2 December 2008
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The Republic of Austria lies in central Europe, bordered by Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the west, Germany and Czechoslovakia to the north, Hungary to the east, and Italy and Slovenia to the south.
Austria is a Federal Republic. Legislative power is vested in a bicameral Federal Assembly. The First Chamber is the 'Nationalrat' and the second the 'Bundesrat'. The Federal President, elected for six years is the Head of the State and acts on the advice of the Council of Ministers, which is led by the Federal Chancellor and which is responsible to the 'Nationalrat'. Each of the nine provinces has its own provincial assembly.
Criminal investigations - Austrian Criminal Intelligence Service ('Bundeskriminalamt' - B.K- Interpol Vienna) The Directorate General for Public security The Federal Police The Austrian Federal Security Guard developed from the civilian security force introduced in the years following the 1848 revolution to replace the previous military police force Criminal Investigation Department The Federal Gendarmerie There are eight provincial Gendarmerie commands (one for each Land except Vienna). Municipal Police Forces
The newly formed Austrian Criminal Intelligence Service (ACIS) is both the headquarters of the national criminal investigation services and the Austrian NCB of Interpol. It is headed by a Director, who reports to the Directorate General for Public Security, which in turn forms Division II of the Federal Ministry of the Interior. A Single-Point-of-Contact office (SPOC), within ACIS, is available 24 hours a day and provides the gateway for international law enforcement enquiries and the exchange of intelligence. In addition, ACIS operates central specialist units investigating general crime, drug-related crime, organized crime, immigration crime and human trafficking, as well as units dealing with fugitive apprehension, surveillance operations, forensic science, and international co-operation. These units have full authority over subordinate services in criminal investigation matters.
Each ACIS unit quoted at the item 2.3 acts as the central contact point for matters relating to corresponding international enquiries.
The ordinary federal courts include District Courts, Regional Courts, Criminal Courts of Assize, Courts of Appeal and the Supreme Court. District Courts and Regional Courts try both civil and criminal cases. Each District Court covers an area extending over one or more communes; each Regional Court covers several District Courts. The Courts of Appeal each cover two or more lower courts. Prosecutions are brought by the staff of the Public Prosecutor's Office. This Office is completely independent of the courts themselves. The individual members of the Public Prosecutor's Office attached to the lower courts report to senior Public Prosecutors, who in turn, and together with the Attorney General at the Supreme Court, report to the federal Ministry of Justice. In carrying out their duties, Public Prosecutors are authorized to have direct contact with, and enlist the support of, police authorities, other authorities of the Bund and the Bundesländer, as well as the local authorities.
4.3.1 Austrian liaison officers posted abroad 4.3.2 Foreign liaison officers posted to Vienna Canada, United States (Drug Enforcement Agency, Department of Homeland Security, Customs, Immigration, Federal Bureau of Investigation), Turkey, Belgium, Italy, France, Romania, Bulgaria, Germany, Slovakia.
The Austrian Customs Service is not authorized to conduct criminal investigations. They can, however, access criminal background information from the central police database.
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