The Implementation of Charter Rights in the Austrian System of Fundamental Rights Protection

After having excluded infringements of European law to a large extent from its jurisdiction, in 2012 the Austrian Constitutional Court has stated in a—over the last decade extensively debated—decision that the rights guaranteed by the Charter of Fundamental Rights had to be applied as a standard of review in constitutional proceedings, both on occasion of complaints and in the judicial review of laws. These results have been modified and developed in the following decisions, showing the spectrum of applying the Charter in constitutional proceedings. This contribution explains the approach chosen in the Charter decision and presents the respective case law as well as the case law of the Supreme Administrative Court and the Supreme Court, which have both been applying the Charter of Fundamental Rights regularly.