaint
to the Administrative Court, notwithstanding the fulfillment of these
conditions,
is not expressly declared admissible.
ARTICLE
134Establishment
(1) The Administrative Court
consists of a President, a Vice-President, and the requisite number of
other members (tribunal presidents and Court councilors).cralaw:red
(2) The President, the Vice-President,
and the other members of the Administrative Court are appointed by the
Federal President on the proposal of the Federal Government. The
Federal
Government submits its recommendations, in so far as appointment of the
President or Vice-President is concerned, on the basis of a
recommendation
listing three candidates for each vacancy submitted by the
Administrative
Court in plenary session.cralaw:red
(3) All members of the Administrative
Court must have completed their studies in law and political science
and
for at least ten years have held a professional appointment which
prescribes
the completion of these studies. At least one third of the members must
be qualified to hold judicial office while at least one quarter should
be drawn from professional appointments in the States, whenever
possible
from the States' administrative service.cralaw:red
(4) Members of the Federal
Government, a State Government, or a popular representative body cannot
be members of the Administrative Court; for members of a popular
representative
body elected for a fixed term of legislation or office, such
incompatibility
continues until the expiry of that term of legislation or office even
though
they prematurely renounce their seat.cralaw:red
(5) Anyone who during the
preceding four years has exercised one of the functions specified in
Paragraph
(4) cannot be appointed President or Vice-President of the
Administrative
Court.cralaw:red
(6) All members of the Administrative
Court are professionally employed judges. The provisions of Articles 87
(1) and (2) and 88(2)
apply to them. Members of the Administrative Court are, by operation of
law, put on the permanently retired list on 31 Dec of the year in which
they attain their sixty fifth birthday.
ARTICLE
135Tribunals
(1) The Administrative Court
pronounces judgment through tribunals which shall be constituted by the
plenary assembly from members of the Administrative Court.cralaw:red
(2) Business shall, for the
period provided by Federal law, be allocated by the plenary assembly in
advance among the tribunals.cralaw:red
(3) A matter devolving upon
a member in accordance with this allocation may be removed from his
jurisdiction
only in case of his being prevented from the discharge of his
responsibilities.cralaw:red
(4) Article 89 applies analogously
to the Administrative Court.
ARTICLE
136Standing
Orders
Detailed provisions about
establishment, scope, and procedure of the Administrative Court will be
prescribed in a special Federal law and Standing Orders be passed on
the
basis of this by the plenary assembly.
PART BThe
Constitutional
CourtARTICLE
137Pecuniary
Claims
The Constitutional Court
pronounces on pecuniary claims of the Federation, the States, the
Districts,
the Counties and County Associations which cannot be settled by
ordinary
legal process nor be liquidated by the ruling of an administrative
authority.
ARTICLE
138Conflicts
of
Competence
(1) The Constitutional Court
also pronounces on conflicts of competence:
a) between
courts and
administrative
authorities;
b)
between the
Administrative
Court and all other courts, in
particular
between the
Administrative
Court and the Constitutional Court itself, as well as between the
ordinary
courts and other courts;
c)
between the
States as
well as between a State and the Federation.
(2) The Constitutional Court
furthermore determines at the application of the Federal Government, or
a State Government whether an act of legislation or execution falls
into
the competence of the Federation or the States.
ARTICLE
138aCompetence
Agreements
(1) The Constitutional Court
establishes on application by the Federal Government or a State
Government
concerned whether an agreement within the meaning of Article 15a (1)
exists
and whether the obligations arising from such an agreement, save in so
far as it is a matter of pecuniary claims, have been fulfilled.cralaw:red
(2) If it is stipulated in
an agreement within the meaning of Article 15a (2), the Court also
establishes
on application by a State Government concerned whether such an
agreement
exists and whether the obligations arising from such an agreement, save
in so far as it is a matter of pecuniary claims, have been fulfilled.
