Juicy Fine: Long Hair Now Costs Vorarlberg Soldier 2,200 Euros
Austria's female soldiers are allowed to have long hair, but male soldiers are not. A long-haired officer from Vorarlberg received a disciplinary penalty, felt discriminated against, and went to the Administrative Court (VwGH), which set the fine at 2,200 euros. He was acquitted of the accusation of having disobeyed an order. This was also confirmed in an extraordinary appeal, reported the "Neue Vorarlberger Tageszeitung" and ORF Vorarlberg.
Soldiers Must Keep Hair Short
In Austria, female soldiers are allowed to have long hair if it is worn tied back. According to a decree from the Ministry of Defense, their male comrades must have their hair cut short. Eyes and ears must not be covered, and the hair must not "touch the uniform and shirt collar when the head is held upright." However, a professional soldier from Vorarlberg wore his hair as a "ponytail" until September 2023 and did not comply with the Vorarlberg military commander's request to cut his hair.
2,200 Euro Disciplinary Fine, But No Disobedience
The Federal Disciplinary Authority initially imposed a fine of 3,000 euros on the man in December 2023 for this breach of duty, and he was also supposed to cover 300 euros in procedural costs. The Federal Administrative Court then reduced the fine to 2,200 euros in the second instance in July 2024, as the soldier had meanwhile shortened his hair to comply with the decree. Otherwise, the decision was confirmed. The man was acquitted of the accusation that he had disobeyed the original hair-cutting order from his superior, the Vorarlberg military commander.
Court Granted Soldier Right to Remonstrate
The disciplinary attorney of the Ministry of Defense then challenged this partial acquittal with an extraordinary appeal to the VwGH. According to the ORF report, he was mainly concerned with the impunity of the disobeyed order. However, the VwGH dismissed the extraordinary appeal. According to the highest judges, the command of the military commander was considered withdrawn because he had not repeated his order in writing. It should be noted that members of the federal army in a public-law service relationship have the right to remonstrate, according to the court's ruling. Unlike the Military Service Act, according to the Civil Service Law, an officer can express concerns if he considers an order to be unlawful, and then the order must be repeated in writing, which did not happen in this specific case. The federal government must now reimburse the soldier around 1,100 euros in procedural costs for going to the highest court.
(APA/Red)
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