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60-455: Verwaltungsgerichtshof may refer to: Supreme Administrative Court (Austria) a high administrative court in the Judiciary of Germany Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Verwaltungsgerichtshof . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change

120-502: A bench, a prospective judge needs to have a master's degree or equivalent in Austrian law, undergo four years of post-graduate training, and pass an exam. The training includes theoretical instruction and internship-type practical work in an actual courthouse. Appointments to benches are made by the president , although the president can and does delegate most of this responsibility to the minister of justice . Nominations come from within

180-425: A chief public prosecutor's office ( Oberstaatsanwaltschaft ). The Supreme Court of Justice ( Oberster Gerichtshof or OGH ) hears appeals at law ( Revisionen in civil trials, Nichtigkeitsbeschwerden in criminal cases) against verdicts of appellate courts. The court also deals with service-related complaints by jurists against the judiciary and with disciplinary complaints against jurists; it acts as

240-515: A general court can file an appeal on facts and law ( Berufung ). If the case is a civil case, the appellate court first checks whether the trial court has committed procedural errors; if yes, it orders a retrial, sending the case back to the trial court. If no, or if the case is criminal, the appellate court conducts what is essentially a retrial itself − the appellate trial does not merely review questions of law but also questions of fact, assessing evidence and questioning witnesses. In addition to

300-899: A judiciary clerk ( Rechtspfleger ). While there are permanent district judges, there are no district attorneys . Criminal trials are prosecuted by a state attorney ( Staatsanwalt ) attached to the relevant regional court. In minor cases, the public prosecutor can assign a district prosecutor ( Bezirksanwalt ) to substitute for them. The district prosecutor is not necessarily an attorney, however, and cannot act on their own initiative or authority. There are 18 regional courts ( Landesgerichte ) in Austria; their seats are in Eisenstadt , Feldkirch , Graz , Innsbruck , Klagenfurt , Korneuburg , Krems an der Donau , Leoben , Linz , Ried im Innkreis , Salzburg , Sankt Pölten , Steyr , Vienna , Wels , and Wiener Neustadt . In Graz and Vienna,

360-480: A right to trial by jury. Pursuant to the European Convention on Human Rights , which has been adopted into the Austrian constitution, but also to Austrian constitutional law preceding it, criminal defendants are protected by the set of procedural guarantees typical for modern liberal democracies . Among other things, defendants The right to an appeal is taken seriously. Any party to any trial before

420-557: A single specialist court is called the centralized system of judicial review. Because Austria was the first country to adopt this approach when Hans Kelsen created the Constitutional Court in its modern form with the 1920 Kelsen constitution , the approach is sometimes also called the Austrian system. Because the approach has since spread to Germany , Italy , Spain , Portugal , and Belgium , some people call it

480-630: A specific area of law. The current president of the Supreme Administrative Court, appointed in January 2014, is Rudolf Thienel . General courts have no power of judicial review in Austria . Judicial review of Austrian legislation is provided by a specialized Constitutional Court . Judicial review of acts of the executive branch , broadly speaking, is the responsibility of a system of specialized administrative courts . However, there are some exceptions: Generally meaning,

540-526: A timely manner. The court does not have a fixed number of members. The theoretical minimum is seven; the actual number, as of June 2018, is about seventy. Members are appointed by the President of Austria on nomination of the cabinet . With respect to most appointments, the cabinet is limited to choosing from a shortlist of three candidates provided by the court. The court is subdivided into 21 panels of three to five members each, each panel handling cases in

600-600: A verdict in a timely manner. The right to complain to the Supreme Administrative Court about a negligent administrative trial court ( Fristsetzungantrag ) is closely linked to the right to complain to an administrative trial court about negligent bureaucrats ( Säumnisbeschwerde ). On the one hand, a complaint to an administrative court does not necessarily have suspensory effect. On the other hand, administrative trial courts are not just cassatory but reformatory : they cannot merely void administrative decisions but can issue substantive decisions themselves. Inactivity on

660-405: Is a branch of the state prosecution service ( Staatsanwaltschaft ) and a prison ( Justizanstalt ). Regional courts and regional-level state prosecutors organize and supervise most of the pre-trial work ( Ermittlungsverfahren ) in Austria, even in cases in which the main court proceedings ( Hauptverfahren ) are going to take place in a district court. In many ways, the regional courts are

