Every example below is a real, verifiable case grounded in official law, offered as legal information, not legal advice.
🏠Rental & housing
Claraven researches the tenancy law in your country, cites official sources, and prepares a clear demand-letter draft to recover a withheld deposit. You review the draft with a lawyer before sending.
What we help with
Landlord keeps my deposit
Rent increase dispute
Eviction notice review
Real exampleExample: a Vienna tenant whose landlord withheld an 1,800 euro deposit, Claraven cited § 16b MRG and drafted a demand letter with a 14-day deadline.Austria · § 16b MRG (RIS)
Claraven researches the consumer law that applies to your case, cites official sources, and prepares a written billing-error dispute draft for goods you paid for but never received. You review the draft with a lawyer before sending.
What we help with
Package not delivered
Refund request
Chargeback assistance
Real exampleExample: a buyer charged 480 dollars on a Visa card for a monitor that never shipped, Claraven cited the Fair Credit Billing Act and drafted a written dispute within the 60-day window.USA · Fair Credit Billing Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1666
Claraven researches the employment law that applies in your country and cites the official sources, then prepares a clear document draft you can review with a lawyer. It gives you legal information, not legal advice.
What we help with
Wrongful termination
Salary not paid
Employment contract review
Real exampleExample: a Milan employee dismissed with no notice or reason, Claraven explained the art. 18 versus Jobs Act regimes and the strict 60-day deadline to challenge the dismissal in writing.Italy · art. 18 L. 300/1970, D.Lgs. 23/2015
Claraven researches the immigration law that applies in your country and cites the official sources, then prepares a clear document draft you can review with a lawyer. It gives you legal information, not legal advice.
What we help with
Residence permit questions
Visa rejection appeal
Citizenship process
Real exampleExample: a resident in Germany whose permit extension was refused and whose partner's visa was rejected, Claraven identified the correct track and the one-month deadline to file at the administrative court.Germany · § 81, § 84 AufenthG, § 74 VwGO
Claraven reviews your traffic penalty notice, identifies which document and procedure apply, and explains the deadline and the objection route under the cited official statutes. You get a clear, sourced explanation of your options as legal information.
What we help with
Parking fines
Traffic ticket appeal
Driving license issues
Real exampleExample: an Austrian driver fined for 67 in a 50 zone, Claraven explained the two-week Einspruch deadline under VStG § 49 and how to contest the signage and measurement.Austria · VStG § 49 (Einspruch, 14 days)
Claraven reviews your contract against your country's law, explains each clause in plain language, and can draft a clean version for you to review with a lawyer.
What we help with
Rental contract (Mietvertrag)
Unclear or unfair clauses
Check before you sign
Real exampleExample: an Austrian residential lease (Mietvertrag), Claraven drafted the key clauses, rent, Kaution, term and termination, grounded in the MRG and ABGB.Austria · MRG, ABGB
Examples are grounded in the cited official law. Claraven provides legal information, not legal advice.
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About Claraven
Claraven is a jurisdiction-aware legal research assistant. You describe a legal problem in plain language, and Claraven researches the actual law of your country, cites the official source, and prepares a document draft, a demand letter, a dispute notice, a contract, that you review with a lawyer before you send it. It is not a lawyer and does not replace one.
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Common legal questions
Can my landlord keep my deposit?
Only for justified, documented claims such as damage or unpaid rent. In Austria, § 16b MRG also sets a clear deadline for returning it.Read the example report
How do I contest a traffic fine?
Most countries give you a short objection window. In Austria you can file an Einspruch within two weeks of the penalty notice under VStG § 49.Read the example report
My online order never arrived. What can I do?
If you paid by card, you can usually dispute the charge in writing within a set window and demand delivery or a refund.Read the example report
I was dismissed without notice. What are my rights?
Deadlines are strict: in Italy, for example, you have only 60 days to challenge a dismissal in writing. Acting early protects your claims.Read the example report
Is Claraven legal advice?
No. Claraven gives you legal information grounded in official sources and prepares document drafts. Review the result with a licensed lawyer before you act.
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Real Claraven outputs look like these. Every example below is grounded in the cited official law and is an illustration, not legal advice.
