The 2023 Amendments To The Austrian Code Of Civil Procedure: What's New?

On 14 July 2023, amendments to the Austrian Code of Civil Procedure (Zivilprozessordnung, ACCP) entered into force.¹ During the COVID-19 pandemic, laws had been introduced that temporarily allowed for remote hearings and evidence-taking under certain circumstances. These temporary provisions expired on 30 June 2023. Now, the Austrian legislature has adopted permanent versions of the COVID-19 era rules, albeit in a more limited form.

Below, the most notable changes to the ACCP are outlined. Readers should note that the 2023 amendments are not limited to the ACCP but include the Non-Contentious Proceedings Act (Außerstreitgesetz), the Commitment Act (Unterbringungsgesetz), the Enforcement Act (Exekutionsordnung), and others. The focus of this article will be exclusively on the ACCP.