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720-515: Is essentially all of them − there has to be a fixed and specific apportionment of responsibilities ( feste Geschäftseinteilung ) to prevent the government from influencing outcomes by hand-picking a judge sympathetic to its perspective. For example, if a litigant files for divorce in a court with multiple judges handling divorce cases, the first letter of their last name decides which judge they are assigned. Judges presiding over trials are professionals. In order to become eligible for appointment to

780-413: Is made to prevent panels and juries from being biased or unable to empathize with either defendants or alleged victims. If the crime alleged is a sexual assault or some other violation of a person's sexual integrity serious enough to warrant a panel, then at least one of the judges must belong to the same sex as the alleged victim. If there is a jury, then at least two of the jurors must be of the same sex as

840-420: Is moving towards a verdict that overturns existing case law; the quorum for any decision that throws out precedent is nine justices. Plenary sessions of the Supreme Administrative Court are rare. A plenary session is required to make alterations to the panels system, to change the court's internal rules of procedure in some other way, to choose shortlists of nominees for appointment to the court, and to authorize

900-467: Is partitioned into 18 panels ( Senate ) of five members each. One panel exclusively deals with appeals decisions reached by arbitration tribunals; another panel hears to appeals to antitrust verdicts handed down by the Vienna higher regional court, which has specialist exclusive jurisdiction over all Austrian antitrust cases. A third panel handles disciplinary proceedings and other disputes internal to

960-483: Is responsible for cases in a specific area of law − asylum law, aliens' law, procurement law, housing and construction law, and so on. Panels dealing with administrative penal cases have three members; all other panels have five. If a panel of five is dealing with a question with regards to which existing Supreme Administrative Court case law is inconsistent, the panel has to add an additional four members. The panel also has to add an additional four members if it notices it

1020-468: Is seven. In the early 2010s, the actual number was about sixty. By 2016, the member count had risen to about seventy. Justices are appointed by the President of Austria on nomination of the cabinet: Nominees must have a law degree and must have spent at least ten years working in a position that actually requires a law degree; they do not need to be licensed to practice law in any particular capacity. In particular, they do not need to be members of

1080-584: Is the City of Vienna , home to no fewer than 12 separate district courts. In some cases, a district court serving a city also serves part of the surrounding suburbs. In others, two or three very small administrative districts are lumped together into a single judicial zone. District courts are responsible for Trials before the district court are bench trials decided by a single judge ( Bezirksrichter ). Non-adversary proceedings, debt collection, foreclosure, bankruptcy, and land register matters can also be decided by

1140-494: The European approach. Legislation can be challenged before the Constitutional Court by any private person, natural or other. The complaint has to argue that the complainant is being violated in their rights by the piece of legislation at issue, actually and not just potentially. The complaint also has to argue that there is no plausible way for the complainant to get the problem resolved through any other procedure. Depending on

1200-534: The Austrian judiciary , between judiciary and executive, or between different parts of the executive branch; disputes of these kinds fall within the purview of the Constitutional Court . The Supreme Administrative Court consists of a president, a vice president, and as many additional members as court and cabinet deem necessary and appropriate. The theoretical minimum number of members of the court

1260-594: The Republic of Austria , the Supreme Administrative Court (German: Verwaltungsgerichtshof or VwGH ) is the appellate court to which appeals may be made from the decisions of the country's eleven administrative trial courts . The Supreme Administrative Court also resolves demarcation disputes within the administrative court system and hears complaints about administrative trial courts that fail to issue verdicts legally required of them in

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1320-446: The Supreme Administrative Court , the Constitutional Court is not a court of appeals . It only hears cases it has original jurisdiction over, although the way Austria uses general and administrative courts to vet complaints about unconstitutional legislation and other constitutional rights infringements does present something of an edge case. The Constitutional Court consists of fourteen members and six substitute members, appointed by

1380-442: The administrative court system was called not a "court" ( Gericht or Gerichtshof ) but a "senate" ( Senat ). A 2014 reform of the administrative court system replaced the senates with Verwaltungsgerichte , singular Verwaltungsgericht , a word that also translates to "Administrative Court". The reform thus rendered the literal translation impractical. The court refers to itself as "Supreme Administrative Court" in

1440-516: The correctional officers' corps ( Justizwache ). Remand prisons for pre-trial detention or other types of non-correctional custody ( Polizeianhaltezentren ) belong to the executive branch . The judiciary is assisted by the Ministry of Justice ( Justizministerium ), a cabinet-level division of the national executive. The administration of justice in Austria is the sole responsibility of

