AUSTRIA Law and Practice Contributed by: Bernd Rajal, Maximilian Klein and Moritz Üblagger, Schönherr Rechtsanwälte GmbH
Supreme Administrative Court and Constitutional Court
whose interests differ from the complainant’s, do not provide comments. The principle of ex officio proceedings, combined with the duty of the parties to co-operate, still applies (see 8.1 Disclosure/Discovery ). 12. Interim Relief 12.1 Common Forms of Interim Relief Generally: Automatic Interim Relief Complaints against decisions by administrative authorities generally have a suspensive effect (Section 13 VwGVG). This prevents potentially unlawful decisions by state bodies from creating irreversible or difficult-to-reverse facts before the legal situation has been definitively clarified by higher authorities. The provisional measure of suspensive effect halts the execution of the contested decision in its entirety. Until the complaint is resolved, no legal consequences detrimental to the com - plainant may arise from the contested decision. Exclusion of Suspensive Effect in Individual Cases The authority may exclude the suspensive effect by decision if, after weighing the affected pub - lic interests and the interests of other parties, it determines that the early execution of the con - tested decision or the exercise of the right grant - ed by the contested decision is urgently required due to imminent danger (Section 13 paragraph 2 VwGVG). When deciding on the exclusion of suspensive effect, the authority must balance the complainant’s interest in legal protection against the conflicting interests of other parties and the public interest. The parties may chal - lenge the exclusion of the suspensive effect by filing a complaint with the Administrative Court.
Appeals to the Supreme Administrative Court and the Constitutional Court generally do not have a suspensive effect (Section 85 paragraph 1 VfGG; Section 30 paragraph 1 VwGG). Howev - er, suspensive effect may be granted upon appli - cation (Section 30 paragraph 2 VwGG; Section 85 paragraph 2 VfGG).
13. Remedies 13.1 Damages No Possibility of Awarding Damages
In Austrian administrative proceedings, it is gen - erally not possible to seek damages as part of a challenge to a decision by an administrative authority. Administrative courts review the legali - ty of administrative acts (see 10.2 Constitutional Challenge ) but they are not authorised to award damages. Liability of Authorities Under civil law provisions, the federal govern - ment, the provinces and the municipalities are liable for damage to property or persons caused by individuals acting as their representatives during the execution of the law through unlaw - ful conduct (Section 1 paragraph 1 Liability of Authorities Act (AHG)). The courts responsible for adjudicating claims for compensation from the injured party against the legal entity are those with jurisdiction over civil law cases (Section 9 paragraph 1 AHG; for the distinction between ordinary jurisdiction and administrative jurisdiction, see 3.4 Agreements Between Private Entities and Public Bodies ). Illegality, as defined by the AHG, can include both the application of material or procedural
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