Usancen Blog
GER: Hospital Reform – What Will Change?
Civil LawAfter two long years of negotiations, the German Coalition Government is poised to implement its hospital reform, aiming to reduce the number of hospitals and improve to quality. This will reduce financial pressure on hospitals, allowing them to incr...
OGH on Notice Periods in Hospitality
Labour LawThe Austrian Supreme Court (Oberster Gerichtshof, hereinafter OGH) has decided whether employees invoking the statutory notice period must prove the ineffectiveness of the shorter collective agreement notice period, or whether employers invoking the ...
OGH Rules on Access to Deceased’s Guardianship Records
Civil LawThe Austrian Supreme Court (Oberster Gerichtshof, hereinafter OGH) has ruled on the conditions under which access to a guardianship file and, in particular to the medical information of the records, must be granted. The applicant in the case at hand ...
AI Literacy as a Key Skill in the Legal Domain: A Necessity for the Future
European LawWith the increasing integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into the legal world and public administration, AI literacy is becoming an essential skill. AI literacy means not only mastering the use of tools, but also a sound understanding of algor...
CJEU Limits Use of Meta Data
European LawThe data minimisation principle requires personal data to be ‘adequate, relevant and limited to what is necessary in relation to the purposes for which they are processed’, according to Article 5(1)(c) of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)...
OGH on Establishing Easements
Civil LawThe Austrian Supreme Court (Oberster Gerichtshof, hereinafter OGH) has clarified the conditions under which an easement can be created in a property owned in common. In the case at hand, the plaintiff is the sole owner of property A, which she had ac...
OGH: Patients’ Rights to Free Medical Records
Data Privacy LawThe Austrian Supreme Court (Oberster Gerichtshof, hereinafter OGH) has ruled: Patients have a legal right to a free first copy of their entire medical records. The defendant regional organisation is the operator of a hospital where the plaintiff had ...
GER: New Mobility Data Act – Faster Travel Thanks to Better Data
Data Privacy LawThe German Mobility Data Act is designed to make it easier for people to plan their travel routes. Traffic data is a valuable source of information. It can be used to optimise timetables, calculate faster routes, or meet the demand for shared service...
CJEU on Police Access to Mobile Phone Data
European LawThe European Court of Justice has been asked to rule on the legality of police access to personal data stored on a mobile phone in the context of a criminal investigation. In the national case to be decided, the Austrian police had seized the mobile ...
OGH: Ruling Request on EU Succession Regulation
Civil LawThe legal dispute about a claim to a care legacy is now before the European Court of Justice (ECJ). In the case at hand, the plaintiff is the former partner of the testator, who died in 2021 and had her habitual residence Austria until she passed awa...
GER: BaFin Advises Checking Your Savings Plans
Civil LawThe Bundesanstalt für Finanzdienstleistungsaufsicht (German Federal Financial Supervisory Authority, hereinafter BaFIn) recommends that customers check their premium-linked savings agreements (‘Prämiensparvertrag’) for possible claims for back paymen...
OGH: Notaries and Negligence
Civil LawThe drafter of a contract must, within the limits of what is possible and reasonable, inform the parties to an agreement of legal and financial effects of and explain to them the risks involved, taking into account potential unfavourable economic dev...
OGH: Ruling on Trespass-Fee Collecting Agencies
Civil LawAccording to recent case law of the Austrian Supreme Court (Oberster Gerichtshof, hereinafter OGH), the term ‘legal representative’ in Section 879(2)(2) of the Austrian Civil Code (Allgemeines bürgerliches Gesetzbuch, hereinafter ABGB) is not limited...
Insolvent Tour Operators: CJEU Strengthens Travellers’ Rights
European LawThe Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has clarified whether or not travellers are entitled to the reimbursement of payments already made to an insolvent tour operator if the claim for reimbursement arose before the opening of the insolven...
OGH: Are Contingency Fees Allowed in Austria?
Civil LawAccording to Section 879(2)(2) of the Austrian Civil Code (Allgemeines bürgerliches Gesetzbuch, ABGB), a contract is null and void if a legal advisor accepts a certain share of the amount awarded to the other party. This provision does not only apply...
OGH Rules on Forfeited Holiday Leave
Labour LawThe Austrian Supreme Court (Oberster Gerichtshof, hereinafter OGH) has ruled on the question of whether the forfeiture of holiday leave due to incapacity for work due to illness is limited. In the case at hand, the plaintiff had been employed by the ...
OGH on Interpreting Wills
Civil LawThe testator’s actual intention when drawing up their will is decisive for interpreting the will, and this intention ought to be at least somewhat apparent from the wording of the will. In the case at hand, the deceased, who had died in 2022, left a ...
ECJ on Misleading Price Discounts in Advertising Brochures
European LawThe European Court of Justice (ECJ) has been presented with a case of practical relevance concerning the advertising of discounts and price reductions. A German discounter had advertised in its flyers percentages on price savings as well as ‘price hi...
GER: House Building – Does a Reduction Exclude Self-Remedy?
Civil LawIf something goes wrong in having a house built, customers have quite flexible rights in the event of defects. This has recently been decided by the German Federal Court of Justice (Bundesgerichtshof, hereinafter BGH). In 2012, a construction company...
OGH on the Recovery of Severance Pay
Civil LawIn the interest of legal certainty, Section 1486 of the Austrian Civil Code (Allgemeines bürgerliches Gesetzbuch, hereinafter ABGB) reduces the general 30-year limitation period to three years for certain claims, in particular those arising from dail...
ECJ Fines Google EUR 2.5 Bil
European LawGoogle has been found to have abused its dominant position. Therefore, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) has upheld the EUR 2.5 billion fine imposed on Google by the European Commission. In 2017, a record fine of EUR 2.4 billion had been imposed on...
OGH Rules on Untimeliness in Partition Proceedings
Civil LawThe Austrian Supreme Court (Oberster Gerichtshof, hereinafter OGH) has ruled on whether a claim for maintenance of a residence under Section 97 of the Austrian Civil Code (Allgemeines bürgerliches Gesetzbuch, hereinafter ABGB) can preclude a partitio...
GC Rules on Google AdSense Terms
European LawGoogle will not have to pay a fine after all. The Commission’s decision has been annulled by the General Court. The Commission had fined Google almost EUR 1.5 billion for including anti-competitive clauses in AdSense. Google has operated an advertisi...
GER: Can Consumer Organisations Claim Refunds?
European LawRemaining credit on festival wristbands: The extent to which consumer organisations can demand direct reimbursement for consumers in the event of unfair commercial practices has recently been considered by the German Federal Court of Justice (Bundesg...
OGH: Same Rules for E-Scooters and Bikes?
Civil LawThe answer to the question of who has the right of way and who has to stop at a traffic-light controlled intersection lies in Section 38 of the Austrian Road Traffic Act (Strassenverkehrsordnung, hereinafter StVO). In the case at hand, at a traffic-l...
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