1500-553: The estates of their various realms. The Revolutions of 1848 compelled a first step towards constitutional rule . Under intense pressure, Emperor Ferdinand tried to appease the revolutionaries by enacting the Pillersdorf Constitution , a statute that promised increased civil liberties, a limited form of democratic participation in government, and access to independent courts with the power to review administrative acts and halt administrative overreach. Although

1560-619: The president on nomination of the cabinet, the National Council , and the Federal Council . In theory, trials before the Constitutional Court are oral, public, and decided by the full plenum. In practice, oral argument and true plenary sessions have become rare because workload is heavy and there are broad exceptions to these general rules; most cases today are decided behind closed doors by panels of either nine or five members. Opinions tend to be concise and academic. Only

1620-404: The Austrian judiciary is divided into general courts ( ordentliche Gerichte ) and courts of public law ( Gerichte öffentlichen Rechts ). The general courts handle civil and criminal trials as well as non-adversary proceedings such as inheritance cases or legal guardianship matters. The courts of public law supervise the other two branches of government: the administrative court system reviews

1680-468: The Constitutional Court, two tribunals that cut across the division. Pointedly called Gerichtshöfe instead of simply Gerichte , the two tribunals are staffed by lawyer judges and generally behave like courts without technically being courts. The terminology used by most modern English-language literature makes the distinction difficult to see; it remains salient in German texts. Broadly speaking,

1740-687: The English version of its website. The Supreme Administrative Court hears appeals against verdicts handed down by administrative trial courts. Appeals to the Supreme Administrative Court are appeals at law ( Revisionen ). There are no appeals on facts and law ( Berufungen ) like there are in the general court system, and even appeals at law are more difficult to get accepted. The court has comparatively little latitude in deciding which appeals to hear and which to decline; statutes lay down detailed rules: The Supreme Administrative Court hears complaints about an administrative trial court's failure to issue

1800-549: The actual decision is published; there are no concurring or dissenting opinions. In its modern form, the Austrian judiciary goes back to the March Constitution of 1849. Throughout the 18th and early 19th century, the Habsburgs had tried to rule as absolute monarchs , holding unrestricted power over their subjects with no constraints due to any kind of feudal social compact and with no interference from any of

1860-542: The administrative and judicial branches of government from interfering with each other. This peculiarity, established during the neo-absolutist years of the Habsburg monarchy, originally meant that subjects could not take bureaucrats to court or otherwise petition the courts to review the legality of administrative acts. The Constitution of 1920 fixes this problem by establishing the Administrative Court and

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1920-472: The administrative court agrees with the complainant, it overrules the administration. If the administrative court does not, the complainant can escalate the matter to the Constitutional Court. If the Constitutional Court agrees with the complainant, it overrules the administrative court, prompting a retrial; it thus potentially also overrules the administration. Unlike the Supreme Court of Justice and

1980-405: The administrative court system reviews administrative acts, the Constitutional Court reviews legislative acts and judicial demarcation conflicts. The Constitutional Court ( Verfassungsgerichtshof or VfGH ) adjudicates on The Constitutional Court is the only court in Austria with the power of judicial review of legislation. The Austrian method of vesting all power to strike legislation in

2040-488: The administrative courts hear complaints about decisions made by executive officials that The constitution provides a taxative enumeration of the types of decisions that can be fought in an administrative court: The administrative court system has two levels: administrative trial courts ( Verwaltungsgerichte , singular Verwaltungsgericht ), which have original jurisdiction , and the Supreme Administrative Court ( Verwaltungsgerichtshof ), which hears appeals against

2100-820: The alleged victim. If the defendant is juvenile and the alleged crime is serious enough to warrant a panel, then at least one of the judges must be of the same sex as the defendant and at least one of the judges must be a present or former educator or competent social worker. If there is a jury, at least two of the jurors must be of the relevant sex and at least four must have the relevant job experience. Appeals of district courts decisions to regional courts are decided by three-judge panels: two professional judges and one expert lay judge in trials at mercantile law, three professional judges in all other civil matters and in all criminal cases. Routine company register decisions are made by single judges or by judicial clerks. Attached to every regional court dealing with criminal trials, there

