Posts tagged #COVID-19
All PostsOGH: COVID-19 Rent Reduction for Swingers Clubs
Civil LawThe Austrian Supreme Court (Oberster Gerichtshof, hereinafter OGH) has clarified that, due to the obligation to wear FFP-2 masks, it was not possible to use a property in accordance with its agreed contractual purpose of operating a swingers club and...
State Aid: Unlawful COVID-19 Aid for KLM
European LawIn the legal battle over State support during the COVID-19 pandemic, Ryanair has won a victory. During the pandemic, many airlines received payments in the form of State aid. Now, once again, the European courts have had to deal with the legality of ...
Austria: COFAG Partly Unconstitutional – Continued Disbursing
Constitutional LawThe Austrian Constitutional Court (Verfassungsgerichtshof, hereinafter VfGH) has declared parts of the legal basis of the COVID-19 Financing Agency of the Federal Government GmbH (COFAG) to be unconstitutional. However, payments can continue for th...
OGH: No Official Liability for Unlawful COVID Regulations
Civil LawThe Austrian Supreme Court (Oberster Gerichtshof, hereinafter OGH) has ruled that there is no official liability for unlawful COVID 19 regulations. The Minister of Health did not act in a culpable manner. The plaintiff was a street paper vendor. Duri...
BVwG: COVID-19 a Mitigating Circumstance in GDPR Violations
Data Privacy LawThe Austrian Federal Administrative Court (Bundesverwaltungsgericht, hereinafter BVwG) has considered the COVID-19 pandemic and the fear of contagion a mitigating factor in penalties imposed for violating applicable data protection regulations. In th...
OGH: COFAG Subsidies Are Garnishable
Procedural LawThe Austrian Supreme Court (Oberster Gerichtshof, hereinafter OGH) has ruled that COFAG1 subsidies are, in principle, garnishable. In the original case, the court of first instance had granted the petitioning energy supplier, among other things, the ...
OGH: COVID-19 and Reduced Rents
Civil LawThe Austrian Supreme Court (Oberster Gerichtshof, hereinafter OGH) has recently clarified that officially imposed access restrictions and distancing rules can justify reductions for rent paid for business premises. The plaintiff is the landlord of a ...
OGH: Invalid Clause in Package Tour GTCs
Civil LawThe Austrian Supreme Court (Oberster Gerichtshof, hereinafter OGH) has confirmed that a complete preclusion of the right to withdraw from a package tour contract at no charge in the case of travel restrictions due to COVID-19 is inadmissible. In 2021...
VfGH: Interest-free Debt Moratorium Is Constitutional
Constitutional LawThe Austrian Constitutional Court (Verfassungsgerichtshof, hereinafter VfGH) has rejected the request by 403 banks to review the law on the interest-free debt moratorium during the pandemic. Section 2 of Austrian Zweites COVID-19-Justiz-Begleitgesetz...
VfGH: Compulsory Vaccination Act Is Constitutional
Public LawThe Austrian Constitutional Court (Verfassungsgerichtshof, VfGH) has declared the COVID 19 Compulsory Vaccination Act to be in conformity with the Austrian Constitution. An appellant from Vienna argued in summary that the available vaccines were unsu...
OGH: Rent reduction to zero for "bakery-cafe" in lockdown
Civil LawThe Austrian Supreme Court (Oberster Gerichtshof, OGH) ruled that a "bakery-cafe" in an industrial zone did not have to offer a delivery or pick-up service during a lockdown, which meant that the property was completely unusable. The plaintiff is the...
OGH: Criticism of Corona measures alone does not constitute a worldview
Civil LawThe Austrian Supreme Court (Oberster Gerichtshof, OGH) has ruled that a dismissal is in principle permissible if the employee is dismissed because of her critical attitude towards the COVID-19 measures and her refusal to wear a mask. In the case at h...
OGH: If entry is prohibited, no rent has to be paid
Civil LawThe Austrian Supreme Court (Oberster Gerichtshof, OGH) ruled for the first time that the rent exemption under Section 1104 of the Austrian General Civil Code (Allgemeines Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch, ABGB) is also applicable if business premises were sub...
OLG Linz: No culpability as per Sec. 178 StGB in case of low viral load
The Linz Higher Regional Court (Oberlandesgericht Linz, OLG Linz) has ruled that the mere failure to comply with a quarantine order ("quarantine breach") is not in itself sufficient for criminal liability under Sec. 178 of the Criminal Code (Strafges...
OGH: Exclusion of the public does not have to justify nullity
The Austrian Supreme Court (Oberster Gerichtshof, OGH) has ruled that exclusion of the public from oral hearings in civil proceedings is not a ground for nullity to be challenged by the courts if both parties waive their right to appeal against the e...
BCBS takes COVID-19 into focus
The Corona crisis has also presented the banking sector with great challenges. The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision addresses these challenges in its work programme for 2020-2021 and will make COVID-19 a core part of its focus. In addition, the...
OLG Vienna on COVID-19-related coverage denials
The Vienna Higher Regional Court (Oberlandesgericht Wien, OLG Wien) confirmed the decision of the court of first instance that exceptional circumstances clauses in legal expenses insurance were unlawful. The background to the dispute was whether the ...
BFG: COVID-19 no justification for unpaid parking ticket
The plaintiff was accused of having negligently shortened the Vienna parking meter fee several times, as she had parked a multi-lane motor vehicle in a short-stay parking zone for which a fee had to be paid on several days, but without marking it wit...
