Constitutional review of statutory restriction on right to be heard in administrative proceedings

The Austrian Constitutional Court (VfGH) recognized the complaint, finding that the impugned statutory provision violated the fundamental right to a fair trial by denying the appellant the right to be heard in the administrative proceedings leading to the contested measure. The dispute concerned an individual's challenge to an administrative decision based on a legal norm that precluded the submission of oral arguments or a hearing before the relevant administrative body. The court held that the exclusion of the right to be heard constituted a violation of constitutional guarantees, rendering the provision unconstitutional; consequently, the court ordered the nullity of the specific legal provision to the extent it prevented such procedural participation.