2160-409: The appeal on facts and law against the verdict of the trial court, an appeal at law ( Revision in civil trials, Nichtigkeitsbeschwerde in criminal cases) can be filed against the verdict of the appellate court. In criminal cases, appeals at law that are not obviously frivolous are also handled in public hearings. A successful appeal at law not just overturns but completely erases the verdict of

2220-475: The appellate court, sending the case down the ladder again. Verdicts of trial courts − although not of appellate courts − that result from the trial court's application of an unconstitutional statute or an illegal ordinance can additionally be fought with extraordinary appeals at law to the Constitutional Court. The hierarchy of general courts has four levels: district, regional, higher regional, and supreme. For most cases, original jurisdiction lies with one of

2280-794: The backbone of the Austrian judiciary. There are four higher regional courts ( Oberlandesgerichte ). They are located in Graz , Innsbruck , Linz , and Vienna . Higher regional courts decide appeals on facts and law ( Berufungen ) in cases originally tried before regional courts. As a special case, the higher regional court in Vienna decides antitrust disputes. Trials before higher regional courts are bench trials decided by panels of either three or five judges: three professional judges and two expert lay judges in employment and social assistance cases, two professional judges and one expert lay judge in all other civil cases, and three professional judges in all criminal trials. Each higher regional court has

2340-490: The civil and criminal chambers set up as two separate courts, meaning that Graz and Vienna each have a civil regional court ( Landesgericht für Zivilrechtssachen ) and a criminal regional court ( Landesgericht für Strafrechtssachen ). Regional courts are responsible for In cases for which the regional court has original jurisdiction, the trial is usually a bench trial decided by a single professional judge, but there are several exceptions: In criminal trials, some effort

2400-448: The civil regional court. As an additional special case, the higher regional court in Vienna has original jurisdiction over antitrust cases. There are currently 115 district courts ( Bezirksgerichte ). Most judicial districts are coextensive with one of the country's 94 administrative districts , although there are exceptions. Some of the larger administrative districts are partitioned into two or more judicial districts. The extreme case

2460-462: The country's two largest cities by a wide margin − the two chambers of the regional court are actually two completely separate courts, housed in separate buildings. In Vienna, there is a third regional court for trials at mercantile law ( Handelsgericht ) and a fourth regional court for cases involving employment and social assistance law ( Arbeits- und Sozialgericht ). Normally, original jurisdiction over disputes in these areas of law would lie with

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2520-435: The court produces appraisals of draft legislation presented to the National Council by the government . The court does not have a fixed number of justices; it consists of a president, a vice president, and as many additional members as Court and cabinet deem necessary and appropriate. As of the early 21st century, there are typically between fifty and sixty judges on the court. As of August 2018, there are 61. The court

2580-421: The decisions of the trial courts and which supervises them in other respects as well. The international scholarly literature generally translates Verwaltungsgerichtshof as "Supreme Administrative Court". Prior to 2014, a minority of authors made strict use of the literal translation, which is simply "Administrative Court". The literal translation was unambiguous at the time because every other tribunal of

2640-647: The district courts; its decision can be appealed to the relevant regional court. Some cases are first tried before the regional court and can be appealed to the higher regional court. Higher regional courts and the Supreme Court do not have original jurisdiction; they exclusively hear appeals. One of the peculiarities of the Austrian judiciary is its strict organizational separation of civil and criminal justice. Courts are divided into civil and criminal chambers; judges spend their days trying either civil cases or criminal cases but never both. In Vienna and in Graz −

2700-527: The document as a whole was fairly short, one of its seven sections was a substantial bill of rights that was modern for the time. The appeasement failed to stem the crisis; Ferdinand had to abdicate. His successor, Franz Joseph succeeded in ending the protests by promulgating the March Constitution , a set of edicts that built on the Pillersdorf Constitution but included a number of additional concessions. The constitution established

2760-522: The event of a vacancy. In theory, the minister may appoint any Austrian legally qualified to sit the bench and not excluded by the constitution's rudimentary incompatibility provisions. In practice, the minister dependably picks one of the three candidates nominated by the court. The Supreme Court of Justice convenes in the Palace of Justice in Vienna . The Austrian model of separation of powers forbids

2820-504: The federal government. Judges and prosecutors are recruited, trained, and employed by the Republic; courts hand down verdicts in the name of the Republic ( im Namen der Republik ). There is no such thing, for example, as an Austrian county court. The court system has two branches: Judges are independent . Appointments are for life; judges cannot be removed or reassigned without their consent. In courts with more than one judge − which

