AUSTRIA Law and Practice Contributed by: Bernd Rajal, Maximilian Klein and Moritz Üblagger, Schönherr Rechtsanwälte GmbH
6.2 Charities and NGOs Right to File Complaints for Charities and NGOs Under Article 132 paragraph 4 B-VG, the legisla - tor can designate non-governmental individuals or groups, such as citizens’ initiatives or specific NGOs, as formal parties and grant them the right to file a complaint with an administrative court. For example, recognised environmental organi - sations have the right to file complaints under the Environmental Impact Assessment Act.
7.2 Roles of Additional Parties Parties in Administrative Court Proceedings In administrative court proceedings concerning complaints against administrative decisions, the following individuals are considered parties, alongside the complainant: • all persons who had party status in the proceedings before the administrative author - ity or should have been parties due to legal claims or interests (Section 17 VwGVG in conjunction with Section 8 AVG); and • the authority that issued the contested deci - sion (Section 18 in conjunction with Section 9 paragraph 2 number 1 VwGVG). Different Types of Parties Under Section 8 AVG, parties are natural or legal persons involved based on a legal entitlement or interest. Austrian administrative law recognises several party categories. • Main party – initiates proceedings by submit - ting an application. • Legal party – has party status by statutory provision. • Formal party – granted party status by law but does not participate based on subjective material rights. • Administrative party – administrative bodies with such transferred party rights. Scope of Participation The scope of participation varies as follows: • the main party is the party that filed the act initiating the proceeding or that is subject to a loss of rights or an imposed obligation, while other parties are so-called secondary par - ties – main parties can participate in all issues relevant to the case, while secondary parties have more limited participation;
7. Other Parties 7.1 Joinder No Possibility to Join Proceedings
The right to file a complaint with an administrative court is tied to the violation of one’s own rights or the obligation to decide (see 6.1 Requirements for Administrative Law Challenges ). Austrian administrative law does not permit a third party to join an existing complaint. Each individual must file a separate complaint. However, multiple individuals can file a joint complaint if all are entitled to do so in the same matter. If one person lacks the right to complain, the court will reject their complaint but will pro - ceed with the others. Administrative Procedure Consortium If multiple applicants seek a permit from an authority, and only one can be granted, they may form an administrative procedure consortium. The authority will conduct a joint procedure and issue a decision granting the permit to one appli - cant while rejecting the others. Those receiving a negative decision may file a complaint with an administrative court, which will then decide individually for each complainant.
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