ARTICLE
139Ordinances
(1) The Constitutional Court
pronounces on application by a court whether ordinances issued by a
Federal
or State authority are contrary to law, but ex officio in so far as the
Court would have to apply such an ordinance in a pending suit. It also
pronounces on application by the Federal Government whether ordinances
issued by a State authority are contrary to law, and likewise on
application
by the County concerned whether ordinances issued by a County
supervisory
authority in accordance with Article 119a (6) are contrary to law. It
also
pronounces whether ordinances are contrary to law when an application
alleges
direct infringement of personal rights through such illegality in so
far
as the ordinance has become operative for the applicant without the
delivery
of a judicial decision or the issue of a ruling; Article 8 (3) applies
analogously to such applications.cralaw:red
(2) If the litigant in a
suit lodged with the Constitutional Court, entailing application of an
ordinance by the Administrative Court, receives satisfaction, the
proceedings
initiated to examine the ordinance's legality shall nevertheless
continue.cralaw:red
(3) The Constitutional Court
may rescind an ordinance as contrary to law only to the extent that its
rescission was expressly submitted or the Court would have had to apply
it in the pending suit. If the Court reaches the conclusion that the
whole
ordinance:
a) has no
foundation
in
law;
b) was
issued by an
authority
without competence in the matter; or
c) was
published in
a manner
contrary to law,
it shall rescind
the
whole
ordinance as illegal. This does not apply if rescission of the whole
ordinance
manifestly runs contrary to the legitimate interests of the litigant
who
has filed an application pursuant to the last sentence in Paragraph (1)
or whose suit has been the occasion for the initiation of ex officio
examination
proceedings into the ordinance.
(4) If the ordinance has, at
the time of the Constitutional Court's delivery of its judgment,
already
been repealed and the proceedings were initiated ex officio or the
application
was filed by a court or an applicant alleging direct infringement of
his
personal rights through the ordinance's illegality, the Court must
pronounce
whether the ordinance contravened the law. Paragraph (3) applies
analogously.
(5) The judgment by the Constitutional
Court which rescinds an ordinance as contrary to law imposes on the
highest
competent authority in the Federation or State the obligation to
publish
the rescission without delay. This applies analogously in the case of a
pronouncement pursuant to Paragraph (4) above. The rescission enters
into
force on the day of publication if the Court does not set a deadline,
which
may not exceed six months or, if legal dispositions are necessary, a
year,
for the rescission.cralaw:red
(6) If an ordinance has been
rescinded on the score of illegality or if the Constitutional Court has
pursuant to Paragraph (4) pronounced an ordinance to be contrary to
law,
all courts and administrative authorities are bound by the Court's
decision.
The ordinance shall, however, continue to apply to the circumstances
effected
before the rescission, the case in point excepted, unless the Court in
its rescissory judgment decides otherwise. If the Court has in its
rescissory
judgment set a deadline pursuant to Paragraph (5), the ordinance shall
apply to all the circumstances affected, the case in point excepted,
till
the expiry of this deadline.
ARTICLE
139aLegal
Norms
The Constitutional Court
pronounces on application by a court whether in the re-publication of a
legal norm the limits of the authority conferred were transcended; ex
officio,
in so far as the re-publication of the legal norm constitutes the
prerequisite
to a judgment by the Court itself; also on application by a State
Government,
in the case of legal norms re-published by the Federation. Likewise on
application by the Federal Government in the case of legal norms
republished
by a State. It pronounces furthermore whether in the re-publication of
a legal norm the limits of the authority conferred were transcended
when
an application alleges direct infringement of personal rights in so far
as the republished legal norm has become operative against the
applicant
without the delivery of a judicial decision or the issue of a ruling.
Article
59 (2), (3) and (5) as well as Article 139 (2) to(6) apply analogously.
ARTICLE
140Laws
(1) The Constitutional Court
pronounces on application by the Administrative Court, the Supreme
Court,
or a competent appellate court whether a Federal or State law is
unconstitutional,
but ex officio in so far as the Court would have to apply such a law in
a pending suit. It pronounces also on application by the Federal
Government
whether State laws are unconstitutional and likewise on application by
a State Government or by one third of the House of Representatives'
members
whether Federal laws are unconstitutional. A State constitutional law
can
provide that such a right of application as regards the
unconstitutionality
of State laws lies with one third of the State Parliament's members.
