Causa Pilnacek – Zadic signals problems with policy-related procedures

Commission head Martin Kreutner said on Monday at the presentation of the report that the findings were “positive” because they were accurate on all points. During a secretly recorded meeting with acquaintances in a pub, Pilnacek reported on attempts by the ÖVP to influence investigations. “The Austrian legal system is fundamentally a very good system,” Kreutner said before the “finding”. But according to the commission, it has become clear that there is a “two-tier legal system”. A lack of distance from politics and the media was also noted, as well as a sometimes very frustrating level of authority.

As a concrete example of crossing the line, the former president of the Bavarian Constitutional Court, Peter Küspert, mentioned a meeting between Pilnacek and the judicial spokesman of a party – according to Kreutner, not the ÖVP, as he later emphasized in the Ö1 ‘Mittagsjournal’. – whose ‘high-ranking government members’ had been investigated in an advertising case. Pilnacek also spoke to suspects in the CASAG affair. But judicial officials were also kept constantly informed about the proceedings against them.

On the tendency to favor one’s own members
A “further phenomenon” is the “tendency in closed organizations to favor members of their own group,” says Küspert. This includes, for example, official secrecy, data protection and bias regulations. The report also identifies “close relationships,” “cliques” and “political ingratiation,” as well as a “pseudoamic structure.” Confidential information – for example about house searches – is passed on to political representatives via courier services.

The committee also noted a ‘fog of responsibility’ in the area of ​​the Public Prosecution Service’s procedures. Accusations within our own ranks are also not being dealt with adequately. Finally, there was also open criticism that there had been ‘party political attempts’ to weaken the Public Prosecution Service for Economic Affairs and Corruption (WKStA).

In addition to the establishment of a public prosecutor’s office and the “abolition of the two-tier judiciary”, the commission recommends, among other things, the “removal and strengthening of the WKStA and at the same time the removal of the ‘federal bottleneck’ – the Vienna Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office as an institution” (this is currently the higher authority of the WKStA, footnote). All public prosecutors should also be invited to make a public statement about the “(necessary) distance from politics and the equality with individual political parties” and the media.

Deliberately delaying the procedure
Another demand is to reduce the number of public prosecutors to two offices and at the same time to strengthen judicial control and reduce reporting. This plays an important role in so-called ‘noisy cases’, which currently have to be reviewed by numerous people at the Public Prosecutor’s Office and the Ministry of Justice. The president of the Feldkirch Regional Court, Angelika Prechtl-Marte, reported that the proceedings had probably been delayed deliberately. In connection with a politically prominent case, keywords such as “taking a victory lap” or “playing for time” appeared out of fear of the coalition’s motives.

The original report is 230 pages long and the investigation period ran from January 1, 2010 to December 14, 2023. The commission, which was established in December last year, conducted its investigation for six months. The report was sent to the Ministry of Justice on Sunday. However, it will not be published in full immediately, but “soon.” As the media owner, the ministry asked for clarification on the publication under the Media Act for a few more days, Kreutner said.

Zadic: “We have to take results seriously”
After the press conference, Minister of Justice Alma Zadic (Greens) reported that two reports had been submitted to the ministry: one redacted and one unredacted. The latter is intended for publication. The other also contains sensitive data and is intended for internal use only. She did not provide details about these data.

The minister reiterated that the results show that the reforms she recently implemented are correct. The judiciary has become more independent. “But nevertheless, the commission has also produced results that we must take seriously.” The legal system, it turned out, is functioning. But there were apparently interventions or information passed on in policy procedures. Possibly “unwelcome” procedures were also terminated.

Zadic hopes that talks with the ÖVP about a public prosecutor’s office will now be easier. Because the report shows that concentration of power entails a danger, she emphasized. “Power must be distributed over several shoulders.” It is important that decisions are made in the senates at the top of the public prosecutor’s office, Zadic repeated a demand she has already made repeatedly. The coalition has not yet reached an agreement on this point. The ÖVP has so far spoken out in favor of one person at the top of the authority.

SPÖ: “Fear confirmed”
The ÖVP did not want to assess the report in detail because it had not yet been published, Secretary General Christian Stocker explained in a written statement. Precisely this: “The Kreutner Commission criticizes sharp internal processes in the judiciary and the Ministry of Justice.” Regarding the accusation of attempted political interventions, Kreutner emphasized that these did not only come from the ÖVP, but from various parties.

The commission had “unfortunately confirmed our fears,” SPÖ justice spokeswoman Selma Yildirim said after the presentation. Now it is time to draw the right conclusions from this. For FPÖ Secretary General Christian Hafenecker, the report confirms that the “deep state of the ÖVP” really exists. And for deputy NEOS club chairman Nikolaus Scherak, the “list of omissions and misconduct” is frightening.