Legal Proceedings, Divorces

Fee Shock! Lady Justice Is Reaching Into Our Wallets

Justitia in the Supreme Court—the Roman goddess of justice. But with the next looming fee increase following last year’s record hike, access to justice for the public is becoming increasingly costly.(Bild: APA/HANS KLAUS TECHT)

Enforcing one’s rights in court is slowly becoming unaffordable. Austria’s lawyers are warning of the next fee shock—which the Ministry of Justice has already mandated to take effect August 1! Court proceedings, divorce, simple copies—the “Krone” knows exactly what’s getting more expensive.

While judges and prosecutors are stretched to the limit, the government is finding a new source of revenue for its strained budget. Starting August 1, the next fee shock is a certainty thanks to a regulation issued by the Minister of Justice!

Specifically, this involves the statutory automatic adjustment that kicks in when the consumer price index has risen by more than five percent compared to the reference month of the last adjustment (i.e., November 2024).

Last Record Increase Was a Bad April Fools’ Joke
Based on current figures, that amounts to nearly six percent—as the Ministry of Justice confirmed in response to an inquiry from *Krone*: “The adjustment is being made in accordance with a legal obligation—the Federal Minister of Justice has no discretion in this matter.”

And this comes on the heels of an already hefty record increase—over 23 percent—following a three-year freeze on fees, which, ironically, took effect on April 1 of last year as a bad April Fools’ joke.

We’ve been the European champions in court fees for years. Austria is the only country where the justice system takes in more money than it actually costs.

Access to justice is becoming increasingly expensive
This would bring the total cost explosion to nearly one-third within a single year. Even now, enforcing one’s rights is slowly becoming unaffordable—and in the future, litigating in court or even just obtaining a simple copy of a document and paying the fee for a divorce by mutual consent will become even more expensive.

The Austrian Bar Association provides a striking illustration of just how deeply Lady Justice is reaching into our pockets (see also chart). Here’s just one example: If a civil case goes through all three levels of court, the court fees alone—when extrapolated—will soon exceed 2,200 euros—that is, already nearly two-thirds (!) of the actual amount in dispute, based on an initial sum of 3,500 euros.

These are just three examples of the steep increase in court fees.(Bild: Krone KREATIV/stock.adobe.com)

Bar Association Calls on Politicians to Halt Fee Increases
Even though we’re already the European champions when it comes to raking in fees. The president of the Austrian Bar Association (ÖRAK), Armenak Utudijan, issues a strong warning: “The impending increase will mean a massive restriction on the public’s access to justice.”

He is therefore once again appealing to policymakers to pull the emergency brake and introduce a statutory freeze on fees. Otherwise, he warns, the justice system will gradually bring about its own demise.