Bodily harm (Austria)

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In Austria, the punishment of bodily harm is regulated in §§ 83-88 StGB .

Bodily harm, § 83 StGB

(1) Anyone who injures someone else's body or harms their health is punishable by imprisonment of up to one year or a fine of up to 720 daily rates.

(2) Anyone who maltreats another person's body and thereby negligently injures or damages health is also to be punished.

(3) Anyone who commits bodily harm in accordance with Paragraph 1 or 2 to a person who is entrusted with the control of compliance with the conditions of carriage or the control of a means of transport of an establishment serving public transport during or because of the exercise of their activity is subject to imprisonment to be punished for up to two years.

A distinction must be made here as to how far the offender's intent extends. If the intent includes both the damaging act and the damage (bodily harm), the perpetrator must be punished in accordance with Section 83 (1). However, if the intent of the perpetrator relates only to the mistreatment , i.e. the damaging act, the perpetrator is nevertheless to be punished under Section 83 (2) if the damage was caused negligently. This distinction is necessary because the mistreatment, e.g. B. jostling or bumping, is not a criminal offense in itself. If, however, an injury occurs as a result and this was caused negligently by the willful mistreatment, the perpetrator is liable to prosecution. Section 83 (2) therefore represents a mixed offense of intent and negligence and extends the criminal liability under Section 83 of the Criminal Code. Without paragraph 2, the second variant would only be punishable under the conditions of negligent bodily harm.

Serious bodily harm, § 84 StGB

(1) Anyone who abuses another person's body and thereby negligently causes damage to health or occupational disability lasting longer than twenty-four days or a serious injury or damage to health is punishable by imprisonment for up to three years.

(2) Anyone who commits bodily harm (Section 83 (1) or (2)) to a civil servant, witness or expert during or because of the performance of his or her duties or duties shall also be punished.

(3) The perpetrator is also to be punished if he has committed at least three independent acts (Section 83 (1) or (2)) without an understandable cause and with the use of considerable force.

(4) A prison sentence of six months to five years is to be punished for those who injure another person's body or damage their health and thereby, even if only negligently, cause serious bodily harm or damage to their health (para. 1).

(5) Anyone who commits bodily harm (Section 83 (1) or (2)) must also be punished

1. in a way that is fatal,
2. with at least two people in an agreed relationship or
3. with the infliction of special torments.

Bodily harm with serious permanent consequences, § 85 StGB

(1) Anyone who abuses another person's body and thereby negligently for ever or for a long time

1. the loss or serious damage to speech, eyesight, hearing or fertility,
2. Significant mutilation or disfigurement, or
3. a serious illness, infirmity or disability of the injured party

brings about is punishable by imprisonment from six months to five years.

(2) A prison sentence of one to ten years is to be punished for those who injure another person's body or damage their health and thereby negligently cause serious permanent consequences (para. 1) for the injured person.

Fatal bodily harm, § 86 StGB

(1) Anyone who abuses another person's body and thereby negligently causes his or her death is punishable by imprisonment from one to ten years.

(2) Anyone who injures someone else's body or harms their health and thereby negligently causes their death is punishable by imprisonment from one to fifteen years.

Intentional serious bodily harm, § 87 StGB

(1) Anyone who deliberately inflicts serious bodily harm (Section 84 (1)) on another person shall be punished with imprisonment of one to ten years.

(2) If the act has serious permanent consequences (Section 85), the perpetrator is punished with imprisonment of between one and fifteen years, the act results in the death of the injured party and punishes with imprisonment of between five and fifteen years.

Negligent bodily harm, § 88 StGB

(1) Anyone who negligently injures someone else's body or harms their health is punishable by imprisonment of up to three months or a fine of up to 180 daily rates.

(2) If the offender is not acting with gross negligence (Section 6 (3)) and is

1. to treat the injured person as related to the perpetrator in ascending or descending line or by marriage or to treat his spouse, registered partner, brother or sister or as a relative of the perpetrator in accordance with Section 72 (2),
2. the act does not result in damage to the health or occupational disability of another person for more than fourteen days or
3. the perpetrator is a member of a legally regulated health profession and the assault was inflicted in the exercise of his profession,

so the offender is not to be punished according to paragraph 1.

(3) Anyone who is grossly negligent (Section 6 (3)) or, in the case referred to in Section 81 (2), injures someone else's body or damages their health, is liable to imprisonment of up to six months or a fine of up to 360 daily rates punish.

(4) If the act according to Paragraph 1 results in serious bodily harm (Section 84 Paragraph 1), the perpetrator shall be punished with imprisonment for up to six months or with a fine of up to 360 daily rates. If the act according to Paragraph 3 results in serious bodily harm (Section 84 Subsection 1), the offender is subject to a prison sentence of up to two years, but if it results in serious bodily harm (Section 84 Subsection 1) for a larger number of people to punish with imprisonment of up to three years.

Explanation

Basically, the court recognizes ordinary bodily harm and punishes depending on its consequences. If the intention to seriously injure someone can be proven, the stricter § 87 applies. In order to benefit from the milder § 88, the perpetrator may not be proven intent . If the guilt is merely an omission, the full sentence still applies.