Lawyers' Regulations

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Basic data
Title: Lawyers' Regulations
Abbreviation: RAO
Type: Federal law
Scope: Republic of Austria
Legal matter: Administration of justice , professional law
Reference: RGBl. 96/1868
Date of law: July 6, 1868
Effective date: July 15, 1868
Last change: BGBl. I No. 19/2020
Please note the note on the applicable legal version !

The Lawyer Regulations (RAO) regulate the professional law of lawyers in Austria, i.e. the rights and obligations that the lawyer has to observe towards clients and third parties, as well as various other professional law issues.

The right to comprehensive professional representation of parties is reserved for lawyers according to the RAO.

According to Section 1 in conjunction with Section 4 DSt, the Lawyers' Act is to be applied exclusively to lawyers and trainee lawyers.

history

The Lawyers 'Act was published in 1868 under the title: "Law of July 6, 1868 introducing a lawyer' s order". With these advocate regulations, the provisional advocate regulations of August 16, 1849 (RGBl. 364) were repealed. By law in 1919 the designation “Advokat” was renamed “Rechtsanwalt”, “Advokaturkandidat” was renamed “Legal trainee” and the “Advokatenkammer” was renamed “Rechtsanwaltskammer” (as was customary in Germany since the 1878 Lawyers' Act).

The most important new regulation of the advocacy regulations under professional law (now RAO) was that no official appointment was required to exercise the legal profession, but only evidence of compliance with the following requirements and entry in the list of lawyers. As a result, the self-administration and autonomy of the legal profession, together with the creation of the bar associations and the disciplinary power over their members, were considerably strengthened.

With the annexation of Austria to the German Reich (see: Austria in the time of National Socialism ), the lawyer's rules and the autonomy ( self-administration ) of the Austrian bar associations were also soon completely abolished. Numerous lawyers entered on the list of lawyers have been removed from the list. On June 11, 1938, the appointment of a lawyer by the Reich Minister of Justice was introduced. This meant a considerable step backwards for the previous self-administration of the lawyers according to the RAO. In 1941 the Reich Lawyers' Act was introduced.

After the reintroduction of the Austrian Federal Constitution and the restoration of democracy, the law of July 31, 1945 on the restoration of the Austrian legal profession (Attorney Code 1945 - RAO 1945) amended the Lawyers Act (1868) and the Disciplinary Statute (1872) in the version of March 13, 1938 re-enacted.

On September 29, 1972 the Austrian Bar Association was constituted as an association in Innsbruck and on November 8, 1973 it became a public corporation . The 1973 amendment to the Lawyers' Act made the umbrella organization “Österreichischer Rechtsanwaltskammertag” a statutory body.

Legislative structure

The main structure of the Lawyers' Act is in Articles, Sections and Paragraphs.

Article I (Introduction of the Lawyer Regulations)

Article II (expiry of the provisional Lawyers' Act of August 16, 1849)

Article III (constitution of the new bar associations and their committees)

Article IV (fees for entry on the list of lawyers)

Article V (implementation of this law)

Section I. (Requirements for practicing the legal profession), §§ 1 to 7.
Section II (rights and obligations of lawyers), §§ 8 to 21g.
III. Section (The Bar Association and its Committee), Sections 22 to 33.
Section IV (termination of the legal profession), § 34
SECTION V (Austrian Bar Association), Sections 35 to 44.
VI. SECTION (Appointment of lawyers, especially for legal aid), Sections 45 and 46.
SECTION VII (Lump-sum remuneration, old-age, occupational disability and survivors' benefits), § 47 to 56a.
SECTION VIII (Penal Provisions), Sections 57 and 58.
IX. Section (Arbitration), Section 59.

Articles VI and XVI (implementation of Community law)

Normative additions to the RAO

The RAO, which dates back to 1868, has been amended several times and adapted to the changed social and professional requirements.

The RAO is supplemented by the Disciplinary Statute (DSt), the guidelines for practicing lawyers and trainee lawyers (RL-BA). At European level through the professional rules of lawyers of the European Union (EU professional rules, EU professional rules) as well as special regulations in EIRAG, in the ZPO , StPO , StGB , AVG , UWG and other standards.

In terms of fee law through the Lawyers' Fees Act (RATG) and the general fee criteria (AHK).

Web ERV

Section 9 (1a) of the Lawyers' Act stipulates the obligation of Austrian lawyers to participate in electronic legal transactions. The obligation only applies to lawyers registered in Austria in the list of lawyers and those who have permanently settled in Austria within the framework of the EU or EEA freedom of establishment .

literature

  • Erich Feil, Peter Hajek: Lawyers' Act and DSt 1990 (including relevant legal provisions) . Prugg, Eisenstadt 1990.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ RGBl. No. 96/1868.
  2. ↑ The professional authorizations that result from the Austrian professional regulations for notaries, patent attorneys, public accountants and civil engineers are not affected by this (§ 8 Abs. 2 RAO).
  3. ↑ Federal Act of June 28, 1990 on the Disciplinary Law of Lawyers and Trainee Lawyers (Disciplinary Statute for Lawyers and Trainee Lawyers - DSt), Federal Law Gazette No. 474/1990.
  4. ↑ StGBl. No. 95/1919.
  5. ↑ In the provisional lawyer regulation of August 16, 1849, the lawyers were appointed by the Minister of Justice.
  6. ↑ Law of April 1, 1872, RGBl No. 40, regarding the handling of disciplinary power over lawyers and trainee lawyers. Replaced by the Disciplinary Statute (DSt), Federal Law Gazette No. 474/1990. Until 1872, the disciplinary power lay with the respective Higher Regional Court and the Supreme Court .
  7. ↑ The main task of all nine bar associations in Austria is to maintain the honor and dignity of the legal status, see § 23 RAO in conjunction with § 1 paragraph 3 DSt (Disciplinary Statute for Lawyers and Trainee Lawyers, Federal Law Gazette 1990/474).
  8. ↑ The causes were war services and the ordinance of March 31, 1938 (RGBl. I p. 353), whereby Jewish lawyers were prohibited from practicing their profession. Due to the ordinance of September 27, 1938 (RGBl. I p. 1406), Jewish mongrels had to be deleted from the list of lawyers by the end of 1938.
  9. ↑ StGBl. No. 103/1945 .
  10. ↑ European Lawyers Act, Federal Law Gazette I No. 27/2000.
  11. ↑ Lawyers' Tariff Act, Federal Law Gazette No. 189/1969.