Recovering an 1,800 euro tenancy deposit after a clean handover
"I moved out of my Vienna flat three months ago, left it clean, and handed back the keys with a signed protocol. My landlord still hasn't returned my 1,800 euro deposit and won't answer my emails. What are my rights and what should I do?"
Summary
On these facts you have a strong claim to the full 1,800 euro. A security deposit (Kaution) secures the landlord's claims from the tenancy only, such as unpaid rent or damage beyond normal wear and tear. Once the tenancy ends and you have met your obligations, the deposit must come back. A signed handover protocol (Übergabeprotokoll) confirming clean condition is powerful evidence, and three months of silence is well past any reasonable return period. This is legal information, not legal advice, and no outcome can be guaranteed, but the law and the evidence point clearly in your favour.
The legal framework
§ 16b MRG: governs deposits for tenancies under the Mietrechtsgesetz. A cash deposit must be held separately from the landlord's assets and protected against the landlord's insolvency. The statute sets no fixed deadline, but case law reads the duty to return as arising without delay, interpreted as a reasonable time of roughly 14 days to a few weeks after the flat is handed back.
§ 1431 ABGB: if the landlord keeps the deposit without legal justification, you can reclaim it as unjust enrichment, alongside the contractual duty under the lease itself.
§ 37 Abs 1 Z 8b MRG: where the MRG applies, you can ask the Bezirksgericht (district court) to determine the recoverable deposit amount in a non-contentious procedure (außerstreitiges Verfahren), which is faster and cheaper than ordinary litigation.
§ 1489 ABGB: the claim is subject to a three-year limitation period running from when you knew of the non-return and the responsible person, that is, your landlord.
How this applies to you
This analysis assumes you rented under a written lease to which the MRG applies at least in part, paid the 1,800 euro deposit, returned the flat in clean condition with a signed handover protocol, and have no outstanding rent or utilities that could be offset. On that basis the landlord has no apparent ground to withhold the money. If the landlord later alleges damage, the burden is on the landlord to prove that it exceeds normal wear and tear, that you caused it, and what the repair actually cost, with itemised invoices rather than vague claims. The signed protocol is your strongest answer to any such allegation. If the deposit was never held in a separate, insolvency-proof account as § 16b MRG requires, that is a breach that strengthens your position.
Time limits
The three-year clock under § 1489 ABGB is already running. It started when it became clear the deposit would not be returned within a reasonable time after move-out, likely a few weeks after you handed back the keys, so you have roughly two years and nine months left. A demand letter does not stop the clock; only filing a claim does. Mark the deadline and act well before it, ideally within the next few months.
Your options, step by step
Gather your evidence. Collect the lease, proof of the deposit payment, the signed Übergabeprotokoll, move-out photos, all email correspondence, and rent and utility records showing no arrears.
Send a formal written demand. By registered mail (Einschreiben mit Rückschein), demand the full 1,800 euro within 14 days, cite § 16b MRG and the handover protocol, give your IBAN, and keep a copy and the postal receipt.
If there is no response, file a Mahnverfahren. This payment-order procedure at the competent Vienna Bezirksgericht is fast and low cost for undisputed claims up to 75,000 euro. If the landlord does not object within four weeks, the order becomes enforceable.
Consider the § 37 MRG route. Where the MRG applies and the landlord raises disputed offsets, the non-contentious procedure lets the court determine the amount owed.
Enforce if needed. If the landlord still will not pay after a decision, an enforcement application (Exekutionsantrag) can reach wages or bank accounts.
What to expect
A formal demand sometimes prompts full payment within the 14 days, avoiding court entirely. More commonly the landlord ignores the letter, you file a Mahnverfahren or a § 37 MRG application, and the matter resolves in roughly two to four months with court costs recoverable if you win. In the rarer case where the landlord contests with damage allegations, full proceedings can run six to twelve months. You do not strictly need a lawyer for the demand letter, a Mahnverfahren, or a § 37 MRG application, but consider one if the claim is contested. If cost is a concern, check any legal-expenses insurance (Rechtsschutzversicherung), apply for legal aid (Verfahrenshilfe), or seek help from the Arbeiterkammer or a tenants' association (Mietervereinigung).
