who are alone concerned. In such cases the ultimate administrative authority is held to lie with the Federal Government,
to which the Landeshauptmann is responsible. The Federal
Government is now in a position to enforce this responsibility
by prosecution in the court established to try constitutional
offences (Verfassungsgerichtshof). The Federal Government also
has an influence on legislation in the Territories. It is true that
' it can only exercise a suspensive veto over enactments of the
Territorial Diets, which have all to be submitted to it; but in
cases where Federal cooperation is needed in the execution of
such enactments, these may not be made public without its
consent. In the case of enactments, already published, which
are contrary to the constitution the Federal Government has in
reserve the possibility of challenging them in the Constitutional
Court.
The weightiest influence of the Federal constitution is exercised through the special courts of law established under it to decide cases of alleged violation of the constitution in matters of ad- ministration or legislation. Anyone whose rights have been violated by an illegal decision or act of the Federal or Territorial authorities, and who has failed to obtain redress through the ordinary administrative channels, can appeal to the court for the trial of administrative cases (Verwaltungsgerichtshof). This court has power to pronounce on the legality of such decisions or acts, and in certain circumstances to amend them. The members of the court, like all the Federal organs, are nominated by the president on the recommendation of the Federal Govern- ment, but this recommendation needs, in respect of half the members, the consent of the Principal Committee of the National Council and, in respect of the other half, that of the Federal Council.
The second court administering public law is the Constitutional Court (Verfassungsgerichtshof). Of this the president and vice- president, as well as half the members, are elected by the National Council, the other half by the Federal Council. Its primary function is to decide disputes between authorities as to their competence. As the State Court it furthermore hears charges brought by the National Council against Federal minis- ters, by the Federal Assembly against the P'ederall president, by the Diets against members of the Territorial Governments. As a court of ordinance ( Verordnungsgerichtshof) it judges cases of illegal decrees appealed at the instance of the Federal courts or of those of the Territories. Lastly, as a constitutional court in the narrowest sense, it decides, at the instance of the Federal or the Territorial Governments, whether Federal or Territorial laws are or are not constitutional. It has the right to quash an illegal decree or an unconstitutional law. The Con- stitutional Court also acts as the central court for hearing petitions against elections to all bodies elected by the general vote. It also judges in cases of violation of international law.
The law of the Federal constitution of Oct. i 1920 did not complete the new structure of the Austrian constitution. Several special laws were still needed, aiming more especially at the reform of the administration both in the Federation and in the Territories. It was hoped that, in the spirit of democratic self- government, this administrative reform would follow the lines of local government in England.
Authorities. See Kelsen, Die Verfassungsgeselze der RepuUik Oeslerreich (1919), and Die Verfassung Deutschoesterreichs (Jahrbuch des offentlichen Rechts, vol. 9, 1920); Merkl, Die Verfassung der Republik Deutschoesterreich (Zeitschrift fur offentliches Recht, vols. I and 2, 1920). (H. K.)
Finance and Banking. When in the last days of Oct. 1918 the various parts of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy con- stituted themselves on one side independent states (the Austrian Republic, the Czechoslovakian Republic, Hungary, and the republic of West-Ukraine), and for the other part decided on joining already established nations (Italy, Rumania, Yugo- slavia), or joined territories detached from other states and forming new states (Poland), there existed in all these ter- ritories one uniform paper currency in circulation, i.e. the notes of the Austro-Hungarian Bank, enjoying a fixed rate. It
was clear that such conditions could not be maintained for any length of time, and that, in view of the connexion between paper money of fixed rate and State finance, it was impossible to continue this unity of currency. All the states concerned, which succeeded the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy, were in such financial straits that they considered the continued recourse to the issue of notes a necessity. The note-printing press, how- ever, was in Vienna, and the Austro-Hungarian Bank was actually under the deciding influence of the new German-Austrian Gov- ernment. It was urgently necessary for the new states to obtain an independent currency, i.e. to make themselves independent, so far as the printing of notes was concerned, of the Vienna note- printing press. This was comparatively easy for those who had joined already existing states, but more difficult for the newly formed states which were obliged in the first instance to create a new currency. In these conditions the money problem, at the moment of the dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Mon- archy, was merely a technical problem of printing, and the question how to obtain printing-plates, banknote-paper and printing-ink appeared for the moment the most important points of currency policy. After the Italian Government as early as Nov. 1918 and the Rumanian Government in Feb. 1919 had made the necessary preparations to substitute respectively the lira and the lei for the Austro-Hungarian " krone," in the territories occupied by them, the Government of the Serbo- Croatian-Slovenian State proceeded in Jan. 1919 to mark the Austro-Hungarian notes circulating within their territory by stamping them. On Feb. 25 1919 the Czechoslovakian Gov- ernment folio-wed suit by stamping the kronen notes circulating in their country. Then the Austrian Government could not remain idle. It could not wait until all the other states had passed from the Austro-Hungarian krone to a national krone. It had to get rid of the Austro-Hungarian krone, in order to avoid the danger of such notes as for one reason or another had not been stamped by the other states returning to German- Austria and there increasing the inflation. The kronen notes circulating in German-Austria were therefore also specially marked, and, by a regulation of March 25 1919 having the force of law, it was decreed that all notes not so marked would not be legal tender within the German-Austrian State.
A decree of Feb. 27 1919 had ordered the stamping over of all notes of the Austro-Hungarian Bank circulating within the ter- ritory of the German-Austrian Republic, with the exception of the notes for one and two kronen (which also subsequently were ordered to be stamped). With the execution of this regulation the German-Austrian currency was separated from that of the other " succession states," and there was only one special kronen note, which was stamped as recognized legal tender for Austria.
The German-Austrian Republic also used the note-printing press as its chief expedient for covering the national expenses. At the time of the carrying-out of the stamping process, at the end of June 1919, the stamped German-Austrian notes in cir- culation amounted to 7-6 milliards of kronen; at the end of 1920 the circulation had risen to 30 milliards. In consequence there was a further depreciation in the exchange. On Dec. 31 1:920 the dollar was quoted in Vienna at 668 kronen, as compared to 5 kronen in pre-war times.
The republic of Austria at first not only maintained the system of restricting exchange operations, introduced under the Empire during the war, but even made it more severe. Only in the summer of 1920 was any relaxation permitted, in so far as the forced release of foreign currencies obtained for goods ex- ported was generally cancelled. In Nov. 1920 further modifica- tions were made, so that by the end of 1920 the only restriction of money transactions with foreign countries remaining in force was the prohibition to import or export kronen notes. The regular exchange operations on the Vienna Bourse were, however, not revived. They were replaced by a system of restricted exchange business under the special supervision of the still existing Devisenzentrale.
The general political conditions and the depreciation of money had led to such an impasse that up to 1921 the whole financial
