🇦🇹 Austrian Elections & Politics 6.0 - Upper Austria election: 26 Sept. 2021

[Samof94]

The Austrian Constitutional Court will start their fall session today with a new composition of judges and hear arguments about the controversial topic of assisted suicide.

https://www.derstandard.at/story/2000120217411/warum-das-recht-auf-sterbehilfe-so-heftig-umstritten-ist

Editorial pro-assisted suicide:

https://www.derstandard.at/story/2000120214242/sterbehilfe-erlauben-im-geist-der-selbstbestimmung

Editorial against-assisted suicide:

https://www.derstandard.at/story/2000120210357/sterbehilfe-nicht-erlauben-toeten-als-tabubruch

The Court consists of 14 members, who are appointed by either the federal government, the Nationalrat or Bundesrat. The Austrian President is swearing them in, but has a veto possibility.

Unlike in the US, the judges are not appointed for life, but have to retire at 70.

The Court consists of 10 men and 4 women and has an ÖVP-affiliated President and Green-affiliated Vice-President.

6 of the judges are close to the ÖVP, 5 SPÖ-affiliated, 2 FPÖ-near and 1 Green-minded.

Claudia Kahr is the oldest judge (since 1999), Verena Madner (Vice-President) the newest since April 2020.

The current Court is tilting 8-6 Right/Left, but is in fact pretty independent and has thrown out several laws of the right-wing ÖVP/FPÖ government in the past.

Many countries are similar to Austria when it comes to judges. American style life appointments are the exception, not the rule. The Japanese are similar and also have 70 as a retirement age. In Canada, RBG would be impossible as no judge can serve past 75.  How do they work with an even number of judges?

[Samof94]

Many countries are similar to Austria when it comes to judges. American style life appointments are the exception, not the rule. The Japanese are similar and also have 70 as a retirement age. In Canada, RBG would be impossible as no judge can serve past 75.  How do they work with an even number of judges?

Yes, Austria has 14 judges.

But the President of the Court doesn't vote, so it's only 13 (max.)

But not all 13 judges need to be present for decisions. Only 8 need to be present.

The President of the Court then only casts the deciding vote in the event of a tie.
Okay, so they avert the obvious problems.
This is called Dirimierungsrecht (from Latin: dirimere) - The right to differ(entiate).