Alternative Dispute Settlement Act (Austria)

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Basic data
Title: Federal law that enacts a federal law on alternative dispute resolution in consumer matters and changes the Consumer Protection Act, the Fees Act 1957 and the Consumer Authorities Cooperation Act
Abbreviation: AStG
Type: Federal law
Scope: Republic of Austria
Legal matter: Consumer law
Reference: BGBl. I No. 105/2015
Effective date: August 13, 2015 and January 9, 2016
Please note the note on the applicable legal version !

The Alternative Dispute Settlement Act (AStG) is an Austrian federal law that was published on August 13, 2015 and which regulates the procedure for the alternative settlement of disputes about obligations arising from a contract for payment between an entrepreneur established in Austria and an Austrian or in another contracting state of the Agreement on the European Economic Area is regulated (§ 1 Abs. 1 AStG).

The Austrian National Council passed this federal law on July 8, 2015.

Signs of the AS agencies in Austria

European Law

The AStG was issued on the basis of the obligations of the European Union to the Union member states , in particular

  • the Directive 2013/11 / EU , on alternative dispute resolution for consumer disputes and amending Regulation (EC) no. 2006/2004 and Directive 2009/22 / EC (§ 34 AStG)
  • Regulation (EU) No. 524/2013 on the online settlement of consumer disputes and amending Regulation (EC) No. 2006/2004 and Directive 2009/22 / EC (Section 1 (3) AStG).

Structure of the law

  • Article 1: Alternative Dispute Settlement Act - AStG
    • Section 1: General
      • §§ 1 to 3
    • Section 2: Bodies for alternative dispute resolution
      • §§ 4 to 11
    • Section 3: Procedure before AS bodies
      • §§ 12 to 18
    • Section 4: Information requirements
      • § 19
    • Section 5: Support, information and cooperation from AS agencies
      • Sections 20 to 23
    • Section 6: Authorities and reporting obligations
      • Sections 24 to 28
    • Section 7: Criminal Provisions
      • Sections 29 to 34
  • Article 2: Amendment of the Consumer Protection Act
  • Article 3: Amendment of the Fees Act 1957
  • Article 4: Amendment of the Consumer Authorities Cooperation Act

Sections 5 to 19, 21 to 23 and 25 to 30 are not applicable until January 9, 2016 in accordance with Section 31 AStG.

Scope and scope

The AStG applies to (Section 1 (1) AStG):

  • Disputes about obligations from a paid contract,
  • between an entrepreneur established in Austria and
  • resident consumer. The AStG therefore does not apply to disputes about obligations arising from a paid contract with companies or consumers from third countries (e.g. Switzerland ).

Disputes arising from legal transactions (Section 1 (2) AStG) are expressly excluded from the scope of application:

  1. on health services provided by health professionals to patients in order to assess, maintain or restore their state of health, including the prescription, dispensing and provision of drugs and medical devices;
  2. with public providers of further education or higher education,
  3. non-economic services of general interest and
  4. Purchase contracts for immovable property.

priority

According to § 2 AStG, in the event of a conflict, the AStG takes precedence over any other legal provision that serves to implement a sector-specific Union legal act via out-of-court redress procedures initiated by a consumer against an entrepreneur .

Enforcement of the law

The implementation of the AStG is regulated in several layers according to § 32 AStG:

  1. the Federal Minister of Justice with regard to § 18 AStG,
  2. the Federal Minister for Transport, Innovation and Technology with regard to Sections 25 (2) and 27 (2) AStG,
  3. with regard to Sections 21, 25 Paragraphs 3 and 4, 26 Paragraphs 2 and 28 AStG, insofar as it concerns matters of Section 24 Paragraph 1 Z 1 AStG, the Federal Minister for Transport, Innovation and Technology, and, if it concerns matters of § 24 Abs. 1 Z 2 AStG, the Federal Minister for Labor, Social Affairs and Consumer Protection and
  4. with regard to the other provisions of the Federal Ministers for Labor, Social Affairs and Consumer Protection.

reception

The Austrian AStG formed the basis of reception for the Liechtenstein Alternative Dispute Settlement Act (AStG) and the regulations on alternative dispute settlement bodies in Liechtenstein. To a large extent, the reception takes place literally.

See also

Web links

Sources and References

  1. ↑ Long title: Federal law that enacts a federal law on alternative dispute resolution in consumer matters and changes the Consumer Protection Act, the Fees Act 1957 and the Consumer Authorities Cooperation Act, Federal Law Gazette I 105/2015.
  2. ↑ OJ. No. L 165 of June 18, 2013 p. 63
  3. ↑ OJ. No. L 165 of June 18, 2013 p. 1.
  4. ^ Government report and application , 83/2016, of July 5, 2016, p. 7.