PROCEDURE

The case originated in an application (no. 25166/05) against the Republic of Austria lodged with the Court under Article 34 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (“the Convention”) by a German national, Mr Jürgen Schneider (“the applicant”), on 29 June 2005.

The applicant was represented by Mr J. Postlmayr, a lawyer practising in Mattighofen. The Austrian Government (“the Government”) were represented by their Agent, Ambassador F. Trauttmansdorff, Head of the International Law Department at the Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The German Government did not make use of their right to intervene under Article 36 § 1 of the Convention.

On 7 November 2006 the Court decided to give notice of the application to the Government. Applying Article 29 § 3 of the Convention, it decided to rule on the admissibility and merits of the application at the same time.

THE FACTS

THE CIRCUMSTANCES OF THE CASE

The applicant was born in 1944 and lives in Stephanskirchen.

On 25 March 2000 the applicant, driving on the A1 motorway in the direction of Linz, was stopped by a traffic patrol. The officers noted that he had been driving at 200 km/h, thus exceeding the speed limit of 130 km/h by 70 km/h, and that he had kept driving in the left-hand lane, in breach of the Road Traffic Act. Furthermore, they observed that, despite the good visibility, the applicant had switched on his fog-lights, and that he had failed to present his driving licence when they had requested him to do so.

Subsequently, on 27 April 2000 the Amstetten District Authority (Bezirkshauptmannschaft) requested the applicant to comment on the above charges.

On 15 May 2000 the applicant filed his defence. He stated that he had been in a rush, since his passenger was sick and he wanted to take him home as fast as possible. Furthermore, he claimed that he had been driving at a maximum of 160 km/h. In addition, he submitted that he had been constantly overtaking cars, which was why he had been driving in the left-hand lane. The applicant contended that he had not used any fog-lights.

In a decision of 5 October 2000 the Amstetten District Authority convicted the applicant of four traffic offences, namely speeding, breaching the requirement to drive in the right-hand lane, unjustified use of fog-lights and failure to carry his driving licence with him, and imposed fines amounting in total to 7,000 Austrian schillings (508.71 euros) on him, with 236 hours’ imprisonment in default. Moreover, it ordered him to pay procedural costs.

Repeating his defence, the applicant, on 2 November 2000, lodged an appeal as regards the first three offences with the Lower Austria Independent Administrative Panel (Unabhängiger Verwaltungssenat). He did not appeal against his conviction for failure to carry a driving licence with him. He did not request a hearing.

On 28 May 2001 the Independent Administrative Panel, sitting in camera, dismissed the appeal. It stated that two police officers had been following the applicant over a stretch of more than 1,000 metres and had made consistent statements on the event.

On 24 July 2001 the applicant lodged a complaint with the Administrative Court (Verwaltungsgerichtshof). He alleged in particular that the Independent Administrative Panel had failed to hold a hearing. This would have allowed it to examine his passenger and the police officers and, if need be, to obtain an expert opinion. Furthermore he repeated his defence as regards the charges of speeding and driving in the left-hand lane. As to the alleged use of fog-lights, the applicant presumed that they had possibly been mixed up with his xenon lamps.

At the Administrative Court’s request, the applicant submitted a second copy of his complaint on 14 August 2001.

On 20 November 2001 the Independent Administrative Panel filed its observations on the case. It stated that the applicant had failed to request a hearing. Nor had he applied for the examination of a witness or the production of an expert opinion.

On 16 January 2002, the applicant supplemented his complaint. He asserted, in particular, that an oral hearing had to be held even if he had not expressly requested one.

In an order of 29 January 2002 the Independent Administrative Panel was requested to submit the file. On 27 February 2002 it informed the Administrative Court that the file was missing. At the same time it submitted a statement in reply. The applicant made further submissions on 19 March 2002.

On 23 July 2004 the Administrative Court partly quashed the Independent Administrative Panel’s decision. It (a) upheld the conviction as regards speeding but quashed the sentence relating to this offence; (b) quashed the conviction and sentence as to the unjustified use of broad-beam lamps; and (c) refused to deal with the complaint relating to the conviction for breaching the requirement to drive in the right-hand lane pursuant to section 33a of the Administrative Court Act. In respect of the first two offences the Administrative Court remitted the case to the Independent Administrative Panel, holding that the latter was obliged to hold a hearing, since none of the exceptions set out in section 51e of the Administrative Offences Act (Verwaltungsstrafgesetz), which regulates the question of oral hearings, had been present. The Administrative Court’s judgment was served on the applicant’s counsel on 24 August 2004.

