Deprivation of Liberty by Administrative Action (Austria) Case
| Jurisdiction | Austria |
| Date | 15 Diciembre 1961 |
| Court | Administrative Court (Austria) |
Deprivation of Liberty by Administrative Action (Austria) Case.
International law Relation to municipal law Operation of treaties Effect on Austrian statute law of European Convention for Protection of Human Rights, 1950 (Article 5) The law of Austria.
The individual in international law Human rights and freedoms European Convention for Protection of Right to personal liberty (Article 5) Grounds for deprivation of liberty Operation and enforcement of Convention in Austria Effect on existing Austrian statute permitting revenue authority to impose sentence of imprisonment The law of Austria.
Treaties Operation and enforcement of Effect in municipal law European Convention for Protection of Human Rights, 1950, Article 5 Effect of Convention on Austrian statute law Deprivation of liberty by administrative authority Whether statute law valid or invalid as contravening Article 5 (1) of Convention The Law of Austria.
Summary: The facts.A taxpayer was fined by the local revenue authority in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Austrian Tax Ordinance. When he failed to pay the fine, the revenue authority imposed a sentence of imprisonment in default of payment, in accordance with section 537 of the Tax Ordinance. The appellate revenue authority quashed the sentence of imprisonment, on the ground that Article 5 (1) of the European Convention on Human Rights, ratified by Austria. did not permit a person to be deprived of his liberty except by the sentence of a court, and that this provision took precedence over Austrian municipal law. Therefore, section 537 of the Tax Ordinance, which permitted the revenue authority to impose a sentence of imprisonment, was invalid and of no effect.
On appeal to the Administrative Court,
Held: that Article 5 (1) of the Convention was not self-executing in the sense that it was directly applicable in the Austrian municipal sphere, and that accordingly it did not affect the validity of section 537 of the Tax Ordinance. For this reason the decision of the appellate revenue authority must be quashed.
The Court said:
The European Convention on Human Rights of 4 November 1950 and the Protocol thereto of 13 December 1957 came into force on 3 September 1958. The decision under appeal points out that, according to the statement of the Government when submitting the Convention to the National Assembly, as well as according to the report of the Constitutional Committee of the National Assembly, the...
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