Part III Civil Law Legal Systems, 4 Austria

Subject(s):

Civil liability of lenders — Regulatory liability of lenders — Bank supervision — Capital markets — Supervision

Generally, the Austrian legal system provides an explicit and comprehensive set of rules governing state liability. However, in the context of financial supervisors and resolution authorities Austrian state liability law limits the liability to damages that have been directly caused to the legal entity subject to supervision. Consequently, investors can usually not claim and damages from the Austrian financial supervisors or the Republic of Austria since these damages are not directly caused by the supervisors. However, it remains unsettled whether this limitation constitutes a violation of the Austrian constitution and European law.