2880-461: The judiciary ( Richterstand ); members of the judiciary are jurists who have completed post-graduate training for the judgeship and have passed the exam that makes them eligible for appointment to the bench of a general court. Nominees cannot be members of a national or provincial cabinet or legislative body. For the purpose of actually trying cases, the court is partitioned into 21 panels ( Senate ) of either three or five members. Each panel

2940-417: The judiciary. Of the remaining fifteen panels, ten deal with civil cases and five with criminal trials. The responsibility for appointing justices is vested in the president , but the president can and usually does delegate this task to the minister of justice . The court maintains a special personnel committee ( German : Personalsenat ) that provides the minister with a shortlist of three candidates in

3000-445: The judiciary; panels of judges suggest candidates for benches with vacancies. There is no military justice in peacetime; members of the military are tried by the regular court system. Trials are oral and public. Civil trials are adversarial trials ( streitige Verfahren ). The court evaluates evidence brought before it by the parties to the trial but makes no attempt to uncover any additional evidence or otherwise investigate

3060-423: The legality of administrative acts; the Constitutional Court adjudicates on complaints regarding the constitutionality of statutes, the legality of ordinances, and the conduct of elected officials and political appointees in office. In addition to the court system proper, the judicial arm of Austrian state power includes the state prosecution service ( Staatsanwaltschaft ), the prisons ( Justizanstalten ) and

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3120-404: The link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Verwaltungsgerichtshof&oldid=936096920 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Supreme Administrative Court (Austria) In

3180-514: The matter itself. Criminal trials are inquisitorial trials ( Anklageverfahren ). The court is actively involved, questioning witnesses brought forward by the parties to the trials, summoning expert witnesses on its own initiative, and generally attempting to determine the truth. Most trials are bench trials, although the bench will often be a panel including one or more lay judges ( Schöffen ). Criminal defendants accused of political transgressions or of serious crimes with severe penalties have

3240-449: The part of an administrative trial court can therefore hurt a complainant in much the same way as inactivity on the part of the bureaucracy can. The court resolves demarcation conflicts between two administrative trial courts, or between an administrative trial court and the Supreme Administrative Court itself. The Supreme Administrative Court does not resolve demarcation conflicts between the administrative court system and other parts of

3300-470: The preliminary investigation is complete, the panel convenes, hears the official presentation of case and research by the case manager, deliberates, and votes. The case manager votes first, the chair votes last; other members vote in order of decreasing seniority. Members are required to vote; abstentation is not permitted. Cases are decided by a simple majority. Generally speaking, panels do not hear oral argument, and their sessions are not public. Parties to

3360-472: The trial court in cases involving certain senior judges and prosecutors, as an appeals court in cases involving lower-level judges and prosecutors, attorneys, and notaries. In addition to its adjudicative responsibilities, the court is charged with running the Republic's official public law library (the Zentralbibliothek ). On the request of the president of the court or the minister of justice ,

3420-483: The trial may petition the panel to open the session to the public and hear oral argument. In theory, the panel has to grant the request, but the relevant statute defines several classes of exceptions to this rule that are broad enough to render it meaningless in practice. The panel may also decide to open the session to the public and hear oral argument on its own initiative; it does so only very rarely. Judiciary of Austria#Administrative court system Structurally,

3480-440: The type of the statute, ordinance, or treaty, the court can often also be called upon by the national government, by regional governments, or by groups of national or regional legislators. Legislation can also be challenged by courts that are trying cases for whose outcome it is relevant. Legislation can further be challenged by one of the parties to the a trial, but only after the trial court has handed down its verdict and only if

3540-541: The verdict actually references the piece of legislation in question. Verdicts by administrative trial courts can additionally be challenged on the grounds that they violate the relevant party's constitutional rights in some other way. This possibility lets the Constitutional Court exercise judicial review not just of ordinances but also of individual-scope actions of the executive branch : A citizen who feels violated in their constitutional rights by an administrative decision or assessment files suit in an administrative court. If

3600-413: The yearly activity report. A new case that comes before the court is first assigned to the relevant panel by the president of the court. One of the members of the panel is appointed case manager ( Berichter ). The case manager directs the preliminary investigation research. An office staffed with about 45 researchers and other assistants is attached to the court to aid case managers in this task. Once

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