Code of Criminal Procedure 1975

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Basic data
Title: Criminal Procedure Code 1975
Abbreviation: StPO
Type: Federal law
Scope: Republic of Austria
Legal matter: Criminal procedural law
Reference: BGBl. No. 631/1975 ( re-announcement )
Date of law: December 9, 1975
Effective date: December 31, 1975
Last change: BGBl. I No. 20/2020
Please note the note on the applicable legal version !

The Code of Criminal Procedure 1975 (StPO) is a federal law that contains the central provisions for all criminal proceedings conducted in the Republic of Austria .

development

For the first time, the Constitutio Criminalis Theresiana 1768 contained a uniform legal regulation of criminal proceedings as well as of the substantive criminal law in Austria ; This was followed (only for procedural law) by the Criminal Court Code of 1788 and then by the Criminal Code 1803 (again combining substantive criminal law and criminal procedural law) . These codifications still followed the principles of the inquisition process : the judge (inquisitor) was the prosecutor and judge in one person, the process was carried out secretly and in writing. The torture was in fact lifted in Austria already in 1776, but still there were rules of evidence.

It was only in the wake of the revolution of 1848/49 that the principles of modern criminal proceedings were adopted from France, initially only for press trials, then, with the 1850 Code of Criminal Procedure , RGBl. No. 236, also in general: The indictment was carried out by a public prosecutor different from the judge , the main proceedings followed the principles of publicity and orality, the evidence was subject to free assessment . In special cases, especially political offenses, a jury should decide on the guilt of the accused instead of the professional judge. It is true that the Criminal Proceßordnung 1853 , RGBl. No. 151, a U-turn back to the Inquisition process, but the modern indictment process was finally changed with the Criminal Proceedings Code of 1873 , RGBl. No. 119, introduced in Austria.

The Code of Criminal Procedure of 1873 is still in force today, but has been amended many times and promulgated again three times (1945, 1960 and 1975), the last time through the announcement of December 9, 1975 in Federal Law Gazette No. 631 (hence today: Code of Criminal Procedure 1975 ). A significant amendment took effect on January 1, 2006 through the amendment to the criminal procedure in Federal Law Gazette I No. 119/2005, which significantly improved victim protection . Even before that, with the Criminal Procedure Reform Act , Federal Law Gazette I No. 19/2004, an overall reform of the preliminary criminal procedure had been resolved, which, due to its scope and the necessary preparations, did not come into force until January 1, 2008. Until then, the preliminary investigations - as the last remainder of the inquisition process - had been conducted by an examining magistrate, and the preliminary investigations by the criminal police were hardly regulated by law. Now the criminal police and the public prosecutor's office are to carry out the surveys together, under the direction of the public prosecutor's office, in a uniform investigation.

structure

Part 1: General and principles of the procedure

  • 1. Main part: The criminal procedure and its principles (§§ 1–17)
  • Section 2: Criminal Police, Public Prosecutor's Office and Court (§§ 18–47)
  • Part 3: Accused and Defense Counsel (§§ 48-64)
  • Part 4: Victims and their rights (§§ 65–73)
  • Part 5: Common Provisions (Sections 74–90)

Part 2: The preliminary investigation

  • Part 6: General (§§ 91-97)
  • 7th main part: tasks and powers of the criminal police, the public prosecutor's office (§§ 98-108)
  • Part 8: Investigative Measures and Taking of Evidence (Sections 109–166)
  • Part 9: Search, arrest and pre-trial detention (§§ 167-189)

3rd part: ending the preliminary investigation

  • 10th main part: setting, breaking off and continuation of the preliminary investigation (§§ 190–197)
  • Section 11: Withdrawal from persecution (Diversion) (§§ 198-209)

Part 4: Main and Appeal Proceedings

  • Part 12: The Prosecution (Sections 210–215)
  • Part 13: Preparations for the main hearing (§§ 220-227)
  • 14th main part: Main hearing before the regional court as lay judge and appeal against its judgments (§§ 228-296a)

Part 5: Special Procedures

  • 15th main part: Main hearing before the regional court as a jury and legal remedies against its judgments (§§ 297-351)
  • 16. Main part: Resumption and renewal of criminal proceedings as well as reinstatement in the previous status (§§ 352–364)
  • Part 17: Proceedings on private law claims (§§ 365-379)
  • Chapter 18 costs of criminal proceedings (Sections 380–395a)
  • 19. Main part: Enforcement of judgments (§§ 396-411)
  • Part 20: Proceedings against absenteeism (§ 427)
  • Section 21: Procedures for preventive measures and for the skimming off of enrichment, for forfeiture and for confiscation (§§ 429-446)
  • 22nd main part: Proceedings before the district court (§§ 448-481)
  • Part 23: Proceedings before the regional court as a single judge (§§ 483-491)
  • Part 24: Procedure in the event of conditional forbearance, conditional forbearance of preventive measures, issuing instructions and ordering probation assistance (sections 492 and 498)
  • Part 25: Exercising criminal jurisdiction over soldiers in peace (§§ 499-506)
  • Part 26: Mercy proceedings (§§ 507-513)

Reception in Liechtenstein law

The Austrian Code of Criminal Procedure was largely adopted in Liechtenstein. This Liechtenstein Code of Criminal Procedure is structured and subdivided with paragraphs in a similar way to its Austrian model. In terms of content, it largely follows the Austrian model in the version before January 1, 2008.

With the introduction of the Liechtenstein Code of Criminal Procedure in 1988 based on the Austrian model in 1975, the Liechtenstein Code of Criminal Procedure of December 31, 1913 was repealed. This Code of Criminal Procedure of 1913 already largely followed the pattern of the earlier Austrian Code of Criminal Procedure.

literature

  • Stefan Seiler: Criminal Procedure Law. 11th edition, Verlag facultas.wuv, Vienna 2010, ISBN 978-3-7089-0663-8

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ so officially referenced, e.g. B. BGBl. I No. 14/2020 , Art. 24 BGBl. I No. 16/2020
  2. ↑ LGBl 1914/3.