Austria
Austrian courts may grant interim relief measures equivalent to prejudgment attachments and freezing orders.
Preventive injunctions
As noted in the section above on Interim relief proceedings, Austrian courts may grant a series of preventive measures to secure the enforceability of an eventual judgment, which may involve freezing a particular state of affairs or assets.
Like other interim injunctions, they can be sought prior to the commencement of proceedings, during proceedings or after trial. The competent court to hear such an application is the court where the substantive proceedings are pending or, when such a measure is sought pre-action, the competent court is the District Court of the domicile (Allgemeiner Gerichtsstand) of the respondent.
In addition to the requirements for injunctive relief specified in the section above on Interim relief proceedings, preventive interim injunctions for monetary and non-monetary claims may be granted when:
- it is probable that without the requested measure the respondent would thwart or considerably impede the enforcement of a claim (e.g. by damaging, destroying or relocating assets); or
- the respondent has no assets in Austria, and enforcement is not guaranteed by European or international law.
In addition, for monetary claims, the applicant will need to prove its:
- entitlement to the claim; and
- interest in the disposal of the claim.
Parties may request the following preventive injunctions in respect of monetary claims:
- the deposit or administration of movable goods by the court;
- the prohibition on the disposal or pledging of movable assets;
- the prohibition on third parties from providing payments to a person;
- the administration of a property; and
- the prohibition on the disposal and pledging of property or certain rights arising from a registration in the Land Register; and
In respect of a non-monetary claim, there is no exhaustive list of measures. Accordingly, the court may order all the above as well as orders requiring:
- the applicant to retain custody of the respondent's property / asset, or;
- the respondent to take action to preserve the property / asset or prohibit him from taking actions that may adversely affect such property / asset.
In the majority of cases, decisions on applications for preventive injunctions occur in ex parte proceedings (i.e. without notice to the respondent).
The application for a preventive injunction must contain:
- the names of the parties concerned;
- the facts establishing the court's jurisdiction;
- the legal basis as to why the injunction is requested;
- the legal interest of the party seeking the injunction;
- the form of the requested interim relief; and
- the desired duration.
There is no specific timeframe in which the substantive claim should be brought. The preventive injunction is granted by the court for a certain period of time. After the expiry of this period, the preventive injunction ceases to apply. The creditor can be held liable for any damage suffered by the debtor if the court subsequently finds that the relevant preventive injunction was unjustified.
Preventive taking of evidence
In addition, orders attaching the respondent's assets or freezing bank accounts may also be granted following an application for the preliminary taking of evidence. These are types of interim injunctions seeking to prevent the loss, or difficulties regarding the use, of evidence or if the availability of the evidence is uncertain.
In the application, the applicant is required to identify:
- the opponent;
- the facts on which the taking of evidence is to be based;
- the evidence the applicant is seeking to be secured;
- the witnesses to be heard and any experts proposed; and
- the reasons for the application.
The application is usually filed with the court hearing the main proceedings. However, in urgent cases and / or if a legal dispute has not yet commenced, the application should be filed with the District Court where the object to be attached is located. In the case of a freezing order, the local jurisdiction shall be determined by reference to the seat of the credit institution that holds the assets to be frozen.