The
Court also pronounces whether laws are unconstitutional when an
application
alleges direct infringement of personal rights through such
unconstitutionality
in so far as the law has become operative for the applicant without the
delivery of a judicial decision or the issue of a ruling. Article 89
(3)
applies analogously to such applications.cralaw:red
(2) If the litigant in a
suit lodged with the Constitutional Court, entailing application of a
law
by the Court receives satisfaction, the proceedings initiated to
examine
the law's constitutionality shall nevertheless continue.cralaw:red
(3) The Constitutional Court
may rescind a law as unconstitutional only to the extent that its
rescission
was expressly submitted or the Court would have to apply the law in the
suit pending with it. If, however, the Court concludes that the whole
law
was enacted by a legislative authority unqualified in accordance with
the
allocation of competence or published in an unconstitutional manner, it
shall rescind the whole law as unconstitutional. This does not apply if
rescission of the whole law manifestly runs contrary to the legitimate
interests of the litigant who has filed an application pursuant to the
last sentence in Paragraph (1) or whose suit has been the occasion for
the initiation of ex officio examination proceedings into the law.cralaw:red
(4) If the law has, at the
time of the Constitutional Court's delivery of its judgment, already
been
repealed and the proceedings were initiated ex officio or the
application
filed by a court or an applicant alleging direct infringement of
personal
rights through the law's unconstitutionality, the Court must pronounce
whether the law was unconstitutional. Paragraph (3) applies analogously.cralaw:red
(5) The judgment by the Constitutional
Court which rescinds a law as unconstitutional imposes on the Federal
Chancellor
or the competent State-Governor the obligation to publish the
rescission
without delay. This applies analogously in the case of a pronouncement
pursuant to Paragraph (4). The rescission enters into force on the day
of publication if the Court does not set a deadline for the rescission.
This deadline may not exceed one year.cralaw:red
(6) If a law is rescinded
as unconstitutional by a judgment of the Constitutional Court, the
legal
provisions rescinded by the law which the Court has pronounced
unconstitutional
become effective again, unless the judgment pronounces otherwise, on
the
day of entry into force of the rescission. The publication on the
rescission
of the law shall also announce whether and which legal provisions again
enter into force.cralaw:red
(7) If a law has been rescinded
on the score of unconstitutionality or if the Constitutional Court has,
pursuant to Paragraph (4), pronounced a law unconstitutional, all
courts
and administrative authorities are bound by the Court's decision. The
law
shall, however, continue to apply to the circumstances effected before
the rescission, the case in point excepted, unless the Court in its
rescissory
judgment decides otherwise. If the Court has in its rescissory judgment
set a deadline pursuant to Paragraph (5), the law shall apply to all
the
circumstances effected, the case in point excepted, till the expiry of
this deadline.
ARTICLE
140aTreaties
(1) Article 140 shall apply
to treaties concluded pursuant to Article 50 with the sanction of the
House
of Representatives and correspondingly Article 139 to all other
treaties
with the provision that the authorities competent for their execution
shall,
from the day of the judgment's publication, not apply those which the
Court
establishes as being contrary to law or unconstitutional unless it
determines
a deadline prior to which such a treaty shall continue to be applied.
The
deadline may not exceed two years in the case of treaties specified in
Article 50 and one year in the case of all others.cralaw:red
(2) If the Constitutional
Court establishes that a treaty whose fulfillment requires the issue of
laws or ordinances is contrary to law or unconstitutional, the effect
of
the vote in accordance with Article 50 (2) or of the ordinance in
accordance
with Article 65 (1) second sentence expires.
