Police Questioning in Austria – What Rights Do I Have?

A police summons can raise many questions: What may the police ask? Do I have to answer? May I bring a lawyer with me? Can I refuse to make a statement? And what happens to what I say during the questioning?

If you are summoned to police questioning as the accused, you should know your rights.

Austrian criminal procedure law provides important rights of defence for the accused. These include, in particular, the right to comment on the matter or not to make a statement, the right to consult defence counsel and the right to have defence counsel present at the questioning. § 164 StPO expressly governs the questioning of the accused.

In criminal questioning, a person is asked about facts that are relevant to the criminal proceedings.

In the case of an accused person, the purpose is in particular to confront them with the suspicion against them and to give them the opportunity to comment on it.

Before the questioning, the accused must be told which offence they are suspected of. They must also be informed of their essential rights.

As the accused, you have in particular the following rights:

• You must be informed of the allegation.
• You have the right to comment on the matter.
• You have the right to refuse to make a statement.
• You may consult defence counsel before the questioning.
• You may have defence counsel present at the questioning.
• You may not be made to give a statement by impermissible coercion.
• Your statements may not simply be altered at will or taken out of context; the questioning is documented in accordance with the statutory rules.

These rights arise in particular from the Strafprozessordnung.

Before the actual questioning begins, the accused must be told which offence they are suspected of.

This is particularly important for the defence. You should know what the questions of the police relate to.

If, for example, you are accused of bodily harm, what matters is which specific act is being laid to your charge. In the case of a fraud allegation, it is in turn relevant which specific facts are regarded as deception or as financial loss.

Without knowledge of the specific allegation, a meaningful defence can be difficult.

§ 164 StPO expressly provides that the accused is entitled to comment on the matter or not to make a statement. They must also be advised that their statement may serve their defence as well as being used as evidence against them.

This means: you do not have to give a substantive answer to every question. As a rule, you can state that you do not wish to comment on the matter at present.

Yes. The accused must be informed that they may consult defence counsel beforehand.

This advice can be particularly important before the first questioning. Because before you make a statement, the following should be clarified as far as possible:

• What exactly are you accused of?
• What evidence might exist?
• Are there already witness statements?
• What information do the police already have?
• Is making a statement advisable?
• Should you remain silent for the time being?
• Is a written statement better?
• Should access to the case file be obtained first?

Yes. The accused has the right to have defence counsel present at their questioning. If this right is exercised, the questioning is, as a rule, to be postponed until defence counsel arrives.

However, defence counsel may not intervene directly in every form while the questioning is under way. After the questioning has been concluded, or after thematically connected sections, they may put questions to the accused and make statements.

This means: the lawyer does not simply sit in the waiting room – they can be present at the questioning and accompany the defence.

The right to have defence counsel present is protected by law. Only subject to certain conditions may the presence of defence counsel be temporarily dispensed with, where this is absolutely necessary in order to avert a substantial risk to the investigation or an impairment of evidence. In that case, particular duties of information and documentation apply.

The procedure can differ in the individual case. As a rule, personal details are recorded first. The accused is then confronted with the allegation and is given the opportunity to comment on it.

During questioning, questions may therefore be asked, for example, about:

• your person,
• your relationship to other persons involved,
• the specific time of the offence,
• the scene of the offence,
• your observations,
• your actions,
• messages or other evidence,
• witnesses,
• further circumstances of the allegation.

No. The right to remain silent concerns the statement on the matter.

If you are unsure whether you should answer a particular question, it can be sensible to speak to your defence counsel first. One possible statement is, for example: “I do not wish to comment on that at present.” or: “I would first like to consult my defence counsel.”

Whether complete silence, a partial statement or a detailed statement is sensible in the specific case depends on the defence strategy.

Not always. This is an important point.

There is no serious principle according to which every accused person should remain silent in all circumstances. In some proceedings, an early statement can be sensible. In other proceedings, a statement made without knowledge of the case file can have considerable disadvantages.

For that reason, the following should be examined first:

• What evidence is there?
• What have other people stated?
• What do the police already know?
• What statement can actually exonerate me?

Only then should the defence strategy be determined.

Suppose you are confronted with a particular allegation. You spontaneously give your version. In doing so, you give an imprecise account of the time, of a conversation or of some other detail.

It later emerges that the police already have messages or a witness statement that differ from your account. This can give rise to an apparent contradiction.

This does not automatically mean that you have lied. But a statement once made can become relevant in the further proceedings.

For that reason, the question of access to the case file before a detailed statement is often of great importance.

Yes. During questioning, the statement is documented in accordance with the statutory requirements.

The official information of the Austrian federal portal points out that a statement is recorded and must be signed by the accused.

For that reason, questioning should not be treated like an ordinary conversation. What you say may be relevant later in the criminal proceedings.

Read the record carefully. If you consider that a statement has been reproduced incorrectly, incompletely or misleadingly, you should raise this before signing and request a correction or addition.

Particularly where the facts are complicated, it is important that your own account is documented as accurately as possible. If defence counsel is present, they can see to it that essential points of the defence are taken into account accordingly.

For difficult questions that require particular expertise or an assessment by a court-appointed expert, § 164 StPO expressly provides for the possibility of granting the accused a reasonable period for a supplementary written statement.

Beyond that, the question may arise in the further course of criminal proceedings whether a supplementary statement is sensible. That should, however, be decided strategically.

The questioning of an accused person is subject to statutory limits. An accused person may not be made to give a statement by impermissible coercion.

Threats, promises or deceptions are likewise not permissible as means of compelling a statement.

Criminal proceedings are intended to establish the facts – not to compel a confession by impermissible methods.

That depends on the specific proceedings. The following in particular can be sensible:

• the summons,
• the file reference number,
• an official photo identity document,
• relevant documents already available,
• where applicable, messages or documents that are relevant to the defence.

However, evidence should not be altered or deleted on your own initiative. If you have instructed defence counsel, they should know before the questioning which documents and information are available.

The questioning does not normally end the criminal proceedings. The investigation may be continued. Depending on the proceedings, further witnesses may for example be questioned, documents evaluated, expert opinions obtained or other investigative measures carried out.

In the end, the public prosecutor's office decides on how to proceed. The proceedings may for example be discontinued, be ended by diversion or lead to an indictment.

It is therefore important for the accused to understand that police questioning does not mean that a court has already decided on guilt. The investigation proceedings take place precisely before any court trial.

That depends on the individual case. Where the allegations are serious or the facts are complicated, early legal advice can be particularly important. That applies, for example, to:

• bodily harm
• dangerous threat
• coercion
• fraud
• theft
• robbery
• narcotics offences
• sexual offences
• document offences
• serious traffic offences
• the threat of pre-trial detention
• house searches
• confiscations

The Austrian federal portal likewise points out that, as early as the first questioning by the criminal investigation police or the public prosecutor's office, there is a right to have an attorney present.

Before the appointment, the following points in particular should be clarified:

This preparation is often considerably more valuable than a spontaneous statement made directly at the police station.

Police questioning can be of great importance for the further course of criminal proceedings. As the accused, however, you do not have to incriminate yourself.

You have in particular the right,

• to be informed of the allegation,
• to comment on the matter or to remain silent,
• to consult defence counsel before the questioning,
• to have defence counsel present at the questioning,
• and to conduct your defence in accordance with the possibilities provided by law.

If you have received a summons, you should therefore not wait until immediately before the questioning to consider how to proceed. Early legal advice can help to examine the evidence and to determine the right defence strategy.

Note: This article provides general information and does not replace individual legal advice. The specific legal assessment depends on the circumstances of the individual case. As at: September 2026.