Austria

Republic of Austria

Civil lawFederal parliamentary republicReviewed· 2026-08-02

Capital: Vienna
Population: 9,100,000
Languages: German
Currency: EUR

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Austria · Rights

Rights in Austria

What the atlas records on rights in Austria, checked against the primary sources cited below.

Rights

GDPR through the DSG, supervised by the Datenschutzbehörde

Reviewed· 2026-08-02

Data protection rests on the GDPR, supplemented by the Austrian Data Protection Act (DSG), which uniquely elevates a core right to data protection to constitutional rank. The Datenschutzbehörde is the single national supervisory authority for both the public and private sectors.

Key rules

Processing requires a GDPR lawful basis; the DSG adds national rules, including on employee and image data.
The DSG contains a constitutionally ranked fundamental right to data protection (§1).
Breaches presenting a risk must be notified to the Datenschutzbehörde, in principle within 72 hours.

Governing law

General Data Protection Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2016/679)
Data Protection Act (Datenschutzgesetz, DSG)National implementation; constitutional data-protection right

Penalties and consequences

GDPR fines up to EUR 20 million or 4% of worldwide annual turnover
Orders and processing bans from the Datenschutzbehörde

In practice

Austria's early practice favoured warnings over fines for first infringements, though enforcement has firmed up. The constitutional ranking of §1 DSG means a data-protection claim can, in principle, reach the Constitutional Court.

Sources

Data Protection Authority (Datenschutzbehörde)

Rights

The ECHR has constitutional rank, enforced by the Constitutional Court

Reviewed· 2026-08-02

Austria incorporated the European Convention on Human Rights with constitutional status in 1964, so Convention rights are directly enforceable as constitutional rights before the Verfassungsgerichtshof. This gives the ECHR unusually strong force in the domestic order compared with countries where it ranks below the constitution.

Key rules

The ECHR and its protocols have constitutional rank and are directly applicable.
The Verfassungsgerichtshof adjudicates alleged violations of constitutionally guaranteed rights, including Convention rights.
Equal treatment and non-discrimination are protected constitutionally and through equal-treatment legislation.

Governing law

European Convention on Human Rights (1964)Incorporated with constitutional rank
Basic Law on the General Rights of Nationals (1867)Still-effective classical rights catalogue

In practice

Because the ECHR is constitutional law, a rights violation can be taken straight to the Constitutional Court rather than only to Strasbourg. The Equal Treatment Ombud supports discrimination complaints outside the courts.

Sources

Constitutional Court (VfGH)

Rights

A real constitutional court — with individual complaint and statute annulment

Reviewed· 2026-08-02

Unlike its western neighbours, Austria has a powerful Constitutional Court (Verfassungsgerichtshof) that can annul statutes for unconstitutionality. The federal constitution is spread across the core B-VG and many separate constitutional acts, and since 2015 individuals can bring a direct complaint (Parteiantrag) challenging a law applied in their case.

Key rules

The Verfassungsgerichtshof can annul federal and provincial statutes, and administrative regulations, for unconstitutionality.
Constitutional law is fragmented across the Federal Constitutional Law (B-VG) and numerous separate constitutional provisions.
Since 2015 an individual party to court proceedings may directly petition the Constitutional Court to review the law applied to them (Gesetzesbeschwerde).
Amending the constitution requires a two-thirds majority in the National Council; a total revision also needs a referendum.

Governing law

Federal Constitutional Law (Bundes-Verfassungsgesetz, B-VG) (1920)Re-enacted 1929

In practice

The scattered nature of Austrian constitutional law means important guarantees sit outside the B-VG itself, and the ECHR has constitutional rank, giving Convention rights unusually strong domestic force. The individual complaint has widened access to constitutional review.

Sources

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