Government Agrees: Federal Prosecutor's Office with Three-Member Panel Finalized

The chairmanship is to change every two years. A corresponding ministerial proposal was decided at the last cabinet meeting before the summer break on Wednesday. A concrete draft law is to be developed by autumn.

Federal Prosecutor's Office Replaces Justice Minister as Supervisor

Currently, the Minister of Justice is the highest professional supervisor of the public prosecutors. In the future, this role will be taken over by the Federal Prosecutor's Office. "I will probably be the last Minister of Justice who could issue directives, and that's a good thing," said Justice Minister Anna Sporrer (SPÖ) in the press foyer. The reform aims to eliminate "a possible entanglement of politics and justice, which has sometimes proven problematic in recent years."

According to the ministerial proposal, the three-member panel is to be elected by the National Council on the recommendation of a specially established commission in the Ministry of Justice. The members are then appointed by the Federal President upon presentation by the federal government. Re-election after the six-year term is not possible. How the Federal Prosecutor's Office will be controlled by parliament is initially only vaguely formulated. It should be ensured that there is no accompanying control of ongoing investigations.

Government Calls It a "Milestone" for the Rule of Law

NEOS leader Beate Meinl-Reisinger and ÖVP State Secretary Alexander Pröll (ÖVP) both spoke on Wednesday of a "milestone" for the rule of law, which has been achieved after years of discussions. Within the three-party coalition, negotiations continued into the night before the cabinet meeting to reach an agreement. However, many details remain open and need to be worked out in the coming months. In the future, the public prosecutors will be above any suspicion of bias, emphasized the Foreign Minister. "We are strengthening the independence of the judiciary and thus democracy."

The draft law is to be sent for review in the autumn, according to Sporrer. However, she could not say whether the law will be passed and come into force in parliament this year. The reform process should proceed sensitively and cautiously with intensive involvement of parliament and experts, it was emphasized. To achieve the two-thirds majority needed for a decision in the National Council, they want to reach out to both the Greens and the FPÖ.

The latter was not enthusiastic. The blue justice spokesman Harald Stefan described the Federal Prosecutor's Office in a statement as "superfluous." In the last seven years, only 17 directives have been issued, all of which were "legally in order." Stefan now fears a "politicization" instead of a promised depoliticization of the judiciary: "We have three parties in the government, the Federal Prosecutor's Office is to be led by a three-member panel. As a seasoned Austrian and long-time observer, I am sure that each party will likely appoint a member close to them to the office." Additionally, a three-member leadership is costly.

Black-Green Failed Due to Federal Prosecutor's Office

The best chances are certainly seen with the Greens, whose former Justice Minister Alma Zadić in the previous government had intensively pursued a General or Federal Prosecutor's Office, but failed to reach an agreement with the ÖVP. Even back then, there was a cabinet presentation by the government, which, however, did not result in a joint draft for review.

However, today's announcements are still too little for her, said Zadić in a statement. "The introduction of a General Prosecutor's Office has been a goal of the Greens for decades. And it is pleasing that this federal government has joined in. But I finally wish for a finished law that we can discuss," said Zadić. In recent years, concrete models and legal texts have been developed, "today the government is basically presenting for the second time the key points from the government program that have been known for months. That is quite little." The Greens are ready for negotiations, she emphasized.

The point of contention between the ÖVP and the Greens was long who should head the body. The ÖVP was always in favor of a single person, the Greens for a three-member panel. Regarding the question of a single head or a control panel, both variants have advantages and disadvantages, but one could be convinced by professional arguments, such as the system of mutual control, said Pröll, who saw himself as the "guardian of compromise" and "executor of the coalition agreement."

Prosecutors for Single Head

The Association of Austrian Prosecutors (StAV) essentially welcomes the draft - for example, the clarification of the constitutional classification of prosecutors and the staffing of the directive head exclusively with persons who meet the requirements for the judiciary and have long-standing expertise is particularly positive. In principle, the decision on directives in individual criminal cases by an independent three-member senate is also supported. However, following the recommendation of the expert group set up in 2021, the head of the Federal Prosecutor's Office should be "like all other judicial authorities, a single person responsible for organizational leadership and external representation," according to a statement.

Therefore, the StAV views the planned organization critically. Since the General Prosecutor's Office is to be integrated into the Federal Prosecutor's Office according to the draft, the involvement of the leadership in personnel and other judicial administrative matters as well as representation does not allow for the necessary depth and quality of focus on its main task, namely the final decision on directives in individual criminal cases. Therefore, organizational leadership by one person and substantive decision-making by independent senates should be separated.

The explanations regarding the appointment of the Federal Prosecutor's Office and parliamentary control are still too vague. "If the reform is to bring about an actual improvement of the existing system, the recommendations of the expert group must be considered and the concerns of practitioners taken seriously," said StAV President Elena Haslinger.

(APA/Red)

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