Justice Minister Alma Zadic (Greens) and Constitutional Minister Karoline Edtstadler (VP) have been negotiating for a long time regarding a reform of the reimbursement of costs in criminal proceedings. The Ministry of Finance had budgeted 70 million euros for this.
On Wednesday the two ministers presented a draft law. The regulations should apply retroactively from the beginning of the year. What is new is that those affected can receive reimbursement of up to 6,000 euros even if the investigation is discontinued. It is argued that legal fees can already be incurred in this phase.
Previous cost reimbursement “ridiculous”
There has already been reimbursement of costs for acquittals in criminal proceedings, but this was “ridiculous,” said Edtstadler. In the case of acquittals in a district court, 1,000 euros have previously been refunded; in the future, up to 5,000 euros will be reimbursed. In the event of acquittals in regional courts, up to 13,000 euros can be reimbursed; currently it is 3,000 euros.
The rates for an acquittal before a lay judge or jury have been significantly increased. Previously, a maximum of up to 10,000 euros might be given back, but now the amount has been increased to 30,000 euros. There is also a distinction as to what type of procedure it is. In the case of complex proceedings, the maximum rate can be exceeded by half; in the case of “extremely extensive proceedings”, the maximum amount is doubled. This means that up to 60,000 euros can be replaced.
“Amounts to a civil death penalty”
Given the high costs for defense lawyers, action had to be taken, said Zadic, referring to the animal rights case. Hundreds of thousands of euros are a mortgage for those affected. “It cannot satisfy the rule of law if people are ruined despite an acquittal or discontinued criminal proceedings,” said Edtstadler. This amounts to a “civil death penalty”.
The President of the Bar Association, Armenak Utudjian, was critical of the amount of the reimbursement of costs. Perhaps improvements will have to be made. The president of the judges’ association, Gernot Kanduth, expects additional work for the courts due to the retroactive applications.
Author
Annette Gantner
Internal politics editor
Annette Gantner
