AUSTRIA Law and Practice Contributed by: Florian Haugeneder, Patrizia Netal, Jurgita Petkutė and Natascha Tunkel, KNOETZL
12.3 Approach of the Courts The general approach of the courts towards the recognition and enforcement of arbitral awards is pragmatic, and the grounds listed in the applicable conventions are interpreted restrictively. Although the opposing party will be granted the opportunity to raise grounds based on which it believes the recogni - tion and enforcement of the award will be refused, these grounds are interpreted narrowly. This applies to public policy, in particular – where a high threshold must be reached in order to be considered a sufficient reason to refuse recognition and enforcement. 13. Miscellaneous 13.1 Class Action or Group Arbitration In 2020, Directive (EU) 2020/1828 on Representative Actions for the Protection of the Collective Interests of Consumers came into force. Austria implemented this directive (with the Verbandsklagen - Richtlinie - Umset- zungs - Novelle , or VRUN) in 2024. In addition, various rules that apply to multiparty proceedings before state courts are used as the basis for group actions. The Austrian Arbitration Act does not contain provi - sions regarding class action or group arbitration. Pro - vided there is a valid arbitration agreement in place, there is no reason to assume that the same cannot apply to group arbitrations, given the fact that Austrian arbitration law contains rules regarding the appoint - ment of arbitrators in multiparty arbitrations. However, specifically with regard to class-action arbitrations that involve consumers, the limitations of Section 617 of the CCP would pose a hurdle. Please see 3.2 Arbi- trability for further details on consumers. 13.2 Ethical Codes The conduct of the legal profession in Austria is sub - ject to the Code of Professional Conduct for Lawyers ( Rechtsanwaltsordnung ), as well as to numerous EU regulations. Although none of these expressly refer to international arbitration, it is common practice to apply them in arbitral proceedings as well. Lawyers must not make allegations they know to be false. However, there is no obligation to verify the truthful - ness of the information given by a client or a witness. Foreign lawyers acting in arbitrations seated in Austria
are not bound by Austrian professional ethics rules but are generally understood to be bound by the ethics rules of their respective home jurisdiction. 13.3 Third-Party Funding The Austrian market shows that third-party funding is a well-established practice in litigation and arbitra - tion. This is also evident from the increasing number of third-party funders active in the Austrian market. The Vienna Rules have sought to bring more transpar - ency to the process by requiring parties to disclose the existence of any third-party funding and the iden - tity of the third-party funder. This is to ensure the inde - pendence and impartiality of the arbitrators through appropriate disclosure. Otherwise, there are no express provisions on third- party funding under Austrian law – although there are two rules that could be understood to limit it, as fol - lows: • First, Austrian law requires the claim to be made (litigated) by the person who owns it – ie, it is not permissible for a claim to be made in one person’s name but on behalf of another person. • Second, it is forbidden for attorneys to enter into contingency fee arrangements (quota litis). The Austrian Supreme Court has – in a litigation mat - ter – held that third-party funders may be subject to the prohibition of quota litis if they undertake activi - ties that are otherwise reserved for lawyers, such as providing legal advice (OGH 4 Ob 144/24s). 13.4 Consolidation While Austrian arbitration law does not provide for rules regarding the consolidation of separate arbitral proceedings, it is considered permissible. The Vienna Rules allow for the consolidation of sepa - rate arbitral proceedings – for example, if the seat of arbitration in all of the arbitration agreements is the same and the parties agree to the consolidation, or if the same arbitrators were nominated for all proceed - ings concerned.
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