🪴 Maixnor WU

Eight Lecture GLE

Nov 04, 20253 min read

Credit: Aaron Meekins

Constitution and Functions

  • Constitution
    • Basic document of State legal order
      • Highest rank in legal order
      • Higher hurdles for modification
    • Higher rank in the legal order compared to other legal documents
  • Functions
    • Rules for political process
      • Enactment of laws
      • Actions done by high politicians in government
      • Rule, regulate, set the games of political process
      • No politician may step outside of this
    • Separation of Powers
    • Fundamental Rights
    • Basic values
    • Common goals

Introduction

  • Federal Constitutional Act of 1920 (Bundes Verfassungsgesetz)
    • Basic principles of the constitution
    • Organization structure
    • Powers of institutions and bodies
    • Fundamental rights
  • Federal constitutional law spread among various legal instruments
    • Austria is a federal state. There are nine Land Constitutions
  • Other constitutional acts and constitutional provisions in various legal acts
    • Specific act on security
    • Specific act on neutrality
    • Not every provision is in the constitutional act of 1920
  • Hierarchy of Norms

Basic Principles of Constitution

  • Not listed in the constitution
    • Customs
  • Characteristics
    • Democratic Principle
    • Republican Principle
    • Federal Principle
    • Rule of Law (Rechtsstaat)
    • Liberal Principle
    • Separation of Powers
    • Unconstitutional constitutional law
      • Ordinary constitutional law in conflict with one of the basic principles
    • Special rules of enactment and amendment
      • Only one referendum in Austrian history
        • When Austria joined the EU (1994)
      • Two different versions of constitutional law
        • Article 44
        • We can make a distinction between a complete amendment of the constitution and a partial amendment of the constitution
          • For a complete, there’s procedures that have to be followed
            • Stricter than a partial change
          • For a partial amendment, there’s separate procedures
        • If a basic principle is amended or deleted, article 44 says this is a complete revision of the constitution and the parliament has to approve by ⅔ while 50% of parliamentarians are present.
          • Referendum

Federal Legislation

Federal Legislation

  • red: National Council → Nationalrat
  • green: Federal Council → Bundesrat
  • suspensive veto
    • like a stop! button for the law
    • is overruled by another transmission

Authentication … approval of Federal President promulgation … official publication

Credit: Aaron Meekins

  • Legislation process on a federal level
  • Who can give the initiative for a law?
    • Parliament
    • Federal Council
    • Popular initiative
    • Government (all of the ministers)
  • Legislative proposal happens
    • First reading
    • Referral to a committee
    • Preliminary deliberations in committee
    • Deliberations in plenary
    • Voting
      • 2nd and 3rd reading, adoption by the National Council
      • No right of objection
        • Federal budget
        • Rules of procedure of the national council
  • Transmission to the Federal council
    • Right to a suspensive veto
      • National council deliberates once more
        • Final insistence
      • Authentication + Promulgation
    • Right of objection
      • 8 weeks to deliberate
      • Right to pause
Link to original

Executive

  • Highest Executive Bodies
    • Federal President
    • Federal Government
      • Collegiate body (Many members)
        • Chancellor
          • Same “position” as the ministers
        • Vice Chancellor
        • Ministers
    • Federal Ministers
      • Every minister has parts directly under their control
        • Minister of health
          • Parts of other ministers jurisdiction also come under the minister of health
  • Executive Power of Federation
    • Direct federal administration
      • Federal authorities
        • Police
        • Financial administration
    • Indirect federal administration
      • Governor (Landeshauptmann)
      • Subordinated Land authorities
      • Where Laender have power in the constitutional system

Federal Government

  • Appointed by the Federal President
  • Dismissal by the Federal President…
    • Of the the chancellor/the entire Federal Government: no recommendation required
    • Of individual members: recommendation of the Federal Chancellor
  • Removal from office by way of vote of no confidence (National Council) or resignation
  • Federal Government (collegiate body) ←Distinguish→ Federal Minister

Judiciary

  • Ordinary Courts/ Criminal Courts
    • Supreme Court of Justice
    • Higher Regional Courts
    • Regional Courts
    • District Courts
  • Courts of Public Law
    • Administrative Jurisdiction
      • Examine whether administrative acts comply with the law
    • Constitutional Court (Guardian of the constitution)
      • Powers to review laws and regulations for their constitutionality
      • Court of fundamental rights
      • Resolves conflicts of competence between the federation and a Land or between the Laender themselves
      • Pronounces upon challenges to elections
    • Supreme Administrative Court
      • Court of final instance in administrative matters
        • 11 Courts of First Instance
          • 9 Land Administrative Courts
          • Federal Administrative Courts
          • Federal Finance Court

Backlinks