TITLE I
General Provisions

General Reservation
§ 2. A foreign request may only be complied if this does not violate public order or other essential interests of the Republic of Austria.

TITLE II
Extradition from Austria

CHAPTER TWO
Jurisdiction and Procedure

Local Jurisdiction and Jurisdiction over the Subject Matter
§ 26. (1) The public prosecutor shall conduct the extradition proceedings, applying the provisions of Part 1 and 2 of the Code of Criminal Procedure in analogy. The public prosecutor in whose district the person concerned has his/her domicile or residence shall have local jurisdiction. In the absence of such a location, the public prosecutor shall have local jurisdiction in whose district the person was apprehended. If the person concerned is kept in court confinement, the place of confinement shall determine local jurisdiction. If no specific public prosecutor can be determined when applying the present provisions, the public prosecutor’s office in Vienna shall have local jurisdiction.

(2) The court decisions in extradition proceedings shall be taken by a single judge of the regional court (§ 31 (1) of the Code of Criminal Procedure) where the public prosecutor’s office is located that conducts the extradition proceedings.

(3) The provisions of paragraphs (1) and (2) shall also apply to the surrender of objects in connection with an extradition (extradition of objects).. The public prosecutor in whose district the object to be surrendered is located shall have jurisdiction over the examination of a separate request for the surrender of objects.

TITLE II
Extradition from Austria

CHAPTER TWO
Jurisdiction and Procedure

Proceedings on the Admissibility of an Extradition
§ 31. (1) The court shall examine the person concerned in connection with the extradition request. § 29 (3) shall apply in analogy. The court shall decide on the admissibility of an extradition by way of a court decision in accordance with § 33.

(2) The decision shall be taken on the basis of a public oral hearing if the person concerned or the public prosecutor so move, or if the court deems it necessary in order to examine the admissibility of the extradition. If the person concerned is kept detained pending extradition, the hearing on the admissibility of the extradition shall take place in the course of a hearing on the detention in accordance with the provisions of paragraph (3). Irrespective of an application to hold a hearing, the court may always state that an extradition is inadmissible without holding a hearing. If the court decides without a hearing, the person concerned and his/her defender counsel, as well as the public prosecutor must have been given an opportunity in any event to comment on the request for extradition.

(3) The person concerned must be represented at the hearing by a defender counsel (§ 61 (1) of the Code of Criminal Procedure). If the person concerned is being detained, steps shall be taken for his/her production in court, unless he/she expressly waived being present in court through his/her defender counsel. § 172 of the Code of Criminal Procedure shall be applied in analogy.

(4) Except for the cases listed in § 229 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, the public may be excluded from the hearing, if this might affect bilateral relations. In the hearing the single judge shall first present a summary of the content of the documents received by the court and the course of the proceedings up to the hearing. The public prosecutor shall then be given leave to speak. Next, the person concerned
and his/her defender counsel shall be given an opportunity to comment on the request for extradition and the statements by the public prosecutor. In any event, the person concerned and his/her defender counsel shall have the right to make the final statement.

(5)The single judge shall proclaim the decision on the admissibility of the extradition and explain the reasons for the decision. The decision shall be issued in writing and shall indicate those facts, in any event, that were decisive for stating that the extradition is admissible or inadmissible.

(6) If, in the event of an oral proclamation of the decision, the person concerned or the public prosecutor files a complaint within three days, the complainant may state further details of the complaint within fourteen days after having received the written copy. The complaint has suspensive effect. The provisions on the proceedings before the appellate court (§ 89 of the Code of Criminal Procedure)
shall apply with the proviso that the higher regional court shall decide on the complaint in a public oral hearing, applying § 294 (5) of the Code of Criminal Procedure in analogy, unless the complaint must be rejected as inadmissible pursuant to § 89 (2) of the Code of Criminal Procedure or unless one of the
circumstances indicated in § 89 para. 2a items 1 to 3 of the Code of Criminal Procedure prevails. The higher regional court shall submit its decision to the Federal Ministry of Justice, attaching the case file.

(7) If no complaint is filed, the court shall submit the case file directly to the Federal Ministry of Justice.

