Internal Affairs Office

The Bureau for Internal Affairs (.BIA) was founded on January 31, 2001 and was the anti-corruption authority (Department IV / 6) set up in the Austrian Ministry of the Interior (BM.I). It stood entirely outside of the classic police structures and, as an independent, self-sufficient organizational unit that is free from instructions, conducts security and criminal police investigations into suspected official offenses and corruption , with investigations nationwide.

Most recently, 32 officials from all federal states performed their duties at .BIA. Leader was Martin Kreutner . The report to the agency was made on the principle of voluntariness. The point before the abbreviation .BIA is part of the corporate design of the Ministry of the Interior.

Areas of responsibility

The tasks of the .BIA primarily included the receipt and review of allegations and complaints against employees of the Federal Ministry of the Interior and their subordinate departments, which are assigned to the area of official offenses (Sections 302–313 StGB ). The .BIA was also responsible if the investigations were directed against employees of other ministries and other regional authorities, provided that they performed tasks in the area of ​​security administration or the criminal police. In addition, the .BIA was responsible for other similar matters in individual cases (e.g. investigations into other serious breaches of duty, such as sexual harassment by a superior or colleague). The .BIA had also established itself as a specialist service for investigating cases of corruption in other areas. If required, relevant surveys were carried out in other departments, with city ​​magistrates and district authorities , in municipalities, but also in the private sector. The .BIA worked directly with the responsible public prosecutor's offices and courts.

The areas of responsibility of the .BIA also included corruption prevention and training. Courses and lessons in seminars and career courses were held at the Austrian Security Academy for the employees of the department. In addition, employees of the .BIA were repeatedly invited to national and international teaching facilities and conferences for lectures.

The .BIA was the point of contact for anti-corruption issues, sent to national and foreign expert committees and is a discussion partner for other regional authorities , NGOs and interest groups on the subject of fighting corruption.

Reports to the .BIA

A report to the .BIA was not tied to official channels for internal reports either. This means that a supervisor could not forbid an employee to report.

Public perception and criticism

The .BIA was often criticized for being an authority within the Ministry of the Interior, i. This means that "police officers investigate police officers". However, the very creation of the .BIA was a step forward compared to earlier times, where "ordinary" detectives investigated corruption cases which were by no means free of instructions, as was the case with the .BIA. Nonetheless, at times the demand was made by various sides to set up a corresponding anti-corruption unit within the Ministry of Justice, which would have public prosecutorial authority.

The .BIA first came into the media focus in the context of the process surrounding the death of Seibane Wague . However, it then became known throughout Austria for the incidents in the context of the abuse of office affairs in the Vienna police in 2006 , in which the two high-ranking law enforcement officers Roland Horngacher and Ernst Geiger were suspended.

At the end of 2008, criticism of the .BIA was also voiced in the report of the Council of Europe on the fight against corruption, as reported in the chief comment of the daily newspaper Der Standard : “ The Minister of the Interior - currently the Minister - can even intervene directly. The Council of Europe immediately dismisses the suggestion that the fight against corruption is serious when the newly established responsible office for internal affairs (BIA) is at the mercy of the minister. It almost assigns the role of a salt office to the BIA when the report refers to the 'legal possibilities for the Minister of the Interior' to 'order the cessation of investigations'. If something is not politically opportune, work is simply stopped. "

resolution

In March 2008, Interior Minister Platter announced that the .BIA would only exist until the end of 2008. After that, the newly created “ Federal Office for the Fight against Corruption and Prevention of Corruption ” (.BAK) should have taken over its activities. However, it was not until June 2009 that a corresponding resolution was passed in the Council of Ministers, and the draft law to establish the .BAK in the National Council was dealt with. In contrast to the .BIA, the .BAK should originally have been anchored in law as a separate safety authority. The draft law provides that the Federal Office - like the Federal Criminal Police Office - should be an organizational unit of the Federal Ministry. However, the .BIA only exists on the basis of instructions from the former Interior Minister Ernst Strasser .

The head of the Federal Office is appointed for a period of twelve years in order to make it more difficult to exert political influence due to changing government constellations, similar to the President of the Court of Auditors . The Federal Office is headed by a director appointed by the Federal President. Instructions to this office should only be given in writing in order to ensure transparency. It is also intended to form a "connection piece" to the Economic and Corruption Public Prosecutor's Office (WKStA), which started its service in 2009.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Alexandra Föderl-Schmid : Like a banana republic. Political influence is the central obstacle in the fight against corruption. The standard , 20./21. December 2008, p. 40
2. ↑ draft law on the creation of .BAK