On 7 September 2004 the Independent Administrative Panel issued a summons for a hearing on 30 September 2004.

On that date the Independent Administrative Panel heard the two police officers as witnesses. The applicant had asked to be excused.

On 3 November 2004, following a further excuse by the applicant’s counsel, the Independent Administrative Panel scheduled another hearing for 29 November 2004.

In a letter of 26 November 2004 counsel notified the Independent Administrative Panel that, since he was unable to contact the applicant, neither he nor his client would attend the hearing. The hearing was held on 29 November 2004 in the absence of the defence.

On 13 December 2004 the Independent Administrative Panel dismissed the applicant’s appeal. The decision was served on the applicant’s counsel on 30 December 2004.

The applicant did not lodge a complaint with the Administrative Court or the Constitutional Court.
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
check
001-88010_a8_e1
001-88010_a8_em1
CODE
DIRECT
25166/05
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
correct
001-88010_a8_e2
001-88010_a8_em2
ORG
NO_MASK
Republic of Austria
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
check
001-88010_a8_e3
001-88010_a8_em3
DEM
QUASI
German
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
check
001-88010_a8_e4
001-88010_a8_em4
PERSON
DIRECT
Mr Jürgen Schneider
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
check
001-88010_a8_e5
001-88010_a8_em5
DATETIME
QUASI
29 June 2005
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
check
001-88010_a8_e6
001-88010_a8_em6
PERSON
QUASI
Mr J. Postlmayr
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
correct
001-88010_a8_e7
001-88010_a8_em7
LOC
NO_MASK
Mattighofen
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
check
001-88010_a8_e8
001-88010_a8_em8
ORG
NO_MASK
Austrian Government
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
check
001-88010_a8_e9
001-88010_a8_em9
PERSON
QUASI
F. Trauttmansdorff
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
check
001-88010_a8_e10
001-88010_a8_em10
ORG
NO_MASK
International Law Department
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
check
001-88010_a8_e11
001-88010_a8_em11
ORG
NO_MASK
Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
check
001-88010_a8_e12
001-88010_a8_em12
ORG
QUASI
German Government
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
check
001-88010_a8_e13
001-88010_a8_em13
DATETIME
QUASI
7 November 2006
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
check
001-88010_a8_e14
001-88010_a8_em14
DATETIME
QUASI
1944
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
check
001-88010_a8_e15
001-88010_a8_em15
LOC
QUASI
Stephanskirchen
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
check
001-88010_a8_e16
001-88010_a8_em16
DATETIME
QUASI
25 March 2000
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
check
001-88010_a8_e17
001-88010_a8_em17
LOC
QUASI
Linz
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
check
001-88010_a8_e18
001-88010_a8_em18
QUANTITY
NO_MASK
200 km/h
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
check
001-88010_a8_e19
001-88010_a8_em19
QUANTITY
NO_MASK
130 km/h
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
insert
001-88010_a8_e20
001-88010_a8_em20
QUANTITY
NO_MASK
70 km/h
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
check
001-88010_a8_e21
001-88010_a8_em21
DATETIME
QUASI
27 April 2000
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
insert
001-88010_a8_e22
001-88010_a8_em22
ORG
QUASI
Amstetten District Authority (Bezirkshauptmannschaft)
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
check
001-88010_a8_e23
001-88010_a8_em23
DATETIME
QUASI
15 May 2000
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
check
001-88010_a8_e24
001-88010_a8_em24
QUANTITY
NO_MASK
160 km/h
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
check
001-88010_a8_e25
001-88010_a8_em25
DATETIME
QUASI
5 October 2000
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
insert
001-88010_a8_e26
001-88010_a8_em26
ORG
QUASI
Amstetten District Authority
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
insert
001-88010_a8_e27
001-88010_a8_em27
QUANTITY
QUASI
7,000 Austrian schillings
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
check
001-88010_a8_e28
001-88010_a8_em28
QUANTITY
QUASI
508.71 euros
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
check
001-88010_a8_e29
001-88010_a8_em29
DATETIME
QUASI
236 hours
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
check
001-88010_a8_e30
001-88010_a8_em30
DATETIME
QUASI
2 November 2000
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
insert
001-88010_a8_e31
001-88010_a8_em31
ORG
NO_MASK
Lower Austria Independent Administrative Panel (Unabhängiger Verwaltungssenat)
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
check
001-88010_a8_e32
001-88010_a8_em32
DATETIME
QUASI
28 May 2001
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
check
001-88010_a8_e33
