Supreme Court judges learned about the specifics of Austria’s administrative justice system

Judges of the Supreme Court in the Administrative Cassation Court Ihor Olender, Oleh Shyshov and Mykola Yakovenko took part in a study visit and professional dialogues on practical issues of comparative administrative law. The visit took place at the invitation of Claudia Pinter, President of the Association of Administrative Courts of the Republic of Austria (VRV), and within the framework of the long-term cooperation between Ukrainian and Austrian judges, which began in 2017.

The event, which took place in Vienna, was organised with the aim of exchanging experience between representatives of Austria and Ukraine in various aspects of administrative law.

As part of the programme of the visit, the Ukrainian delegation visited the Federal Finance Court and met with its President Peter Unger. The judges of this court, Gerald Ehgartner, Mirha Karahodzic, Maria Daniel, Katharina Deutsch and Barbara Wisiak, briefed their Ukrainian colleagues on the specifics of its work. The Austrian judges made a number of presentations covering key aspects of their work, namely the organisation of legal defence in tax and customs disputes, in particular in VAT cases, customs procedures and fees, and electronic file management. The Ukrainian delegation told their Austrian colleagues about the peculiarities of conducting legal proceedings in the context of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine by Russia and about the key aspects of tax and customs disputes in Ukraine. At the end of the meeting, the judges exchanged experience in tax and customs law to deepen cooperation between the judicial institutions of both countries.

Members of the delegation visited the Federal Ministry of Justice of Austria and met with its representative Alexander Pirker. The participants of the meeting discussed issues related to the activities of the judiciary in Ukraine. Representatives of the Supreme Court spoke in detail about the specifics of the judicial system in today's realities. In particular, they discussed changes in the territorial jurisdiction of cases, the temporary transfer of judges, and the use of videoconferencing for court hearings.

The visit included a meeting with Michael Sachs, Vice President of the Federal Administrative Court. The Ukrainian lawyers learnt about the legal protection system, competence and structure of the Austrian administrative court, and took part in an open court session of the Federal Administrative Court.

The Ukrainian delegation also visited the Supreme Administrative Court of Austria. During the meeting, the judges of this court, Markus Thoma, Clemens Mayr, Franz Philipp Sutter and Edeltraud Lachmayer, told the judges of the Supreme Court about the organisational support of the court proceedings and administrative appointments. Representatives of the Supreme Court briefed their Austrian colleagues on the system of administrative courts of Ukraine, the structure of the Supreme Court, and the jurisdiction of administrative courts, including the jurisdiction of the Administrative Cassation Court within the Supreme Court. Particular attention was paid to the workload of the Ukrainian courts and the challenges faced by the courts due to the war. In addition, they discussed the application of the ECHR and the EU Court of Justice case law by Austrian administrative courts.