ARTICLE
141Elections
(1) The Constitutional Court
pronounces upon:
(a)
challenges to the
election
of the Federal President and elections to the popular representative
bodies
or the constituent authorities (representative bodies) of statutory
professional
associations;
(b)
challenges to
elections
to a State Government and to local authorities entrusted with executive
power;
(c)
application by
a popular
representative body for a loss of seat by one of its members;
(d)
application by
a constituent
authority (representative body) of a statutory professional
associations
for a loss of seat by one of the members of such an authority;
(e) the
challenge
to rulings
whereby the loss of a seat in a popular representative body, in a local
authority entrusted with executive power or in a constituent authority
(representative body) of a statutory professional association has been
enunciated, in so far as laws of the Federation or States governing
elections
provide for declaration of a loss of seat by the ruling of an
administrative
authority, and after all stages of legal remedy have been exhausted.
(f) The
challenge
(application)
can be based on the alleged illegality of the electoral procedure or on
a reason provided by law for the loss of membership in a popular
representative
body, in a local authority entrusted with executive power, or in a
constituent
authority (representative body) of a statutory professional
association.
The Court shall allow an electoral challenge if the alleged illegality
has been proved and was of influence on the election result. In the
proceedings
before the administrative authorities, the popular representative body
or statutory professional association has litigant status.
(2) If a challenge pursuant
to Paragraph (1)(a) is allowed and it thereby becomes necessary to hold
the House of Representatives or a State Parliament election in whole or
in part again, the representative body's members concerned lose their
seat
at the time when it is assumed by those elected at the ballot which has
to be held within a hundred days after delivery of the Constitutional
Court's
decision.
(3) The premise for a decision
by the Constitutional Court in challenges to the result of initiatives
or referenda will be prescribed by Federal law. How long, in view of
the
possibility of such a challenge, it is necessary to retard publication
of the law about which a referendum took place, can also be enacted by
Federal law.
ARTICLE
142Liability
of
Officers
(1) The Constitutional Court
pronounces on suits which predicate the constitutional responsibility
of
the highest Federal and State authorities for legal contraventions
culpably
ensuing from their official activity.cralaw:red
(2) Suit can be brought:
(a)
against the
Federal
President, for contravention of the Federal Constitution: by a vote of
the Federal Assembly;
(b)
against members
of the
Federal Government and the authorities placed with regard to
responsibility
on an equal footing with them, for contravention of the law: by a vote
of the House of Representatives;
(c)
against members
of a
State Government and the authorities placed by the present law or the
State
constitution with regard to responsibility on an equal footing with
therm,
for contravention of the law: by a vote of the competent State
Parliament;
(d)
against a
State-Governor,
his deputy [Article 105 (1)] or a member of the State Government
[Article
103 (2) and (3)] for contravention of the law as well as for
non-compliance
with ordinances or other directives (instructions) of the Federation in
matters pertaining to the indirect Federal administration, in the case
of a member of the State Government also with regard to instructions
from
the State-Governor in these matters: by a vote of the Federal
Government;
(e)
against the
authorities
of the Federal capital, Vienna, in so far as within its autonomous
sphere
of competence they perform functions from the domain of the Federal
executive
power, for contravention of the law: by a vote of the Federal
Government;
(f)
against a
State-Governor,
for non-compliance with an instruction pursuant to Article 14 (8) by a
vote of the Federal Government;
(g)
against a
president or
executive president of a State school board, for contravention of the
law
as well as for non-compliance with ordinances or other directives
(instructions)
of the Federation: by a vote of the Federal Government.
(3) If, pursuant to Paragraph
(2)(d), the Federal Government brings a suit only against a
State-Governor
or his deputy and it is shown that another member of the State
Government
in accordance with Article 103 (2) concerned with matters pertaining to
the indirect Federal administration is guilty of an offence within the
meaning of Paragraph (2)(d), the Federal Government can at any time
pending
the passing of judgment widen its suit to include this member of the
State
Government.
(4) The condemnation by the
Constitutional Court shall pronounce a forfeiture of office and, in
particularly
aggravating circumstances, also a temporary forfeiture of political
rights.