Getting your money back when an online order never arrives
"I ordered a $480 monitor from an online store six weeks ago and paid with my Visa credit card. It never shipped, the tracking number was never updated, and the seller has stopped answering my emails and support tickets. How do I get my money back?"
Summary
When you pay by credit card for goods that are never delivered, federal law gives you two overlapping sets of rights. The Fair Credit Billing Act and Regulation Z let you dispute the charge with your card issuer as a billing error, which includes a charge for goods not delivered as agreed, and require the issuer to investigate. Separately, once you have tried in good faith to resolve it with the seller, you can assert against the issuer the same claims and defenses you have against the seller. The FTC's Mail, Internet, or Telephone Order Merchandise Rule also makes it the seller's duty to ship on time or give a prompt refund. The practical path is to dispute in writing within the deadline, keep records, and escalate to a regulator if the issuer mishandles it. This is general legal information, not legal advice for your specific situation.
The legal framework
15 U.S.C. § 1666 (Fair Credit Billing Act): Gives you the right to dispute a billing error with your card issuer in writing. A billing error includes a charge for goods not delivered as agreed. Once you send proper written notice, the issuer must acknowledge it and investigate, and may not treat the charge as correct unless it determines the goods were actually delivered or sent to you.
12 CFR § 1026.13 (Regulation Z, billing error resolution): Implements the Fair Credit Billing Act. It treats a charge for property or services not delivered as agreed as a billing error, requires the creditor to acknowledge your dispute within 30 days, and to resolve it within two complete billing cycles and no more than 90 days. While it is investigated, you may withhold the disputed amount and the creditor cannot report it as delinquent or take collection action on it.
12 CFR § 1026.12(c) (Regulation Z, claims and defenses): Lets you assert against the card issuer the same claims and defenses you have against the seller, after a good-faith attempt to resolve it with the seller. A $50 amount and 100-mile geographic limit can apply, but those limits do not apply where the issuer participated in or solicited the sale, which often covers ordinary online purchases.
16 CFR Part 435 (FTC Mail, Internet, or Telephone Order Merchandise Rule): Requires a seller to ship within the time it stated, or within 30 days if none was promised. If it cannot ship on time, it must offer you the choice to consent to a delay or cancel for a prompt refund. A seller that never ships and refuses to refund is violating federal law, which supports your claim against the charge.
How this applies to you
Here the monitor was paid by credit card and never delivered, so the charge fits squarely within the billing-error definition for goods not delivered as agreed under 15 U.S.C. § 1666 and 12 CFR § 1026.13. Because you already tried to reach the unresponsive seller through emails and support tickets, you have satisfied the good-faith attempt that supports asserting claims and defenses against the issuer under 12 CFR § 1026.12(c). The seller's failure to ship within the promised time, or within 30 days, also points to a violation of the FTC Mail Order Rule (16 CFR Part 435). A tracking number that never updated helps you, because in a non-delivery dispute it is the seller, not you, who must prove the item was shipped. These credit card protections are stronger than the ones that apply to debit cards.
Time limits
The most important deadline is the 60-day window. Under 15 U.S.C. § 1666 and 12 CFR § 1026.13, your written billing-error notice must reach the card issuer within 60 days after the issuer sent you the first statement that showed the $480 charge. This runs from the statement date, not the transaction date and not the payment due date. After that, the issuer has 30 days to acknowledge your dispute and up to two billing cycles, no more than 90 days, to resolve it. Six weeks have already passed since the purchase, so if you are close to the 60-day mark, send your written dispute now rather than waiting for the seller to reply.
Your options, step by step
Document everything first. Gather the order confirmation, the promised ship date, the statement showing the charge and its statement date, the tracking that never updated, and copies of every message you sent the seller and any replies. This record supports the claim.
Dispute in writing within 60 days. Send a written billing-error notice to the address your issuer lists for billing inquiries, which is often different from the payment address. State your name, account number, the $480 charge and its date, and that the goods were never delivered. Keep a copy and proof of the date, since the 60-day clock under 12 CFR § 1026.13 runs from the first statement showing the charge. Do not rely on a phone or chat dispute, or a note on a payment stub.
