The Concordat of 1855 was preceded by several events that indicated that the situation of religious orders in the Austrian Partition had begun to change gradually. The aforementioned Concordat already stated in its first article that the Church was governed by divine and ecclesiastical (canonical) law and Article XXVIII of the Concordat guaranteed religious orders and congregations full freedom, their own administration in accordance with the monastic constitutions, communal life in accordance with the rule, dependence on the Roman generals and the possibility of establishing new monasteries in dioceses, but with the consent of the bishop after agreement with the civil authorities. This paper will present canonical and civil provisions relating to the formation and administration of religious communities from 1855 onwards. In particular, issues concerning the conditions for admission to a religious order, the effects of the vows taken as well as the rights and duties of religious superiors, the decision to leave a religious order and the provisions concerning the suppression of religious orders will be addressed. Canon law is essentially the provisions of the Council of Trent and the decrees of certain Roman dicasteries, while civil law will be based during the period under discussion on the Concordat, the Austrian Civil Code of 1811 and the Pennal Code of 1852, as amended in 1867.