In the case of minor legal contraventions in the instances mentioned in
Paragraph (2)(d), (f), and (g) the Court can confine itself to the
statement
that the law has been contravened. From forfeiture of the office of
president
of the State school board ensues forfeiture of the office with which
pursuant
to Article 81a (3)(b) it is linked.cralaw:red
(5) The Federal President
can avail himself of the right vested in him in accordance with Article
65 (2)(c) in the cases under Paragraph (2)(a), (b), and (c) only on the
request of the representative body which has voted for the filing of
the
suit, in cases under Sub-Paragraphs (d), (f), and (g) only on the
request
of the Federal Government, and in all cases only with the approval of
the
defendant.
ARTICLE
143Criminal
Liability
of
Officers
A suit can be brought against
the persons mentioned in Article 142 also on the score of actions
involving
penal proceedings connected with the activity in office of the
individual
to be arraigned. In this case, competence lies exclusively with the
Constitutional
Court; any investigation already pending in the ordinary criminal
courts
devolves upon it. The Court can in such cases, in addition to Article
142
(4), apply the provisions of the criminal law.
ARTICLE
144Administrative
Jurisdiction
(1) The Constitutional Court
pronounces on rulings by administrative authorities in so far as the
applicant
alleges an infringement by the ruling of a constitutionally guaranteed
right or the infringement of personal rights on the score of an illegal
ordinance, an unconstitutional law, or an unlawful treaty. On the same
premises, the Court likewise pronounces on complaints against the
exercise
of direct administrative power and compulsion against a particular
individual.
The complaint can only be filed after all other stages of legal remedy,
in so far as such come into consideration, have been exhausted.cralaw:red
(2) The Constitutional Court
can, before the proceedings, decide to reject a hearing of the
complaint
if it has no reasonable prospect of success. The rejection of the
hearing
is inadmissible if it concerns a case that according to Article 133 is
barred from the competence of the Administrative Court.cralaw:red
(3) If the Constitutional
Court finds that a right within the meaning of Paragraph (1) has not
been
infringed by the challenged ruling or the exercises of direct
administrative
power and compulsion, and if it does not concern a case that in
accordance
with Article 133 is barred from the competence of the Administrative
Court,
the Court shall, on the request of the applicant, at the same time as
it
rejects the plea transfer the complaint to the Administrative Court for
decision whether the applicant, by the ruling or the exercise of direct
administrative power and compulsion, sustained the infringement of any
other right. This applies analogously in the case of decisions in
accordance
with Paragraph (2).
ARTICLE
145International
Law
The Constitutional Court
pronounces judgment on contraventions of international law in
accordance
with the provisions of a special Federal law.
ARTICLE
146Enforcement
(1) The enforcement of judgments
pronounced by the Constitutional Court on claims made in accordance
with
Article 137 is implemented by the ordinary courts.cralaw:red
(2) The enforcement of other
judgments by the Constitutional Court is incumbent on the Federal
President.
Implementation shall, in accordance with his instructions, lie with the
Federation or States authorities, including the Federal Army, appointed
at his discretion for the purpose. The request to the Federal President
for the enforcement of such judgments shall be made by the
Constitutional
Court. The aforementioned instructions by the Federal President
require,
if it is a matter of enforcements against the Federation or Federal
authorities,
no countersignature in accordance with Article 67.
ARTICLE
147Establishment
(1) The Constitutional Court
consists of a President, a Vice-President, twelve additional members,
and
six substitute members.cralaw:red
(2) The President, the Vice-President,
six additional members, and three substitute members are appointed by
the
Federal President on the recommendation of the Federal Government;
these
members shall be selected from among judges, administrative officials,
and professors holding a chair in law. The remaining six members and
three
substitute members are appointed by the Federal President on the basis
of recommendations listing three candidates for each vacancy, the House
of Representatives submitting those for three members and two
substitute
members and the Senate those for three members and one substitute
member.
