Recent Austrian practice in the field of international law

Abstract

We, members of the legal service of the Austrian Foreign Ministry (“Office of the Legal Adviser”, “Völkerrechtsbüro”), have been invited by the editors of this distinguished journal to submit a report on Austria’s recent practice in the field of international law. For various reasons, this is a very challenging task. There is, in particular, the wealth of material from which it is necessary to make only a small selection, and the fact that certain interesting legal issues may not or may not yet lend themselves to publication. However, the attempt to write such a report was made, in the hope that it would, in addition to the annual meetings of the international lawyers of Austria (“Österreichischer Völkerrechtstag”) and other publications, further contribute to the dialog between practitioners and academics dealing with public international law. This report is a collective “Christmas break exercise”. We wish to thank our colleagues who have also contributed to it, in particularMichael Baier,Ulrike Köhler andGregor Csörsz.