Capital punishment in Austria was abolished in 1787, although restored in 1795. Unlike other countries with a minimum age of 18, the

Habsburg Law The Habsburg Law (''Habsburgergesetz'' (in full, the Law concerning the Expulsion and the Takeover of the Assets of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine) ''Gesetz vom 3. April 1919 betreffend die Landesverweisung und die Übernahme des Vermögens des H ...

enacted in 1919 set the minimum age for execution in Austria to 20. The method of

execution Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that ...

in Austria was

hanging Hanging is the suspension of a person by a noose or ligature around the neck.Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed. Hanging as method of execution is unknown, as method of suicide from 1325. The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' states that hanging ...

until the annexation by

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

(1938-1945) when it was replaced by the

guillotine A guillotine is an apparatus designed for efficiently carrying out executions by beheading. The device consists of a tall, upright frame with a weighted and angled blade suspended at the top. The condemned person is secured with stocks at t ...

. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, hanging was re-introduced by the British. The last person to be executed in Austria was Johann Trnka. He was hanged on 24 March 1950 for the crime of murder. Capital punishment was abolished for murder on 30 June 1950. However, executions continued into the 1950s under Allied military law in the Soviet occupation zone, with the last executions taking place no later than 1955, when the occupation ended. Capital punishment was abolished completely in February 1968. Austria is a state party to the Second Optional Protocol to

ICCPR The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) is a multilateral treaty that commits nations to respect the civil and political rights of individuals, including the right to life, freedom of religion, freedom of speech, freedo ...

(ratified 1993), Protocol No. 6 to ECHR (1984), and Protocol No. 13 to ECHR (2004).

References

Second Optional Protocol
to ICCPR
Protocol No. 6
an
Protocol No. 13
to ECHR - text of the treaties, dates of signature and ratification
Abolitionist and retentionist countries
- report by Amnesty International Legal history of Austria Austriaa Death in Austria Human rights abuses in Austria 1968 disestablishments in Austria 1787 disestablishments in Austria 1795 establishments in Austria {{Europe-law-stub