Three members and two substitute members must have their domicile
outside
the Federal capital, Vienna. Administrative officials who are appointed
members of the Constitutional Court shall, in so far and for as long as
they are not superannuated, be freed from all official duties.cralaw:red
(3) The President, the Vice-President,
and the other members and substitute members must have completed their
studies in law and political science and for at least ten years have
held
a professional appointment which prescribes the completion of these
studies.cralaw:red
(4) The following cannot
belong to the Constitutional Court:
members of the
Federal
Government
or a State Government, members of the House of Representatives, the
Senate,
or any other popular representative body; for members of these
representative
bodies who have been elected for a fixed term of legislation or office
such incompatibility continues until the expiry of that term of
legislation
or office. Finally, persons who are under employment of or hold office
in a political party cannot belong to the Constitutional Court.cralaw:red
(5) Anyone who, during the
preceding four years, has exercised one of the functions specified in
Paragraph
(4), cannot be appointed President or Vice-President of the
Constitutional
Court.cralaw:red
(6) Articles 87 (1) and (2),
and 88 (2) apply to members of the Constitutional Court; detailed
provisions
will be prescribed in the Federal law to be promulgated pursuant to
Article
148. The 31 Dec of the year in which a judge completes his seventieth
year
of life is fixed as the age limit on whose attainment his term of
office
ends.cralaw:red
(7) If a member or substitute
member disregards without satisfactory excuse three successive requests
to attend a hearing of the Constitutional Court, the Court shall
formally
establish the fact after listening to his testimony. Establishment of
the
fact entails loss of membership or the status of substitute membership.
ARTICLE
148Organizational
Law
Detailed provisions about
the organization and procedure of the Constitutional Court will be
prescribed
by a special Federal law and in Standing Orders to be voted by the
Constitutional
Court on the basis of this.
CHAPTER
VIIOmbudsmen
CouncilARTICLE
148aStanding,
Investigation,
Independence
(1) Everyone can lodge complaint
with the Ombudsmen Council against alleged maladministration by the
Federation,
including its activity as a holder of private rights, provided that
they
are affected by such maladministration and in so far as they do not or
no longer have recourse to legal remedy. All such complaints must be
investigated
by the Ombudsmen Council. The complainant shall be informed of the
investigation's
outcome and what action, if necessary, has been taken.cralaw:red
(2) The Ombudsmen Council
is ex officio entitled to investigate its suspicions of
maladministration
by the Federation including its activity as a holder of private rights.cralaw:red
(3) The Ombudsmen Council
is independent in the exercise of its authority.
ARTICLE
148bState
Support,
Secrecy
(1) All Federal, State, and
County authorities shall support the Ombudsmen Council in the
performance
of its tasks, allow it inspection of its records, and upon request
furnish
the information required. Official secrecy is inoperative in the case
of
the Ombudsmen Council.cralaw:red
(2) The Ombudsmen Council
must observe official secrecy to the same degree as the authority whom
it has approached in the fulfillment of its tasks. The Ombudsmen
Council
is however bound by the observation of official secrecy in its reports
to the House of Representatives only in so far as this is requisite on
behalf of the interest of the parties concerned or of national security.
ARTICLE
148cRecommendations
The Ombudsmen Council can
issue to the authorities entrusted with the Federation's highest
administrative
business recommendations on measures to be taken in or by reason of a
particular
case. The authority concerned must within a deadline to be settled by
Federal
law either conform to these recommendations and inform the Ombudsmen
Council
accordingly or state in writing why the recommendations have not been
complied
with.
ARTICLE
148dAnnual
Report
The Ombudsmen Council shall
annually render the House of Representatives a report on its activity.
ARTICLE
148eCourt
Application
On application by the Ombudsmen
Council, the Constitutional Court pronounces on the illegality or
otherwise
of ordinances by a Federal authority.
ARTICLE
148fRuling
on
Interpretation
If differences of opinion
arise between the Ombudsmen Council and the Federal Government or a
Federal
Minister on the interpretation of legal provisions, the Constitutional
Court, on application by the Federal Government or the Ombudsmen
Council,
decides the matter in closed proceedings.
