!!!Bezirkshauptmannschaft

Bezirkshauptmannschaft (District commission), lowest administrative 
authority of the general public administration. First instance in 
matters regarding the federal and provincial administration in the 
political districts outside the competence of chartered towns. Employs 
civil servants with different professional qualifications (law 
experts, physicians, veterinarians and other specialists). The 
district commission is mainly responsible for matters of traditional 
local jurisdiction, such as trade law, water and transport law, and 
also supervises the municipal administration, health service, 
veterinary service and forestry administration. It is also the first 
instance for maintaining public law, order and safety (aliens 
registration office, passport office, supervision of assemblies and 
gatherings), it issues drivers' licences and handles administrative 
procedures. A fairly new field of competence is social assistance. The 
district commissioner is head of the administrative unit. He is 
appointed by the provincial government and is directly responsible to 
the Landeshauptmann.

\\
History: After the collapse of the feudal system, district commissions 
were set up as administrative organs in all crownlands in 1850. In 
1854, they were turned into "gemischte Bezirksaemter" (mixed district 
offices), covering an area approximately the size of today's court 
districts and combining political administration with a judicial 
function. In 1868, the administrative and judicial branches were 
finally separated and district commissions were set up as state 
authorities of first instance with a wide field of competence. The 
district commissions were taken over by the Republic in 1918, but 
delegated to the provinces in 1925.

!Literature
H. Stolzlechner, Zur Organisation der 
Bezirkshauptmannschaft, Zeitschrift fuer Verwaltung 1976; K. Gutkas 
and J. Demmelbauer, Die Bezirkshauptmannschaft gestern und heute, 
1994.


%%language
[Back to the Austrian Version|AEIOU/Bezirkshauptmannschaft|class='wikipage austrian']
%%

[{FreezeArticle author='AEIOU' template='Lexikon_1995_englisch'}]
[{ALLOW view All}][{ALLOW comment All}][{ALLOW edit FreezeAdmin}]