ABSTRACT

FACTS ABOUT AUSTRIA Basic facts: Austria is a relatively small country located in the middle of Europe, extending from the eastern and northern parts of the Alps in the west to the Pannonia lowland in the east. It is populated by approximately 8.4 million people of whom 2.4 million live in the capital Vienna and its surroundings. e ocial language is German. History and European integration: Founded as a republic in 1918 aer the end of World War I and the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy, Austria today is a federal democratic parliamentarian republic. Austria forms part of the Council of Europe human rights regime characterized by the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms and the jurisprudence of European Court of Human Rights. A founding member of the European Free Trade Association since 1960, Austria entered the European Union (EU) in 1995. e EU not only guarantees the free movement

Strengthening the Young Oender’s Procedural Rights 38 Rebalancing of Victim’s and Suspect’s Rights 38

Supporting Oender’s Personal Development and Advancement in Future 38 Avoiding Pretrial Detention: Law and Practice Falling Apart 38 Restricting Publicity 39 Establishing Youth Inquiry Reports to Support Courts’ Decisions 39 Avoiding Financial Burdens Aecting the Oender’s Personal Development in

Future 39 Rules on Juvenile Imprisonment 39 Facts and Figures about Juvenile Delinquency and Juvenile Justice in Austria 40

Causal Factors for Juvenile Delinquency in Austria 40 Increasing Public Preparedness to Report 40 Juvenile and Young Adult Delinquency as a Phenomenon of Coming-of-Age 41 Conviction Rates 41 Trends in Juvenile and Young Adult Delinquency 43 Typical Oenses: e, Damages, and Criminal Assault 44 (Extensive Use of) Pretrial Detention and Imprisonment Rate 44 Sanctioning Practice 45

Public Prosecutors’ Decisions 45 Court Dispositions 46

Conditions of Imprisonment 46 Compliance with International Recommendations: e Beijing Rules 48 Emerging Issues 49

Pretrial Detention 49 Juvenile Legislation and Practice 50 Juvenile Center in Vienna 50

Summary: e Austrian Juvenile Justice Model 50 Review/Discussion Questions 51 References 51 Internet Sources 53

of goods, services, workers, and capital within the internal market but also provides for closer internal and external political cooperation and enhanced police and judicial cooperation in criminal matters. In addition, in 2007, Austria formed part of the Schengen Free Travel Area Agreement where internal border controls were abolished, a common external border check was established, and a coordinated policy on visa, asylum, and migration was developed. Population, demographic, and cultural factors: e European internal market currently consisting of 28 member states and nearly 507 million inhabitants and the Schengen Free Travel Area signicantly inuence not only the Austrian economic and political situation but also its demographic characteristics as a multiethnic society. Additionally, Austria was a destination country for refugees and immigrants from southeast Europe, especially during the Balkan Wars, aer the fall of the Iron Curtain and the failure of the former Yugoslavian state. Nearly 20% of the population has a recent migration background: 1.2 million are migrants of rst generation; additionally, 0.4 million were born in Austria as children of migrants. More than one-third of those rst-or second-generation migrants came from other EU member states, nearly one-third migrated from former Yugoslavia (excluding Slovenia), and more than 17% of the migrants have their roots in Turkey. Although Austria is a multiethnic society, its culture seems to be dominated by its Catholic tradition. Ocial statistics report that in the year 2001, nearly 6 million Austrian inhabitants were Catholic, followed by 0.38 million Evangelicals and 0.34 million Islamics. e average age in Austria is rising; currently it is 42. Roughly 0.8 million children are aged below 10, and 0.335 million children are between 10 and 14 years old; 0.377  million minors are aged 14 to 18, and 0.309 million are so-called young adults aged 18 to 21 years. Economy and education: e Austrian economy is dominated by the service sector contributing to nearly two-thirds of the Austrian gross domestic product (GDP) and the industrial sector contributing one-third. Only 2% of the GDP is based on agriculture. Austria is renowned for its tourism sector, forming an integral part of the service sector. In 2012, the unemployment rate in Austria was 4.3% on average, based on the International Labour Organization denition (national denition: 7%). In the age group of 15-24, the unemployment rate is 8.7%. e level of educational achievement is rising: Whereas in the early 1980s, only 4.5% of the Austrian inhabitants in the age group between 25 and 64 had graduated from universities or colleges, by 2009 this gure had risen to 14.6%.