AUSTRIA

	AUSTRIA

	Composition and structure Court functions Advisory functions

Name of the institution : Österreichischer Verwaltungsgerichtshof
(Supreme Administrative Court)

President :
Univ.-Prof. Dr. Clemens JABLONER

Address :
Verwaltungsgerichtshof
Judenplatz 11
A - 1014 Vienna Austria

Phone number :	(43) (1) 53.111.0 (Court)
	(43) (1) 53.111.276 (President)
	(43) (1) 53.111.270 (Secretary's office)

Fax :	(43) (1) 53111-135

E-mail :	clemens.jabloner@vwgh.gv.at

Web site :
http://www.vwgh.gv.at

Composition and structure

Number of members :
The Administrative Court is currently composed of 63 members : the President, the Vice-President, 12 Presidents of Chambers, and 49 judges.

Recruitment procedures and incompatibilities :
The President, the Vice-President, and the other members of the Court are appointed by the federal President upon proposal by the federal Government. Except for the functions of the President and the Vice-President, the Government establishes its proposal according to a list of three candidates submitted by the plenary assembly of the Administrative Court.
At least one third of the members must have the legal title to be judge ; the other members come from federal administrative departments, including the financial departments, and from the administration of the Länder.

Internal organization :
The rules concerning the organization, jurisdiction and procedure of the Court are determined by a special federal law, and by an interior regulation adopted by the plenary assembly of the Court pursuant to the law.
The Administrative Court adjudicates in separate chambers (senates), which are defined by the plenary assembly. At the beginning of each year, the cases are distributed in advance between the chambers by the plenary assembly. Every case is allocated to a reporter appointed by the President.

Publications :
A yearly report is sent to Parliament, and the major judgments are published.

Court functions

Jurisdiction :
Since 1876, the Administrative Court of Vienna has to guarantee the legality of the whole public administration.

Organization of the courts system :
The jurisdiction of the Administrative Court, which is established by the federal Constitution, is characterized by its special nature : it is a central court controling the whole administration. In first instance, the judges give a ruling in annulment (except for the cases of inactivity where the Court decides itself on the matter) ; its competence is limited to controling a posteriori the legality of the public administration as a whole with an extended competence (system of the general clause).

Powers of the judge (annulment, reversal, compensation ...) :
The Administrative Court gives a ruling on the claims alleging :
- the illegality of a decision of the administrative authorities (the Court pronounces an annulment ex tunc) ;
- the inactivity of the administrative authorities (the Court gives a ruling on the matter itself).

Advisory functions

The Administrative Court of Austria does not exert any advisory functions.