Indirect federal government in the Republic of Austria

The fundamental element of the Austrian model of the federal state is the institution of indirect federal government. A certain influence of the lands in this area is an expression of the constitutional and political concept implemented in the Constitution of Austria. The Federal Constitutional Law of 1920 provides for two forms of exercising the executive power of the Federation in the lands - direct federal government (through its own federal bodies) and indirect federal government (through the governor of the land and subordinate land authorities). The central place in the system of indirect federal government is occupied by the Governor of the land, who is bound by the instructions of the Federal Government and the Federal Minister and is responsible to them. It is not allowed to transfer powers from the governor of the land to other members of the land government. The Federal Government has the right to appeal to the Constitutional Court of Austria on charges of the governor of the land, his deputies or a member of the land government in violation of the law, as well as failure to comply with resolutions or other orders (instructions) Federation. In case of conviction, the person is removed from office, and in particularly aggravating circumstances, he is also temporarily deprived of political rights. However, the court may limit itself only to stating the offense. In the modern period, disputes on issues of direct and indirect federal government are usually considered in the framework of administrative proceedings. According to the position of the Austrian Administrative Court, the exercise of executive power if it is carried out in accordance with article 102 para. 2 of the Federal Constitutional Law, refers to the direct federal administration. However, this provision does not apply if, in exceptional cases, the Federal Minister acts as the first and last authority on the issue of indirect federal administration. Recently, proposals have been made to prioritize the application of article 11 of the Federal Constitutional Law, under which the federal Minister does not have the authority to issue instructions and exercises federal supervision. At the same time, there is a certain danger that after such a change of powers, the influence of the Federal Government may be even more pronounced than with indirect federal government. The exercise of executive power in Austria is a form of "mixed federal government" based on the close interdependence between federalism and decentralization. The author declares no conflicts of interests.

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