ARTICLE
148gEstablishment
(1) The Ombudsmen Council
has its seat in Vienna and consists of three members, one of whom acts
in turn as chairman. The term of office lasts six years. Reelection of
the Ombudsmen Council's members more than once is inadmissible.cralaw:red
(2) Ombudsmen Council members
are elected by the House of Representatives on the basis of a joint
recommendation
drawn up by the Main Committee in the presence of at least half its
members.
Each of the three parties with the largest number of votes in the House
of Representatives is entitled to nominate one member for this
recommendation.
The members of the Ombudsmen Council render an affirmation to the
Federal
President before their assumption of office.cralaw:red
(3) The Ombudsmen Council
chairmanship rotates annually between the members in the sequence of
the
voting strength possessed by the parties who have nominated them. This
sequence remains unchanged during the Ombudsmen Council's term of
office.cralaw:red
(4) Should a Ombudsmen Council
member retire prematurely, the party represented in the House of
Representatives
who nominated this member shall nominate a new member. The new election
shall pursuant to Paragraph (2) be operative for the remaining term of
office.cralaw:red
(5) Ombudsmen Council members
must be eligible for the House of Representatives; during their service
in office, they may belong neither to the Federal Government nor to a
State
government nor to any popular representative body and they may not
practice
any other profession.
ARTICLE
148hAppointment
(1) Ombudsmen Council officials
are appointed by the Federal President on the recommendation and with
the
countersignature of the Ombudsmen Council chairman. The Federal
President
can however authorize him to appoint officials in certain categories.
Auxiliary
personnel is appointed by the chairman who is to this extent the
highest
administrative authority and exercises these powers in his own right.cralaw:red
(2) The Federation's service
prerogative with regard to Ombudsmen Council employees is exercised by
the Ombudsmen Council chairman.cralaw:red
(3) The Ombudsmen Council
determines its Standing Orders and an allocation of business that
regulates
which tasks shall be autonomously performed by its members. The
adoption
of the Standing Orders and the allocation of business requires the
unanimous
vote of the Ombudsmen Council's members.
ARTICLE
148iState
Matters
(1) The States can by State
constitutional law declare the Ombudsmen Council competent also in the
sphere of the particular State's administration. In such case Articles
148e and 148f shall apply analogously.cralaw:red
(2) If States create agencies
in the sphere of State administration with tasks similar to the
Ombudsmen
Council, State constitutional law can prescribe a provision
corresponding
to Articles 148e and 148f.
ARTICLE
148jOmbudsmen
Law
Detailed provisions relating
to the implementation of this chapter shall be made by Federal
constitutional
law.
CHAPTER
VIIIFinal
ProvisionsARTICLE
149Old Laws
(1) In addition to the present
law, the following laws, with the modifications necessitated by this
law,
shall, within the meaning of Article 44 (1), be regarded as
constitutional
law:
- Basic
Law of 21
December
1867 on the general rights of nationals in the kingdoms and States
represented
in the Reichs' Congress;
- Law of
27 October
1862
on protection of personal liberty;
- Law of
27 October
1862
on protection of the rights of the home;
-
Resolution of the
Provisional
National Assembly of 30 October 1918;
- Law of
3 April
1919 respecting
the banishment and expropriation of property of the House of
Habsburg-Lorraine;
- Law of
3 April
1919 on
the abolition of the nobility, the secular orders of chivalry, male and
female, and of certain titles and dignities;
- Law of
8 May 1919
on the
coat of arms and seal of state of the Republic of German-Austria, with
the modifications effected by Arts. 2, 5, and 6 of the law of 21
October
1919;
- Section
V of Part
III of
the Treaty of Saint-Germain of 10 September 1919.
(2) Article 20 of the Basic
Law of 21 Dec 1867 as well as the Law of 5 May 1869 issued on the basis
of this Article are repealed.
ARTICLE
150Transitional
Law
The transition to the Federal
Constitution introduced by this law will be prescribed in a special law
entering into force simultaneously with the present law.
ARTICLE
151Responsibility
The execution of this law
is entrusted to the Federal Government.
ARTICLE
152[-]
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