🪴 Maixnor WU

Constitution

Nov 04, 20252 min read

Basic Principles

If one of the basic principles is to be changed one needs 2/3 majority and at least 1/2 of members of council. After the change is completely formulated a Referendum needs to be cast to approve of the change.

Democratic Principle

  • Indirect Parliamentary Democracy (Austria)
    • Suffrage
    • principle of proportional representation
  • Direct Democracy (Switzerland)
    • most laws are
  • Elements of direct democracy
    • Referendum → legally binding
    • Popular Initiative → legally (semi)binding
      • A draft of a law to be brought to the parliament which decides if the law is put into reality
    • Consultation of the People → not legally binding
      • asking the opinion of the public
  • Principle of Legality
    • every act of the executive branch must be based on law

Republican Principle

Federal Principle

  • Relative Autonomy of Laender
  • Parliament
    • National Council (Nationalrat)
      • directly voted
    • Federal Council (Bundesrat)
      • consists of members of Councils of Laender (Landrat)
  • Laender influence the legislative decisions on a national level

Liberal Principle

  • “Freedom from the State”
  • Separation of state and society
  • fundamental rights

Principle of Separation of Powers

Principle of Rule of Law

Fundamental Rights

  • Right to

    • life
    • property

  • prohibition of torture

  • freedom of

    • speech
    • religion
    • assembly

  • legal representation

  • housing, family, self-determination

Basic Values

  • like protection of environment
    • although not a basic right to assign to a person
    • but something all politics have to follow
    • politics has to discuss HOW to interpret and protect basic values

The Law in Austria

  • federal constitutional act of 1920
    • constitutional acts (can be in any law) (amendments)
  • there is not just one document which is “the constitution”
  • 9 different Land Constitutions

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