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Concept
Constitution of Austria
Summary
The Constitution of Austria (Österreichische Bundesverfassung) is the body of all constitutional law of the Republic of Austria on the federal level. It is split up over many different acts. Its centerpiece is the Federal Constitutional Law (Bundes-Verfassungsgesetz) (B-VG), which includes the most important federal constitutional provisions.
Apart from the B-VG, there are many other constitutional acts (called Bundesverfassungsgesetze, singular Bundesverfassungsgesetz, abbrev. BVG, i.e. without the hyphen) and individual provisions in statutes and treaties which are designated as constitutional (Verfassungsbestimmung). For example, the B-VG does not include a bill of rights, but provisions on civil liberties are split up over various constitutional pieces of legislation.
Over time, both the B-VG and the numerous pieces of constitutional law supplementing it have undergone hundreds of minor and major amendments and revisions.
Austria has been governed by multiple constitutions, including the Pillersdorf Constitution in 1848, the "irrevocable" Stadion Constitution from 1848 to 1851, the October Diploma in 1860, the February Patent from 1861 until 1865.
The B-VG was based on drafts whose principal author was Hans Kelsen and was first enacted on October 1, 1920. Since political agreement over a bill of rights could not be reached, the Basic Law on the General Rights of Citizens (Staatsgrundgesetz über die allgemeinen Rechte der Staatsbürger) of 1867 was left in place and designated as constitutional law.
Originally, the B-VG was very parliamentarian in character. The prerogative to enact law was to lie with a comparatively strong parliament, the Federal Assembly composed of two houses, the National Council and the Federal Council. The responsibility for implementing law was to reside with a cabinet headed by a chancellor, who was nominated by the National Council on a motion by its principal committee. A relatively weak president, who was elected by both houses, was to serve as head of state.
Official source
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