Simplified Extradition Procedure
§ 32. (1) On the basis of a foreign request for extradition or for imposing detention pending extradition, the person concerned may state his/her consent to the extradition and agree to being transferred without conducting the formal extradition proceedings. However, if several requests have been submitted, the consent statement is only effective if it covers all requests. The person concerned has the right to consult with a defence lawyer prior to making his or her statement. However, if the person concerned is detained pending extradition, he/she may state his/her consent at the earliest at the hearing on the detention, which must be held pursuant to § 175 (2) item 1 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. In any event, the consent will only become legally valid if it is put on record by the court.

(2) The court shall inform the person concerned that he or she has the right to consult with a defence lawyer, that, in the event of an extradition pursuant to paragraph (1), he/she shall not be entitled to the protection afforded by § 23 (1) and (2) or by the corresponding provisions of intergovernmental agreements and that he/she may not revoke his/her consent.

(3) The simplified extradition of a juvenile shall only be admissible if his/her legal representative also consents or if he/she is represented by a defender counsel.

(4) If a person concerned has consented to the simplified extradition procedure, the court shall submit the case file directly to the Federal Ministry of Justice.

TITLE II
Extradition from Austria

CHAPTER TWO
Jurisdiction and Procedure

Deferral of Surrender
§ 37. Upon application by the person concerned or the public prosecutor or ex officio the court shall defer the surrender if
1. the person to be extradited is not fit for being transported or
2. the public prosecutor or a court conducts criminal proceedings against the person to be extradited, he/she is being kept in pre-trial detention by the fiscal authorities, or an imposed custodial sentence or preventive measure is to be enforced concerning the person to be extradited. In case of an exemption from prosecution or execution on account of the extradition (§ 192 (1) item 2 of the Code of Criminal Procedure; § 4 and § 157 of the Execution of Punishments Act), the court shall perform the surrender without delay.

TITLE III
Transit

CHAPTER ONE
Admissibility

General Principle
§ 42. (1) Pursuant to the provisions of this federal law, the transit of persons through the territory of the Republic of Austria for the purposes of prosecuting an act subject to judicial punishment, or for executing a punishment or preventive measure imposed on account of such an act shall be admissible at the request of a State to which the persons are to be extradited from a third State.

(2) The provisions of this Title shall also apply in analogy to requests for the transit of persons through the territory of the Republic of Austria to a third State for the purpose of taking over the criminal prosecution of a case or the execution of a foreign court decision. The transit shall also be approved in cases where extradition would not be admissible for one of the reasons listed in § 11.

TITLE IV
Judicial Assistance to Foreign Countries

CHAPTER ONE
Requirements

Sending of Objects and Case Files
§ 52. (1) Objects or case files may only be sent if it is ensured that they will be returned as soon as possible. The return of sent objects may be waived if these are no longer required.

(2) Objects to which the Republic of Austria or third parties hold a title may only be sent with the proviso that these rights remain unaffected. It shall not be admissible to send objects and case files if there is reason for concern that this would frustrate or render disproportionately complicated the prosecution or realization of these rights.

(3) Sending objects or case files should be deferred for as long as these are required for court or administrative proceedings pending in Austria.

TITLE IV
Judicial Assistance to Foreign Countries

CHAPTER ONE
Requirements

Transferring Detained Persons for the Evidence Purposes
§ 54. (1) Upon a request by a foreign authority, a person who is being kept in pre-trial detention or punitive detention or who is being kept detained for the execution of measures, may be transferred to a foreign country in order to perform important investigative measures or evidence-taking, especially for the purposes of examining or confronting him/her, if
1. the person agrees to this transfer,
2. his/her presence is not required for criminal proceedings pending in Austria
3. his/her detention is not prolonged on account of the transfer, and
4. the requesting State ensures to keep him/her in custody, to return him/her without delay after the investigative measure or evidence-taking has been completed, as well as not to prosecute or punish him/her for an act committed prior to the transfer.

(2) A transfer shall not interrupt the serving of pre-trial or punitive detention or the execution of a preventive measure.