The Austrian Lawmaking Process: How It Works

The process of law-making in Austria is a detailed and intricate one, involving various stakeholders and institutions. The Federal Constitution of Austria, comprising multiple acts, forms the foundation of the country's legal system. This system is based on civil law, with roots in Roman law, and encompasses public law, private law, and criminal law. The legislative process in Austria is designed to ensure fairness, transparency, and adequate public information. Laws are passed by national and provincial parliaments, including the National Council and the Federal Council, which play a central role in shaping the country's political landscape. The Federal Government, administration, and courts act within the framework of these laws.

The legislative process

Draft legislation is submitted to the Nationalrat (National Council) by members of the Nationalrat (in the form of tabled motions), by the Bundesrat (Federal Council) or by one-third of the members of the Bundesrat, or by the Federal Government (in the form of bills). Draft legislation formulated by the Federal Government (Government bills) must be adopted unanimously by the cabinet. The draft legislation is provisionally formulated by the respective Federal Minister and then sent out for review to the states (provinces) and the statutory representative bodies before being approved by the cabinet. The respective Federal Minister may modify the draft legislation to implement changes suggested during the review process, but he is not obliged to make these changes.

Draft legislation submitted by members of the Nationalrat is known as a "motion". It does not have to go through the above review procedure. Draft legislation may also be submitted in the form of a Popular Motion (Volksbegehren). If a Popular Motion receives 100,000 signatures of members of the national electorate or one-sixth of the signatures of the electorate in any three federal states, then this motion must be debated by the Nationalrat.

In order for a bill to become a federal law, it must be resolved upon by the National Assembly. Bills that are passed are sent to the Federal Assembly for corroboration. The bill succeeds if the Federal Assembly either approves of the bill or does not react for eight weeks. Even so, the Federal Assembly cannot effectively prevent the adoption of legislation by vetoing a bill, as the National Assembly can simply force a bill into law by passing it again. However, for bills curtailing the constitutional rights of Austria's member states, bills concerning changes in the Federal Assembly’s rank, treaties that fall in the provinces’ sphere of action, and federal principle laws, in which a time limit of less than 6 months or more than a year is set for the legislation to be implemented, the Federal Assembly’s approval is mandatory.

Once a bill has been introduced, it is distributed to the Members of the National Council. Subsequently, the President of the National Council has to assign it to a committee. Bills cannot be adopted spontaneously but must first be deliberated on in a National Council committee. The National Council may decide to embark on what is termed a "First Reading", and the movers of a private Members’ bill have the right to call for it. In the course of this first reading, the contents of the bill in question are discussed in a general way. Such first readings are rare, and the drafts usually go straight to the requisite committee.

The committee examines and discusses the bill in detail, allowing Members with special expertise and experience to contribute. The Opposition and Experts are given the floor. Arguments for and against the proposal, or parts thereof, are advanced and discussed by the Members in detail. Committees also frequently call on experts or other witnesses. To handle particularly important or difficult matters, a sub-committee may be established to ensure that a small group can discuss important aspects in depth and in this way prepare decisions to be taken by the committee.

The committee frequently makes amendments to the original draft, which is then put to the vote. A rapporteur is elected to prepare a report, which summarises the discussions and motions made and outlines the proposed text of the bill if it has been approved by a majority in the committee. Committee sittings usually take place behind closed doors to allow committee members to discuss matters openly, negotiate flexibly and strike compromises if needed. However, a summary of every committee sitting is published so that the public may follow proceedings and the results of voting.

In the National Council, bills are deliberated in the plenary after political talks have taken place and the bill has been dealt with by a committee – and, in the case of government bills, after the text has mostly been sent out for expert review. Accordingly, in discussing a legislative proposal, the 183 Members do not have to start from scratch. Rather, the plenary serves as the forum before which Members and their parliamentary groups can once again state what they feel is important and what the pros and cons are. This debate is called the Second Reading, and usually takes place in the presence of the competent member of the Federal Government.

In the course of the Second Reading, it is still possible for Members to move amendments to the bill. Once the Second Reading has been completed, the National Council votes on the bill and on whatever amendments have been introduced. This procedure is governed by very stringent rules to ensure that the decision is taken correctly. For a decision to be valid, it must be taken in the presence of at least one-third of the Members and with a majority of the votes cast.

The second reading is followed by a third one. While it is still possible to vote on different motions and individual parts of the bill in the course of the Second Reading, in the Third Reading, the vote is on the entire text and serves only to eliminate contradictory wordings and typographical errors. Once a bill has passed the Third Reading, it is considered adopted by the National Council.

The National Council has to approve all state treaties that are political in nature or that modify or add to existing laws. Likewise, the National Council has to approve state treaties by which the fundamental principles of the European Union are affected. Some State Treaties also need the approval of the Federal Council if they concern matters that are within the remit of the Federal Provinces.