OGH: Only business shutdowns due to Epidemic Act are insured
Civil LawInsurers of epidemic business interruption insurance are generally only obliged to provide cover if the business was closed due to the Epidemic Act (Epidemiegesetz, EpiG). Closures under the COVID-19 Measures Act (COVID-19-Maßnahmengesetz) are not co...
Report on vignette exemption for freeway sections near the border
Public LawThe amendment to the Federal Road Toll Act 2002 (Bundesstraßen-Mautgesetz, BStMG) passed by the National Council on 13 November 2019 was supposed to solve the problem: Due to the existing toll obligation in Austria, there was "almost continuous evasi...
EU: Raising capital on public markets to be facilitated
A short prospectus for well-known issuers has been introduced at EU level. The aim is to help companies recapitalize in light of the economic impact of COVID-19. The EU Recovery prospectus aims to provide a simplified prospectus for issuers and inves...
Amended COVID-19 regulation has entered into force
Public LawAs of 15 March 2021, COVID-19 measures will be scaled back in many areas in the province of Vorarlberg. The amended Protective Measures Regulation (Schutzmaßnahmenverordnung) also stipulates that companies with more than 51 employees implement a COVI...
COVID-19: Support for businesses and citizens to be expanded
The "loss of earnings bonus" (Ausfallsbonus) (Regulation on the Loss of Earnings Bonus (Verordnung Ausfallsbonus), BGBl. II No. 74/2021), the turnover compensation (Umsatzersatz) for indirectly affected persons (Regulation on the Lockdown Compensatio...
Reluctant easing of COVID-19 restrictions in Austria
Public LawAfter several weeks of "hard lockdown", the federal government has announced initial opening steps. As of 8 February 2021, the previously all-day curfew restrictions are to be limited to the period between 8 pm and 6 am. In addition, retailers, servi...
LG Linz: Misleading advertising for protective masks
Protective mask manufacturers may not advertise that masks with integrated silver provide effective protection against bacteria, viruses and germs and can therefore protect against infection with COVID-19. On the homepage of the defendant protective ...
OGH refers 1st COVID-19-JuBG to ECJ
The Austrian Supreme Court (Oberster Gerichtshof, OGH) referred the question to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) for a preliminary ruling whether the interruption of all procedural time limits pursuant to Sec. 1 (1) of the 1st COVID-19 Accompanyin...
OGH: No violation of Art 6 ECHR when video conferencing is ordered in arbitration proceedings
In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, video conferencing is a suitable means of maintaining business operations. According to the Austrian Supreme Court (Oberster Gerichtshof, OGH), if negotiations in arbitration proceedings are ordered in the form o...
COVID-19: Amendement to the Regulation establishing special provisions in criminal matters to prevent the spread of COVID-19
Regulation of the Federal Minister of Justice amending special provisions in criminal matters. § 9 of the Federal Law on Accompanying Measures for COVID-19 in the Judiciary (Das Bundesgesetz betreffend Begleitmaßnahmen zu COVID-19 in der Justiz , 1.C...
8th COVID-19 Act: Courts gradually resume operations
Civil LawAs there has been a backlog in civil proceedings due to the corona measures, the 8th COVID-19 Act (8. COVID-19-Gesetz) is intended to gradually bring court operations back up to speed. In this context, the possibility was created to also conduct the ...
4th COVID-19 Act: Amendment of the COVID-19 Company Law Act
Corporate LawBy the 4th COVID-19 Act, amendments to the COVID-19 Company Law Act (gesellschaftrechtliches COVID-19-Gesetz) were adopted, inter alia. The Federal Act on Special Measures in Company Law arising from COVID-19 (Bundesgesetz betreffend besonderer Maßna...
COVID-19: Relaxation measures are reduced - new restrictions in force
Since May 2020, numerous restrictions in the work place, everyday life and leisure time had been gradually eased under the COVID-19 relaxation regulation (COVID-19-Lockerungsverordnung). In view of the rising number of cases, the Minister of Health o...
New COVID-19 Measures Act clarifies powers: Curfew regulations and entry bans possible
Administrative LawA revision of the COVID-19 Measures Act has made the powers to deal with the pandemic more concrete and detailed. Included in this revision is the authorization to impose curfews and far-reaching entry bans. In its new version, the COVID-19 Measures ...
ESMA sees high risk of decoupling of the financial market from the underlying economic activity
In the course of the publication of the "Trends, Risks and Vulnerabilities (TRV) Report of 2020" the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) commented on the effects of the COVID-19 crisis on the markets. In particular, it underlined the ris...
EU Commission extends EU State aid regulations and carries out adjustments
The European Commission has decided to extend EU State aid regulations, set to expire at the end of 2020, by one to three years and to make adjustments to cushion the impact of COVID-19. The background to these extensions is the aptitude tests carrie...
Fixed cost subsidy will be extended from September
Public LawIn September 2020, the second phase of the fixed cost subsidy will start for companies that suffer COVID-19-related revenue losses. In this context, new guidelines for granting these Phase II subsidies were published. The Fixed Cost Subsidy II (Fixko...
Directives on the granting of subsidies to cover fixed costs by the COVID-19 Finanzierungsagentur des Bundes GmbH (COFAG)
On the 25 May 2020, the regulation of the Federal Minister of Finance pursuant to § 3b (3) of the ABBAG Act (Bundesgesetz über die Einrichtung einer Abbaubeteiligungsaktiengesellschaft des Bundes) concerning guidelines for the granting of subsidies t...
Opinion of the ECB on amendments to the Union prudential framework in response to the COVID-19 pandemic
The European Central Bank (ECB) received a request to submit a proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulations (EU) No 575/2013 (Capital Requirements Regulation) and (EU) 2019/876 (Regulation amending the ...
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