As of 1 January 2017, an interesting amendment of the Austrian Code of Criminal Procedure came into effect. The amendment effectively implements the EU Directive 2013/48/EU, regarding the right of access to a lawyer in criminal proceedings, widens the scope of application of so called “diversion” proceedings, and adds a number of other new regulations.

The most controversial part of the legislative process leading to the amendment was the regulation of permitting leniency for principal witnesses. Although a similar regulation already existed, it was set to expire at the end of 2016. The background is that Austrian law does not endorse plea bargaining, thus the concept of leniency for voluntary principal witnesses was met with considerable resistance. The discussion of whether to prolong the existing principal witness regulation was heated, politically charged, and attracted media attention. Ultimately, consensus was found in an improved regulation. The main points are:

The new regulation, which was supported by – and received acclaim from – international organizations, is an important step towards uncovering large-scale corporate crimes. Without the benefit of insider knowledge of principal witnesses, resolving these highly complex criminal structures is often impossible, rendering the prosecutor’s task futile. Leniency for voluntary principal witnesses is a resource-efficient investigative tool designed to tackle the problem of solving fraudulent or conspiratorial crimes – particularly corruption. Thus, this legislation represents a great success in the fight against corruption and for more transparency.

© Katharina Wiltschek