Constitutional Court starts historical mass procedures for the ORF contribution!

Constitutional Court starts historical mass procedures for the ORF contribution!

Verfassungsgerichtshof, Österreich - The Constitutional Court (VfGH) has made a significant decision that is in the center of current legal controversy. The multitude of complaints against the ORF contribution law and the paragraph 31 of the ORF law was officially declared "mass procedure", as Exxpress.at . The VfGH has a total of 18 complaints that largely rely on similar arguments. An essential point of dispute is whether ORF-contribution service GmbH (OBS) is entitled to issue notices. Due to the importance of these legal questions, the VfGH will make clarification in the form of legal sentences, which is extremely rare. Such a process was held in connection with the Gambling Act.

This decision has direct effects on the current procedures, since the pending processes at the Federal Administrative Court (BVWG) are automatically interrupted as soon as the decision is made to the Federal Chancellor in the Federal Law Gazette. From this point on, the administrative courts may no longer make decisions that could influence the clarification of the questions by the VfGH. Such a step could be considered illegal and violate the right to the legal judge. The administrative courts will only be allowed to resume their procedures after the VfGH has been published. Lawyer Gernold Beneder notes that this decision is a clear signal that the VfGH takes the objections brought seriously.

important effects on constitutional procedures

The VfGH not only deals with the ORF contribution, but also deals with a large number of procedures that relate to property law claims, standards control procedures and decision-making complaints, such as wko.at . The general regulations on the form of inputs and their admissibility apply to all procedures, whereby each method of proceedings has its own specific requirements. The VfGH acts as a causal court, which is responsible for public law claims that cannot be clarified in an ordinary legal process. The mass hearing that has now been decided could therefore have far-reaching consequences for similar cases in the future and have a lasting impact on the legal framework for all ORF procedures.