Tell the issuer about the seller's conduct. Note that you tried in good faith to resolve it, that the seller is now unresponsive, and that it never shipped within the promised or 30-day window under the FTC Mail Order Rule (16 CFR Part 435). This frames both your billing-error right and your claims-and-defenses right under 12 CFR § 1026.12(c).
Track the investigation timeline. Expect a written acknowledgment within 30 days and a resolution within two billing cycles, no more than 90 days. During the investigation you may withhold the disputed amount, and the issuer cannot report it as delinquent. Note the dates and case numbers of every contact, and keep paying any undisputed balance.
Escalate if the issuer mishandles it. If the issuer does not follow the rules or wrongly denies the dispute, you can request copies of the seller's evidence, submit a complaint to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau about the card company, and report the seller to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov. If significant money is at stake or it becomes complex, review your options with a licensed attorney in your state.
What to expect
Many non-delivery disputes are resolved in the consumer's favor because issuer and card-network rules track these federal protections, and a seller that cannot prove delivery usually loses. Filing a billing-error dispute with your own card issuer is free, and you generally do not pay the disputed amount while it is investigated. A realistic timeline is acknowledgment within 30 days and a final resolution within about two billing cycles. If the issuer denies the dispute or the seller fights it with questionable tracking, the next steps are to request the seller's evidence, file a CFPB complaint, and consult a lawyer where the stakes justify it. This memo is information to help you act, not a promise of any particular outcome.
Immediate dismissal in Milan with no reason and no warning: your rights and next steps
"I work for a company in Milan and last week my employer handed me a dismissal letter, telling me to leave immediately. I do not think there was any real reason, no warning, nothing. What are my rights and what should I do now?"
Summary
Italy does not recognise at-will employment, so an immediate dismissal with no stated reason and no prior procedure is very likely unlawful. Every dismissal needs either giusta causa (just cause for serious misconduct) or giustificato motivo (a justified subjective or objective reason). A dismissal without preavviso (notice) is lawful only for the gravest misconduct, and even then the employer must have run the disciplinary procedure first. You appear to have neither a stated reason nor any warning, which points to both a substantive and a procedural defect. The most urgent point is timing: a strict 60-day deadline to challenge in writing is already running from the day you received the letter.
The legal framework
art. 2119 Codice Civile (giusta causa): immediate dismissal without notice is allowed only for misconduct so serious that the relationship cannot continue even through a notice period; the employer carries the burden of proving it.
art. 2118 Codice Civile (preavviso): a dismissal for giustificato motivo, not giusta causa, requires notice or payment in lieu (indennità sostitutiva del preavviso).
art. 18 L. 300/1970 (Statuto dei Lavoratori): for larger employers and pre-Jobs-Act hires, remedies can include reinstatement (reintegrazione) with back pay, or compensation, depending on how the dismissal is found defective.
Disciplinary procedure, Statuto dei Lavoratori: for any conduct-based dismissal the employer must first send written charges (contestazione disciplinare), allow at least 5 days for a defence, and only then decide. Skipping this makes the dismissal procedurally unlawful even if grounds existed.
L. 92/2012 (Riforma Fornero) and D.Lgs. 23/2015 (Jobs Act): these reshaped remedies; for employees hired on or after 7 March 2015 the default remedy shifted toward monetary compensation rather than reinstatement.
Corte Costituzionale sent. n. 194/2018: struck down the rigid Jobs Act compensation formula, requiring courts to weigh tenure, company size and conduct, with a range of roughly 6 to 36 months' salary.
art. 6 L. 604/1966 (impugnazione): sets the forfeiture deadlines, 60 days to challenge in writing and 180 days to bring the claim.
How this applies to you
On the facts you describe, the dismissal letter is in writing (good, an oral dismissal would be null) but states no reason, which is itself a defect because the reason must be given. There was no contestazione disciplinare and no chance to respond, so the disciplinary procedure was not followed. The employer cannot invent reasons later in court; they are bound by what the letter did, or did not, say. Which exact remedy is on the table depends on facts still to confirm: your hire date relative to 7 March 2015, the company's size at your location and overall, your tenure and role, and the applicable CCNL (collective agreement). Those determine whether reinstatement is realistic or whether the case resolves in compensation, but none of them change the core picture that this dismissal looks unlawful.
