Austria · Legislation
Legislation and primary sources
Where to find the authoritative text of the law in Austria, and how to confirm it is still in force.
Sources of law, ranked
- Constitutional law
- The B-VG plus a large number of separate constitutional acts and provisions.
- EU law
- Directly applicable since accession in 1995 and takes precedence over conflicting domestic law.
- Federal statutes
- Voted by the Nationalrat, with the Bundesrat holding only a suspensive veto.
- Länder statutes
- Landesgesetze within the competences reserved to the nine Länder.
- Codes
- ABGB (1811) for private law, StGB for crime, plus the commercial and procedural codes.
- Ordinances
- Verordnungen issued under statutory authority; annullable by the Constitutional Court.
The legislative process
Bills originate with the government, members of the Nationalrat, the Bundesrat or a popular initiative, and pass three readings in the Nationalrat. The Bundesrat may object but can normally be overridden. The Federal President authenticates the law, the Chancellor countersigns, and it is published in the Bundesgesetzblatt.
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