Rechtspflege#

Administration of Justice, the execution of Jurisdiction and Administration of Justice, usually entrusted to the courts. Ordinary law courts have jurisdiction over civil and criminal cases, commercial courts over commercial cases (there are separate departments for insolvency cases), labour and social welfare cases are within the jurisdiction of industrial and pension tribunals. In commercial courts and industrial and pension tribunals the court decides as a panel with lay experts of the fields in question. District courts have separate departments for non-contentious cases (probate, custody and guardianship, adoption, legitimations, certifying of documents, declarations of death, incapacitation etc.) and judicial executions. Only Vienna has a separate commercial court as well as industrial and pension tribunals and an execution court. District courts are in charge of land registers and commercial courts of company registers (both are computerised). Rechtspfleger are in charge of minor cases in civil courts, mainly of non-contentious cases and executions and they also administer the land and company registers. As an exception Notaries (public) act as court commissioners in probate cases and for certifying documents. Judges are the main organs of the administration of justice in public courts, as members of independent administrative panels ( Unabhaengiger Verwaltungssenat) and of other collegiate quasi-judicial authorities (conveyance of agricultural land and real estate). In cases of voluntary arbitration ( Court of Arbitration) the arbitrators, who are usually experts in the respective field, are chosen and appointed by the parties involved. In criminal cases the involvement of lay judges and jurors is required by law, and jurors are empanelled under threat of punishment. The execution of punishment (imprisonment) is carried out by prisons.