Administrative Procedure and Judicial Review in Austria

This chapter discusses administrative procedure and judicial review in Austria. In Austria, there exists a principle of the 'exclusivity of legal sources'. Legal protection is only possible against certain administrative legal sources. In general, Article 130 B-VG pronounces judgments on complaints by the administrative courts against rulings by administrative authorities for unlawful acts; against the exercise of direct administrative power and compulsion to carry out unlawful acts; and on the grounds of breach of the duty to reach a decision by an administrative authority. In principle, the administrative court has to examine the case comprehensively; in general, there is no exclusion for specific administrative matters. It is of fundamental significance for the Austrian administrative judicial system that an administrative court of first instance generally decides on the merits of the case. Only in very exceptional cases does it set aside the contested act by the authority and refer the case back to it.