Austria: Litigation, Mediation & Arbitration

Can arbitral institutions actually make arbitration faster — or is that just wishful thinking? A new chapter in the Austrian Yearbook on International Arbitration 2026 revisits this question, hotly debated at last year’s World Café during the Vienna Arbitration Days.

The guide provides a concise, practical overview of Austria’s commercial arbitration framework, covering key issues practitioners need to navigate when considering arbitration or enforcement of an arbitral award in Austria.

When termination for cause ends a contract, it happens on the spot. No notice period, no grace period. But Austrian law sets a more stringent bar: courts weigh whether the “cause” was truly serious enough to make continuing the contract unreasonable...

The Austrian Supreme Court has delivered an extraordinary rebuke to the first AI-generated appeal to reach its chambers, finding it so corrupted by hallucinations and fabricated citations that it failed to meet basic standards of legal argumentation. The court's response signals a clear warning about uncritical reliance on artificial intelligence in legal practice and hints at potential disciplinary consequences for attorneys who submit such flawed work.

The year 2025 will be a milestone for the Austrian arbitration community as the leading arbitration institution in Austria, the Vienna International Arbitration Centre (hereinafter VIAC), celebrates its 50th anniversary.

From autonomous vehicles, to ChatGPT, to creating a painting in the style of Monet or composing a new Beatles song, artificial intelligence can seemingly do everything.

Two individuals connected to a Vienna-based company have been convicted in Austria for their roles in the suspected illegal export of CNC machines, with sentences ranging from 15 to 21 months. The case, which began with raids and arrests, concluded with both defendants pleading guilty to the charges, though details about financial penalties or asset confiscation remain unclear.

In her latest Rechtspanorama column for the Rechtsanwaltskammer Wien (Vienna Bar), our partner Bettina Knoetzl draws the line between freedom of speech and professional duty.

How far should an arbitral tribunal go to find the “truth”? Where to draw the line? These are critical questions that arbitral tribunals have to determine for themselves.

Although not a novel concept - London Commercial Court dates back to 1895 - International commercial courts (ICCs) have expanded significantly in recent years.

Mit einer Entscheidung Ende des letzten Jahres zu Raumordnungsverträgen in Tirol stärkte der OGH den Gemeinden bei der Vertragsgestaltung den Rücke und traf sehr spannende über die Grenzen Tirols hinausreichende allgemeine Aussagen zu Raumordnungsverträgen und den desbezüglichen Gestaltungsmöglichkeiten insbesondere im Zusammenhang mit dem Ziel nach leistbarem Wohnen.

In an increasingly interconnected world, English has gained prominence as the international language of commerce.