Austria · Courts
Court structure of Austria
Every tier of the judiciary, what it hears, and where an appeal goes next.
The hierarchy, top to bottom
- Constitutional — Verfassungsgerichtshof (VfGH)
- Reviews statutes and ordinances, hears rights complaints and election challenges.
- Supreme — Oberster Gerichtshof (OGH)
- Highest court in civil and criminal matters.
- Administrative — Verwaltungsgerichtshof (VwGH)
- Highest administrative court, hearing revisions from the administrative courts.
- Appellate — Oberlandesgerichte
- Four higher regional courts: Vienna, Graz, Linz and Innsbruck.
- First instance — Landesgerichte and Bezirksgerichte
- Regional and district courts; value and gravity determine competence.
- Administrative — Administrative courts of first instance
- Nine Länder courts plus the Federal Administrative and Federal Finance Courts, created in the 2014 reform.
Every court in the hierarchy
- supremeViennaConstitutional CourtNational — constitutionality of laws and constitutional rights
- supremeViennaSupreme CourtNational — final instance in ordinary jurisdiction
- supremeViennaSupreme Administrative CourtNational — legality of administrative action
- appellateVienna, Graz, Linz and InnsbruckHigher Regional CourtsRegional — four appellate districts (Vienna, Graz, Linz, Innsbruck)
- first-instanceRegional and district seats nationwideRegional and District CourtsRegional — first-instance civil and criminal cases
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