The Federal Constitutional Law (, abbreviated ) is a federal constitutional law in Austria serving as the centerpiece of the Constitution. It establishes Austria as a democratic federal parliamentary republic.
The Law was drafted following the 1918 collapse of Austria-Hungary and was promulgated in 1920. It underwent significant revisions in 1925 and 1929, the latter reform changing the system of government from purely parliamentary to semi-presidential. The Law was superseded by the authoritarian constitution in 1934, which itself became void with the 1938 incorporation of Austria into Nazi Germany. It was reestablished when the nation regained independence from Germany in 1945. The Law was fully restored to force with the end of the Allied occupation in 1955 and has remained in force ever since.
Content
System of government
The Federal Constitutional Law stipulates a bicameral parliament as the national legislature, the two chambers being the National Council and the Federal Council (Article 24). Law is created by the National Council. The Federal Council has certain veto powers, but can be overruled by a National Council supermajority on most matters (Art. 41, 42).
Members of the National Council are chosen in nationwide free elections with universal suffrage. The Law does not prescribe any particular voting system. Austria has consistently been using party-list proportional representation, but nothing in the Federal Constitutional Law prevents the legislature from moving, for example, to single-member legislative districts with first-past-the-post voting. National Council elections are held at least once every five years. (Art. 26)
Members of the Federal Council are chosen by the federal states, seats being apportioned to the states according to population (Art. 34).
Executive power lies with the President and the cabinet (Art. 19). The president is elected in a nationwide free election using a simple two-round system. The president's term of office is six years (Art. 60). In theory, it is the president who chooses the cabinet (Art. 70). As a practical matter, a cabinet that does not command the confidence of the National Council is effectively unable to govern; the National Council controls the budget and has extensive monitoring and supervisory rights (Art. 51–55).
Checks and balances
The National Council can submit parliamentary inquiries that cabinet members are required to answer; its standing committees can summon cabinet members or bureaucrats for questioning and demand to inspect executive branch paperwork (Art. 52). It can form special parliamentary investigation committees with sweeping powers (Art. 53). As a matter of simple law, the National Council can also make acts of government subject to National Council assent that the constitution places in the executive purview (Art. 55).
The National Council can force the president to dismiss the cabinet, or specific individual cabinet members, through a vote of no confidence (Art. 74). In concert with the Federal Council, it can also impeach the President before the Constitutional Court (Art. 142) or call for a referendum to have the President removed by the electorate (Art. 60).
The President can dissolve the National Council (Art. 29)
Acting on the advice of his or her cabinet, the President can also dissolve state legislatures (Art. 100)
Legislative and administrative acts of government are subject to judicial review. The Constitutional Court reviews statutes and secondary legislation, striking laws and regulations it deems unconstitutional (Art. 137). The Constitutional Court also resolves demarcation conflicts between other courts, between courts and the executive branch, or between the national government and the states (Art. 138). A system of Administrative Courts reviews executive acts (Art. 129).
Defense
The Austrian army is a militia (Art. 79).
Regional autonomy
The republic established by the Federal Constitutional Law is an unusual hybrid of federal and unitary state. The country's provinces are defined to be "federal states" (Bundesländer) but have neither their own judiciaries (Art. 82) nor their own law enforcement structures in general (Art 78a). They also do not have any significant legislative authority. All courts are "federal" courts. All police departments answer to the "federal" ministry of the interior, all prosecutors to the "federal" ministry of justice. Most legislation of everyday relevance, from family law to trade regulation and from education to the criminal code, is in the "federal" purview (Art. 10–15).