Time limits
Two forfeiture (decadenza) deadlines under art. 6 L. 604/1966 run in parallel from the day you received the letter. First, 60 calendar days to send a written impugnazione to the employer contesting the dismissal; miss it and you lose the right to challenge in court, however strong the case. Second, 180 calendar days to file the court claim or start mandatory conciliation where the CCNL requires it. Separately, TFR (severance, trattamento di fine rapporto) is owed regardless of whether the dismissal was lawful, and you should look at applying for NASpI unemployment benefit promptly so income is protected while the matter proceeds.
Your options, step by step
Send the written challenge fast. Within the 60-day window, ideally in the first week or two, send a raccomandata A/R or PEC stating you contest the dismissal as unlawful and reserve all rights. Keep proof of delivery.
Preserve everything. Gather the contract, the dismissal letter, payslips, emails and messages, any performance feedback, and the applicable CCNL. Do not delete anything, even items that feel awkward.
Consult a Milan labour lawyer (avvocato giuslavorista). Do this within two to three weeks so the claim can be filed inside the 180-day window and your remedy range assessed against company size and hire date.
Do not sign anything yet. Treat any "resignation", "mutual termination", "settlement" or "waiver" as something to have a lawyer review first; signing can quietly forfeit your rights and may even affect unemployment benefits.
Protect your income. Register as unemployed and apply for NASpI if eligible; you can receive it while the case is pending.
What to expect
Most Italian dismissal disputes settle before final judgment, especially where the employer gave no reason and ran no procedure, because their position is weak. A negotiated outcome of several months' salary plus TFR, any notice pay and unused leave is a common path and tends to arrive faster than a full trial, which can run well over a year. Reinstatement is more likely for pre-7 March 2015 hires at larger employers or where discriminatory or retaliatory grounds are shown; otherwise the remedy is usually monetary. This is legal information, not legal advice, and no outcome can be guaranteed; the single point not to gamble on is the 60-day deadline, because once it passes no lawyer can revive the claim.
Residence permit refused and partner's national visa rejected: deadlines and what you can do
"I have lived in Germany for three years. I applied in time to extend my Aufenthaltstitel, but the Ausländerbehörde refused it. My partner abroad also just had her national visa rejected by the German mission. What deadlines apply and what can we actually do?"
Summary
You have two separate disputes, each with a strict one-month deadline. For your own refusal, you file a formal objection (Widerspruch) with the Ausländerbehörde within one month of receiving the written decision; in Berlin the Widerspruch is the mandatory first step before you can sue. Because you applied for the extension before your old permit expired, your residence is treated as continuing by law until the authority decides, so demand a Fiktionsbescheinigung immediately to prove your status and work rights. For your partner's national visa, the old remonstration route was abolished on 1 July 2025: she must either file a lawsuit (Klage) at the Verwaltungsgericht Berlin within one month or submit a new, stronger application. This is legal information, not legal advice, and no outcome can be guaranteed.
The legal framework
§ 81 AufenthG (Fortgeltungsfiktion / Fiktionsbescheinigung): if you apply before your title expires, the previous Aufenthaltstitel is deemed to continue from its expiry until the authority decides. This is automatic by law; the Fiktionsbescheinigung is the certificate that documents it and your continued work authorization.
§ 8 AufenthG: extension of a residence title follows the same rules as its original grant, so the authority reassesses whether the requirements are still met.
§ 70 VwGO (Widerspruch): the objection must be lodged within one month after the decision is announced, in writing or for the record, with the authority that issued it.
§ 74 VwGO: a one-month deadline to bring an Anfechtungsklage (against your refusal) or a Verpflichtungsklage (to compel the visa), counted from service of the decision or of the Widerspruchsbescheid.
§ 84 AufenthG: an objection or action against a refusal has no suspensive effect on its own, which is why the Fiktionsbescheinigung and, where needed, urgent relief matter.
§ 80(5) VwGO: a separate urgent application for interim relief, filed alongside the main case where speed is essential.
§ 68 VwGO: confirms that in Berlin the Widerspruch is a required precondition before a court action.
