The Austrian Constitutional Court

Abstract

Abstract This chapter pays attention to the Austrian Constitutional Court. This court-constitutional adjudication is characterized by a single institution, which in its competences and organizational structure is essentially unchanged compared to the Constitutional Court that was established in 1920. In order to understand today’s constitutional adjudication, the chapter discusses its historical beginnings immediately after the end of the monarchy. It also reveals that, in the European comparison, the Austrian Constitutional Court is of great importance in national constitutional practice. It owes this essentially to its power to review and strike down statutes. Until very recently, the Constitutional Court had no authority in disputes between different organs of the state. Only since the beginning of 2015 has it been responsible for ruling on disputes between organs of the Nationalrat and organs required to provide information.