001-88010_a8_em33
ORG
NO_MASK
Independent Administrative Panel
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
insert
001-88010_a8_e34
001-88010_a8_em34
QUANTITY
NO_MASK
1,000 metres
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
check
001-88010_a8_e35
001-88010_a8_em35
DATETIME
QUASI
24 July 2001
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
insert
001-88010_a8_e36
001-88010_a8_em36
ORG
NO_MASK
Administrative Court (Verwaltungsgerichtshof)
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
check
001-88010_a8_e33
001-88010_a8_em37
ORG
NO_MASK
Independent Administrative Panel
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
check
001-88010_a8_e37
001-88010_a8_em38
ORG
NO_MASK
Administrative Court’s
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
check
001-88010_a8_e38
001-88010_a8_em39
DATETIME
QUASI
14 August 2001
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
check
001-88010_a8_e39
001-88010_a8_em40
DATETIME
QUASI
20 November 2001
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
check
001-88010_a8_e33
001-88010_a8_em41
ORG
NO_MASK
Independent Administrative Panel
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
check
001-88010_a8_e40
001-88010_a8_em42
DATETIME
QUASI
16 January 2002
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
check
001-88010_a8_e41
001-88010_a8_em43
DATETIME
QUASI
29 January 2002
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
check
001-88010_a8_e33
001-88010_a8_em44
ORG
NO_MASK
Independent Administrative Panel
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
check
001-88010_a8_e42
001-88010_a8_em45
DATETIME
QUASI
27 February 2002
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
insert
001-88010_a8_e43
001-88010_a8_em46
ORG
NO_MASK
Administrative Court
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
check
001-88010_a8_e44
001-88010_a8_em47
DATETIME
QUASI
19 March 2002
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
check
001-88010_a8_e45
001-88010_a8_em48
DATETIME
QUASI
23 July 2004
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
check
001-88010_a8_e43
001-88010_a8_em49
ORG
NO_MASK
Administrative Court
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
insert
001-88010_a8_e33
001-88010_a8_em50
ORG
NO_MASK
Independent Administrative Panel
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
check
001-88010_a8_e43
001-88010_a8_em51
ORG
NO_MASK
Administrative Court
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
check
001-88010_a8_e43
001-88010_a8_em52
ORG
NO_MASK
Administrative Court
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
check
001-88010_a8_e33
001-88010_a8_em53
ORG
NO_MASK
Independent Administrative Panel
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
check
001-88010_a8_e37
001-88010_a8_em54
ORG
NO_MASK
Administrative Court’s
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
check
001-88010_a8_e46
001-88010_a8_em55
DATETIME
QUASI
24 August 2004
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
check
001-88010_a8_e47
001-88010_a8_em56
DATETIME
QUASI
7 September 2004
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
check
001-88010_a8_e33
001-88010_a8_em57
ORG
NO_MASK
Independent Administrative Panel
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
check
001-88010_a8_e48
001-88010_a8_em58
DATETIME
QUASI
30 September 2004
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
check
001-88010_a8_e33
001-88010_a8_em59
ORG
NO_MASK
Independent Administrative Panel
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
check
001-88010_a8_e49
001-88010_a8_em60
DATETIME
QUASI
3 November 2004
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
check
001-88010_a8_e33
001-88010_a8_em61
ORG
NO_MASK
Independent Administrative Panel
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
check
001-88010_a8_e50
001-88010_a8_em62
DATETIME
QUASI
29 November 2004
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
check
001-88010_a8_e51
001-88010_a8_em63
DATETIME
QUASI
26 November 2004
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
check
001-88010_a8_e33
001-88010_a8_em64
ORG
NO_MASK
Independent Administrative Panel
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
check
001-88010_a8_e50
001-88010_a8_em65
DATETIME
QUASI
29 November 2004
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
check
001-88010_a8_e52
001-88010_a8_em66
DATETIME
QUASI
13 December 2004
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
check
001-88010_a8_e33
001-88010_a8_em67
ORG
NO_MASK
Independent Administrative Panel
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
check
001-88010_a8_e53
001-88010_a8_em68
DATETIME
QUASI
30 December 2004
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
check
001-88010_a8_e43
001-88010_a8_em69
ORG
NO_MASK
Administrative Court
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
check
001-88010_a8_e54
001-88010_a8_em70
ORG
NO_MASK
Constitutional Court
Jürgen Schneider
AUT
CHAMBER
Task: Annotate the document to anonymise the following person: Jürgen Schneider