At the end of 2023, the government agreed that the judicial budget for reimbursement of defense costs in the event of acquittals in criminal proceedings or cases being dropped will be increased to 70 million euros. The case of a 64-year-old shows that appropriate compensation is also needed. The man spent 582 days in custody before being finally acquitted of suspicion of fraud. For this, the Republic is offering compensation of 14,250 euros.
For Michael Dohr, the legal representative of the person concerned, the financial prosecutor’s offer is “a good example of how the Republic not only fails to rehabilitate innocent people, but even tramples on them,” as he explained in an interview with the APA. His client was taken into custody on February 12, 2017 because he was suspected of funding fraud as the operator of several kindergartens in Vienna. He was released from custody on September 17, 2018 and finally acquitted of all allegations in May 2023. “He spent 20 months innocently in prison. He also suffered a significant loss of earnings and legal fees before the main hearing. He also suffered a severe stroke during a trial and was therefore in convalescence,” says Dohr.
“A slap in the face to every righteous citizen”
The fact that the Republic of Austria is now offering almost 24.5 euros per day of imprisonment as compensation “for the virtual destruction of his existence” is “a slap in the face for every honest citizen.” His client was not compensated at all for the closure of his kindergarten club, into which the man had contributed his own assets, and he was not entitled to any loss of earnings due to his pre-trial detention.
Anyone who is taken into custody and is subsequently not charged at all or is ultimately acquitted can currently expect compensation of 20 to 50 euros for each day spent in prison under the Criminal Compensation Act. In Germany, on the other hand, 75 euros are allocated for each day of deprivation of liberty. Other EU countries also have higher compensation rates if it is proven that someone ends up in prison unjustly.
“Economic existence taken away”
Most recently, Dohr represented a 48-year-old man who spent 18 months in custody for his alleged involvement in a murder plot and was even sentenced to eleven years in prison before it was ultimately proven that he was innocent and he was legally acquitted. “His economic existence was taken away from him,” Dohr told the APA. For this, the Republic must compensate the person concerned accordingly “and place him in the same economic situation in which he was before he was taken into custody.”
It has long been known that in many cases the reimbursement of defense costs does not cover the actual costs of legal representation. Well-known lawyers and the Bar Association have been pointing this out for years and calling for a change in the law. The 48-year-old, who was acquitted in the murder trial, can expect a maximum reimbursement of 10,000 euros, which does not come close to covering the costs of his defense, which included, among other things, two main hearings lasting several days before a jury. The same applies to the 64-year-old former kindergarten operator, to whom the financial prosecutor’s office offers an amount of 3,714.06 euros for legal representation in a seven-year process. “A ridiculous sum. That’s a mockery,” as his lawyer emphasizes.
“According to the current legal situation, acquittals and termination of criminal proceedings might sometimes result in considerable financial burdens for those affected,” admits Justice Minister Alma Zadic (Greens) on the subject of defense costs in a statement requested by the APA. That’s exactly why the reimbursement of defense costs is now being increased: “Specifically, the funds earmarked for this will be increased more than thirty-fold in 2024. I’m pleased that we were able to implement a long-standing demand from the Greens, which we also negotiated into the government program. It was particularly important to me that that in the future, for the first time, there will be a contribution to the defense costs when hiring. This new law means a real improvement for everyone affected and is a success for our constitutional state.”
