Justizministerium | |
Ministry overview | |
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Formed | 1848 |
Jurisdiction | Austria |
Headquarters | Palais Trautson Museumstraße 7 Vienna 48°12′33″N16°21′57″E / 48.20917°N 16.36583°E |
Minister responsible | |
Website | justiz |
In Austrian politics, the Federal Ministry of Justice (German: Justizministerium) is the ministry in charge of the administration of justice. The Ministry provides administrative supervision and payroll services for the court system and the prosecution service, manages their office buildings and facilities, and runs the prisons.
First established in 1848, the ministry's exact name and portfolio have undergone changes numerous times throughout the years. From 2018 to 2020, the ministry was officially called the Ministry of Constitutional Affairs, Reforms, Deregulation and Justice (Bundesministerium für Verfassung, Reformen, Deregulierung und Justiz). [1] In addition to its traditional responsibilities, it is tasked with supporting the Kurz cabinet's program of simplifying the country's unusually large body of constitutional law. [2] and of reducing the amount of law on the books in general. [3] [4] One of its departments, the Constitutional Office (Verfassungsdienst), is the body tasked with representing the executive branch before the Constitutional Court and the Republic of Austria before the European Court of Justice and the European Court of Human Rights. The Constitutional Office also assists other ministries in drafting legislation and in evaluating the constitutionality of draft statutes prepared elsewhere. It is also in charge of the Austrian data protection agency.
The ministry is headquartered in the Palais Trautson. The current Minister of Justice is Alma Zadić. [5] [6]
The Ministry was first established in 1848.
As of May 2018, the ministry consists of the Minister and his personal staff (Kabinett), the office of the director general, and seven departments: [7]
The Minister and his staff are political appointees; the general secretary and the section heads are career civil servants. [8]
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) rights in Austria have advanced significantly in the 21st century. Both male and female same-sex sexual activity are legal in Austria. Registered partnerships were introduced in 2010, giving same-sex couples some of the rights of marriage. Stepchild adoption was legalised in 2013, while full joint adoption was legalised by the Constitutional Court of Austria in January 2015. On 5 December 2017, the Austrian Constitutional Court decided to legalise same-sex marriage, and the ruling went into effect on 1 January 2019.
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