2 National Report for Austria

Abstract

This chapter discusses the law on creditor claims in Austria. ‘Modern’ bankruptcy laws—the Compensation Law (Ausgleichsordnung, AO) and the Bankruptcy Act (Konkursordnung, KO)—were first introduced by the imperial decree of 10 December 1914, 337 RGBl. Since then, these have undergone numerous amendments. Austrian insolvency law was subjected to the most comprehensive review and reform with insolvency amendment 2010, Federal Law Gazette 2010/29, which merged bankruptcy law and compensation law into a single procedural structure. The Compensation Law was repealed, while the Bankruptcy Act was renamed the Insolvency Law. The rest of the chapter deals with insolvency claims, administration claims, and non-enforceable claims in turn. Each section covers: the definition and scope of the claim; rules for submission, verification, and satisfaction or admission of claims; classification and ranking of claims; and voting and participation rights in insolvency proceedings.