National Council – Functions, Role and Legal Framework
The National Council is made up of 183 representatives and is elected for a five-year legislative term. Together with the Federal Council, the National Council enacts the legislation of the Republic of Austria. As a body elected directly by the people, it also exercises important supervisory functions. It scrutinizes the work of the government in various forms, for example by submitting written questions or urgent questions, and it can pass a vote of no confidence in the entire government or in individual members thereof and thus force their removal from office. Representatives can address political requests to the government by means of resolutions. The Audit Office assists the National Council in examining the financial administration of federal offices and public enterprises.
The National Council also plays an important role in ensuring transparency of political processes and decisions. It is the forum where the different positions of the individual parties are presented. For this reason, its sittings are usually public. In principle the items of business deliberated by the National Council are accessible to everyone.
The legislative term of the National Council ends at the latest after five years. However, it may end earlier if a simple majority votes for its dissolution. In addition, the federal president – upon the recommendation of the government – has the right to dissolve the National Council prematurely; this has not yet happened in political practice in the Second Republic.
The sessions of the National Council generally begin in mid September and last until mid July of the following year. However, the federal president may also convene the National Council for extraordinary sessions. He is obliged to do so when the federal government, at least one third of the National Council representatives, or the Federal Council so demand. The National Council can also instruct individual committees to continue their work during recess.
When Austria joined the European Union, the National Council had to cede some legislative competence to the EU. To compensate for this, it was provided with extensive instruments for participating in EU decision-making (see Parliament and the European Union).
The Law on the Rules of Procedure of the National Council contains detailed provisions regulating the conduct of business of the National Council. See also Art. 24ff B-VG, Art. 50ff B-VG and Art. 74ff B-VG
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