Austria Insight: Double Meaning, Legal Rights and the upcoming Austrian Legislative Election

by Karin Sawetz, publisher Fashionoffice

The appearance of double meaning in context with legal rights is normally not healthy for a society but in the following case, it opens the view on the legal system from two perspectives with the almost pedagogical intention to make aware that the people are responsible for the system - and that nobody can wash his or her hands completely in innocence when an inhuman or unfair law is executed. Where I made this experience? It was last Saturday in Lower Austria at the exhibition ‘Alles was Recht ist’ at Schloss Pöggstall (alleswasrechtist.at).

The title ‘Alles was Recht ist’ can be read from two angles: the one is in the meaning of ‘Everything about justice’ concerning court, law, punishment, imprisonment,... ; the other reading references a typical Austrian saying which expresses embarrassment about morally unfair incidents backed by law.  The exhibition is divided into 5 chapters. It begins with the law book ‘Schwabenspiegel’ from the 13th century and ends with the chapter about today’s actively participating society in a staging which includes interactive installations where visitors can anonymously leave the own opinion about currently discussed themes such as security and online observation. In the middle of the tour at the 3rd chapter, visitors will be confronted with Austria’s nearer history: the NAZI-regime, the responsibility of the people as well as the legal and social discussion about National Socialism. Well, Austria has changed during the last around 80 years and the National Socialists of the 1930ies/40ies can’t be compared seriously with the currently active parliament parties - but on 15 October at the next legislative election, it’s up again in the hands of the Austrians to choose their managers of the legal system and the ones who have the executive power in the country which faces challenges (digitalisation of work, migration, climate,...) no generation ever had experienced before.


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