How this applies to you
Your three years in Germany and the fact that you applied on time are the facts that work in your favour. Because the application was in time, § 81 AufenthG keeps your stay lawful and, if your old permit allowed it, keeps your right to work during the appeal, even though the extension was refused. The refusal letter should state which requirement the Ausländerbehörde says is not met; your Widerspruch needs to answer that specific ground with evidence. Your partner's case is governed by the same court framework but starts from her own rejection letter and her own one-month clock. The two cases can reinforce each other: if your permit is secured, her application to join you becomes stronger.
Time limits
Both one-month periods are strict and run from the day after each of you received the written decision. For your refusal, the deadline to file the Widerspruch is one month from receipt; if that objection is later rejected, a fresh one-month deadline to file the Klage runs from service of the Widerspruchsbescheid under § 74 VwGO. For your partner, the one-month Klage deadline at the Verwaltungsgericht Berlin runs from her rejection letter. If the decision's instructions on remedies are missing or wrong, the period can extend to one year, but do not rely on that. Calculate each date now and file several days early.
Your options, step by step
Fix the deadlines: count one month from the day after each letter was received and mark both dates.
Request the Fiktionsbescheinigung in writing today, citing § 81 AufenthG and that you applied before expiry, so you can prove lawful stay and work rights.
File your Widerspruch with the Ausländerbehörde before the one-month deadline, contesting the refusal and addressing each stated ground.
For your partner, choose the route: a Klage at the Verwaltungsgericht Berlin within one month, or a new application that cures every reason given for the rejection.
Consider urgent relief under § 80(5) VwGO if entry or status is time-critical, filed alongside the main case.
If the authority does not decide on the Widerspruch, an Untätigkeitsklage becomes possible after three months under the VwGO.
Have it reviewed with a qualified German immigration lawyer, who can put the objection and any lawsuit into proper legal form.
What to expect
A Widerspruch is often confirmed rather than reversed, after which the Anfechtungsklage moves the dispute to the Verwaltungsgericht Berlin; that stage can take many months, during which you remain in Germany on the renewed Fiktionsbescheinigung. National visa cases are centralized at the Verwaltungsgericht Berlin regardless of which mission refused, and a fresh application with stronger evidence is sometimes the faster path. Outcomes depend entirely on the specific reasons in your letters, so the priority is to preserve every deadline and then build the strongest case. This is general legal information, not legal advice, and nothing here promises a particular result.
Legal memo · Austria · Administrative penal / traffic law
Challenging a Strafverfügung for 67 km/h in a 50 zone: your two-week objection window
"I was caught going 67 in a 50 zone in town and a Strafverfügung arrived in the post with a fine. I think the speed limit sign was hidden behind a tree and I am not sure the measurement was accurate. Can I challenge this, and how long do I have?"
Summary
Yes, you can challenge it, but the clock is the thing that matters most. The Strafverfügung is a penalty notice the authority can issue without a hearing for clear-cut offences. Under Austrian administrative penal law you have exactly two weeks from the date the notice was delivered to file an Einspruch (objection). File in time and the notice falls away: the authority must hold a full proceeding where you can present your evidence about the obscured sign and question the radar measurement. Miss the deadline and the fine becomes final and enforceable. Both of your defences are legally recognised, but they are fact-dependent, so this is legal information rather than a prediction of the outcome.
The legal framework
VStG 1991 § 47 (Strafverfügung): lets the authority impose a fine without a prior hearing where the facts are clear and the penalty does not exceed EUR 600, which covers a radar-measured speeding case like this.
VStG 1991 § 49 Abs. 1 (Einspruch): gives you two weeks (14 calendar days) from delivery to object. The objection goes to the authority that issued the notice and can be made in writing.
VStG 1991 § 49 Abs. 2: a timely objection that you do not withdraw within two weeks voids the notice and triggers an ordinary proceeding with a hearing. Importantly, the penalty after that hearing cannot be higher than the amount in the original notice.
VStG 1991 § 49 Abs. 3: if no objection is filed, or it is filed late, the notice becomes final and enforceable.
StVO 1960 § 20 Abs. 2: sets the default urban (Ortsgebiet) limit at 50 km/h unless otherwise posted.
StVO 1960 § 52 and § 53: govern the placement and visibility of traffic signs. A sign that is objectively invisible, for example completely hidden by vegetation, may not be legally effective.