Every National Council enactment is transmitted to the Federal Council without delay. It can only be authenticated and promulgated if the Federal Council raises no objection. The only exceptions are laws concerning the rules of procedure of the National Council, the federal budget, certain financial laws and the final federal budget account, where the Federal Council has no right of participation.

The Federal Council can confirm a bill passed by the National Council or veto it. The Federal Council procedure is similar to that of the National Council. While the Federal Council cannot change legislative proposals adopted by the National Council, it can reject them within a period of eight weeks by means of a reasoned objection to the National Council enactment. In so doing, it exercises its veto power, which has, however, only a suspensive effect in most cases.

In this case, the National Council has to deliberate once more on its enactment. In doing so, it can reiterate its original decision on the condition that at least half of its Members are present. This "insistence" is final, and the Federal Council cannot object to it anymore – it can thus only delay final enactment by what is called a "suspensive veto". Should the National Council react to the Federal Council’s objection by amending its enactment, the modified text will again be transmitted to the Federal Council for scrutiny.

The approval of the Federal Council is required whenever the legislative or executive powers of the federal provinces are to be curtailed by the Federal Constitutional Act or any other constitutional laws. This means that any such law can only be enacted with the express approval of the Federal Council – or in other words, in these cases, the Federal Council has an "absolute veto power". For such a veto, a two-thirds majority of the votes cast in the presence of at least half of the Members

Who can initiate legislation?

In Austria, the legislative process is initiated by the National Council, which is the lower chamber of the Austrian parliament. The National Council is made up of 183 members who are elected by nationwide popular vote under statutes that aim for party-list proportional representation.

The process of initiating legislation usually begins with a bill, which must be presented in the form of a motion. These bills can be proposed by National Council members, by the federal cabinet, by popular initiative, or through a motion supported by at least one-third of the members of the Federal Council.

The vast majority of bills and adopted texts come from the Federal Government. The Federal Government relies on experts in the ministries who possess the specialised knowledge required to prepare legislative proposals. Once a bill has been proposed, it is sent out for review to the states (provinces) and the statutory representative bodies before being approved by the cabinet.

In addition to the Federal Government, there are other channels through which legislation can be initiated. Draft legislation submitted by members of the National Council is known as a "motion". It does not have to go through the same review procedure as government bills. Draft legislation can also be submitted in the form of a Popular Motion (Volksbegehren). If a Popular Motion receives 100,000 signatures from members of the national electorate or one-sixth of the signatures of the electorate in any three federal states, then this motion must be debated by the National Council.

It is important to note that while the Federal Council, the upper chamber of the Austrian parliament, can initiate legislation through motions, it does not have the power to introduce bills on its own. The Federal Council can, however, confirm or veto a bill passed by the National Council.

The Federal Government

The vast majority of bills and adopted texts come from the Federal Government. The Government relies on experts in the ministries who have the specialist knowledge to prepare legislative proposals. A draft is circulated to interested parties, entities likely to be affected, and expert groups, and is published on the relevant website. The next step is an expert review, where interest groups, authorities, and organisations can present their views and criticisms, which are also published on the internet. The draft then goes to Parliament in the form of a Government Bill. Current government bills are published on Parliament's website.

The National Council

Federal legislation always originates in the National Council, and most bills are proposed by the cabinet and passed after a token debate. The National Council can also force a bill into law if the Federal Council rejects it; a National Council resolution overruling a Federal Council objection only needs to meet a higher quorum than a regular resolution. The National Council can also pass a bill without the approval of the Federal Council if it does not curtail the rights of the states, concern changes in the Federal Assembly's rank, relate to treaties that fall into the provinces' sphere of action, or federal principle laws.

For a bill to become a law, it must be passed by the National Council, and once it is, it is sent to the Federal Council for affirmation. If the Federal Council approves of the bill or does nothing for eight weeks, the bill has succeeded. If the Federal Council rejects the bill, the National Council can still force it through if the resolution overruling the objection meets a higher quorum. The bill is then signed into law by the Federal President, who does not have the power to veto.

In addition to proposing and passing legislation, the National Council also has the authority to censure the cabinet or individual ministers, and to impeach the Federal President, which would result in a referendum on the matter.

The Federal Council

• Constitutional laws or regulations limiting the competencies of the federal states
• Laws relating to the rights of the Federal Council itself
• Treaties concerning the jurisdiction of the federal states

In most other cases, the Federal Council's veto is just suspensive, meaning the National Council can override it, passing the law again by an ordinary resolution of at least half of its members. Therefore, the decisions of the Federal Council can only delay legislation.

Frequently asked questions