Litigating in Austria – Are Costs and Fees Worth It?

Roth, Marianne

doi:10.1007/978-94-007-2263-7_3

Marianne Roth²

Part of the book series: Ius Gentium: Comparative Perspectives on Law and Justice ((IUSGENT,volume 11))

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Abstract

This article presents the system of cost and fee allocation in Austrian civil procedure. Austria belongs to the majority of countries which adhere to the system of “major shifting”, i.e., which, in principle, make the loser pay for court costs, attorney fees and the expenses of taking evidence. Besides addressing the basic allocation rules, this chapter explains the calculation and determination of costs and fees under the Court Fees Act and the Attorney’s Tariff Act. It also outlines the rules governing representation by attorneys and discusses the extent to which success-oriented fees and the sale of claims are allowed. Finally, it addresses the important instruments of litigation insurance and legal aid.

Many thanks to Mag. Marianne Stegner for her valuable assistance in preparing this article.

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Notes

1.
Fucik in Rechberger (Ed.), Kommentar zur ZPO, 3rd edition, Springer Verlag 2006, § 41 marg. No 5.
2.
Rechberger and Kodek in Blanpain, Colucci, and Taelman (Eds.), International Encyclopaedia of Laws. Civil Procedure. Austria, Kluwer Law International 2005, 66.
3.
Exchange rate at the time of data gathering: €1 = $1.4.
4.
Sections 40, 365, and 332 of the Austrian Code of Civil Procedure (cf Obermaier, Das Kostenhandbuch. Kostenersatz im Zivilprozess und im Verfahren außer Streit, 57 et seq.).
5.
Chvosta, Prozesskostenrecht, Manz 2001, 13 et seq.
6.
Roth in Verschraegen (Ed.), Austrian Law – An International Perspective: Selected Issues, Jan Sramek Verlag 2010, 135.
7.
Deixler-Hübner and Roth, Der Zivilprozess in der Praxis, 4th edition, LexisNexis ARD Orac 2006, 20.
8.
Rechberger and Kodek in Blanpain, Colucci, and Taelman (Eds.), International Encyclopaedia of Laws. Civil Procedure. Austria, Kluwer Law International 2005, 66.
9.
Deixler-Hübner and Roth, Der Zivilprozess in der Praxis, 4th edition, LexisNexis ARD Orac 2006, 18 et seq.
10.
Wagner, Rechtsprobleme der Fremdfinanzierung von Prozessen (I), Juristische Blätter 2001, 416.
11.
Rechberger and Kodek in Blanpain, Colucci, and Taelman (Eds.), International Encyclopaedia of Laws. Civil Procedure. Austria, Kluwer Law International 2005, 66.
12.
Heller in Colman (Ed.), Encyclopedia of International Commercial Arbitration. Austria, Wolters Kluwer 2009, A3.33.
13.
Heller in Colman (Ed.), Encyclopedia of International Commercial Arbitration. Austria, Wolters Kluwer 2009, A3.30; Roth in Verschraegen (Ed.), Austrian Law – An International Perspective: Selected Issues, Jan Sramek Verlag 2010, 141.
14.
Under Austrian law, in terms of representation by an attorney, there is no distinction made between barristers and solicitors. An Austrian attorney has the right to advise his/her clients in all legal matters and to represent them before any court or administrative authority within the country (Heller in Colman (Ed.), Encyclopedia of International Commercial Arbitration. Austria, Wolters Kluwer 2009, A3.1 and A3.19).
15.
Deixler-Hübner and Roth, Der Zivilprozess in der Praxis, 4th edition, LexisNexis ARD Orac 2006, 4.
16.
Heller in Colman (Ed.), Encyclopedia of International Commercial Arbitration. Austria, Wolters Kluwer 2009, A3.25.
17.
Deixler-Hübner and Roth, Der Zivilprozess in der Praxis, 4th edition, LexisNexis ARD Orac 2006, 4.
18.
Rechberger and Kodek in Blanpain, Colucci, and Taelman (Eds.), International Encyclopaedia of Laws. Civil Procedure. Austria, Kluwer Law International 2005, 67.
19.
Id. at 66.
20.
Apathy and Riedler in Schwimann, Kommentar zum Allgemeinen Bürgerlichen Gesetzbuch, vol IV, 3rd edition, LexisNexis 2006, Section 879 of the General Austrian Civil Code, marg. No. 16; also refer to Section 16(1) of the Attorneys’ Tariff Act.
21.
Krejci in Rummel, Kommentar zum Allgemeinen Bürgerlichen Gesetzbuch, 3rd edition, Manz 2000, Section 879 General Austrian Civil Code, marg. No. 209.
22.
Refer to Judgment of 23 February 1999, Austrian Supreme Court, 5 Ob 28/99z; RS 0016814 T 2.
23.
Hausmaninger, The Austrian Legal System, 3rd edition, Manz 2003, 222.
24.
Roth in Verschraegen (Ed.), Austrian Law – An International Perspective: Selected Issues, Jan Sramek Verlag 2010, 144; Wandt, Versicherungsrecht, 5th edition, Heymann 2010, para. 938.
25.
Rechberger and Kodek in Blanpain, Colucci, and Taelman (Eds.), International Encyclopaedia of Laws. Civil Procedure. Austria, Kluwer Law International 2005, 152; Heller in Colman (Ed.), Encyclopedia of International Commercial Arbitration. Austria, Wolters Kluwer 2009, A3.26.
26.
Until 1 July 2009, legal aid was available to natural and legal persons alike.
27.
European Court of Justice 22.12.2010, C-279/09, DEB Deutsche Energieberatungsgesellschaft mbH/Bundesrepublik Deutschland.
28.
Slonina, Verfahrenshilfe für juristische Personen: Ein Weihnachtsgeschenk des EuGH?, ecolex 2011, p. 410 et seq.
29.
See supra 3.2.
30.
Heller in Colman (Ed.), Encyclopedia of International Commercial Arbitration. Austria, Wolters Kluwer 2009, A3.27; Chvosta, Prozesskostenrecht, Manz 2001, 14 et seq.
31.
Article 1 Section 54 Bylaws for the Courts of I. and II. Instance; http://www.srak.at/service-informationen/service/1-anwaltl-auskunft.
32.
Chvosta, Prozesskostenrecht, Manz 2001, 14 et seq.

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Salzburg University, Salzburg, Austria
Marianne Roth

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Marianne Roth
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Correspondence to Marianne Roth .

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, Law School, University of Michigan, South State Street 625, Ann Arbor, 48109-1215, Michigan, USA
Mathias Reimann

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Roth, M. (2012). Litigating in Austria – Are Costs and Fees Worth It?. In: Reimann, M. (eds) Cost and Fee Allocation in Civil Procedure. Ius Gentium: Comparative Perspectives on Law and Justice, vol 11. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-2263-7_3

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-2263-7_3
Published: 20 October 2011
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-94-007-2262-0
Online ISBN: 978-94-007-2263-7
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