How this applies to you
At 17 km/h over the urban limit, this sits at the lower, routine end of the scale, and well below any threshold for licence suspension, so the real question is procedure plus proof. You have two recognised defences. First, the obscured sign under StVO § 52 and § 53: Austrian administrative courts require signs to be visible under normal driving conditions, but "partially obscured" or "hard to see" is usually not enough. The sign has to have been objectively invisible to a reasonably attentive driver, and the burden of showing that is on you. Second, the measurement: radar and laser devices must be calibrated and operated by trained personnel, and the authority must be able to prove the measurement was accurate. You can ask it to produce the device type, the last calibration date, the operator's training records and the raw measurement data. If those records are missing or the device was overdue for calibration, the measurement may not hold up. Note that simply not noticing the sign is not a defence if it was objectively visible.
Time limits
The single deadline that governs everything is 14 calendar days from delivery of the Strafverfügung to file your Einspruch (VStG § 49 Abs. 1). The clock runs from the delivery date, not the date the notice was issued or postmarked, so check the envelope, the postal slip or the signed receipt. If the post left a pickup notice because you were not home, Austrian rules generally deem delivery on the day the item became available for collection. If you later go to a hearing and lose, a further route exists: a Beschwerde to the Landesverwaltungsgericht within four weeks of the Straferkenntnis. If the 14 days have already passed, a late objection with a request for Wiedereinsetzung in den vorigen Stand under § 71 AVG is possible only on proof of an unforeseeable obstacle, and it is granted rarely.
Your options, step by step
Check the delivery date today. Find it on the envelope, postal slip or receipt and count 14 calendar days. If you are still inside the window, act now.
File the Einspruch in writing. Send it to the issuing authority by email or registered mail and keep proof. Name the Strafverfügung by reference number, state that you contest the facts (obscured sign and questionable measurement), and request a full hearing.
Ask for the measurement records. In the same letter, request the radar device type, last calibration date, operator training records and the raw measurement data for your vehicle.
Photograph the location. Within a day or two, take time-stamped photos from the driver's view at the point where the sign should first be visible, plus close-ups of the obstruction. Note the date, time, weather and GPS coordinates.
Do not pay if you intend to challenge. Payment is treated as acceptance and waives your right to object.
Attend the hearing or send a lawyer. Present your evidence calmly and factually, and if the authority cannot produce the calibration records, point that out.
What to expect
If you object in time, the authority schedules a hearing and then issues a Straferkenntnis. In the best case your evidence creates real doubt, for example the photos show the sign was genuinely hidden or the radar records are missing, and the notice is rescinded. The more common outcome where a radar measurement is involved is that the sign is found adequately visible and the device properly calibrated, the fine is confirmed at the original amount, and modest hearing costs are added. The outcome you most want to avoid is missing the deadline, after which the fine becomes final and unpaid amounts can attract enforcement costs. None of this is a guarantee, and for a borderline case it is worth a short consultation with a traffic lawyer or your legal-expenses insurer.
Contract · Residential lease (Mietvertrag) · Vienna, Austria
Residential lease agreement (Mietvertrag)
This lease is concluded between [Landlord / Vermieter] and [Tenant / Mieter] for the flat at [address], under the Austrian Tenancy Act (Mietrechtsgesetz, MRG) and the Civil Code (ABGB).
1. Leased premises (Mietgegenstand)
The flat at [address], top no. [..], with about [..] m² of floor area, [..] rooms plus kitchen, bathroom and ancillary spaces, is let for residential use together with the inventory recorded in the handover protocol.
2. Term (Mietdauer)
The tenancy is [for an indefinite period] or [fixed-term from [date] to [date]]. A fixed-term residential lease in the full-application area of the MRG must run for at least three (3) years; the tenant may then give notice after the first year, with a three-month notice period to the end of a calendar month (§ 29 MRG).
3. Rent and operating costs (Mietzins)
The monthly rent is the net main rent (Hauptmietzins) of €[..], plus the proportionate operating costs (Betriebskosten, § 21 MRG) of €[..], plus the applicable VAT (currently 10% for residential letting). Rent falls due in advance by the fifth of each month. The main rent is value-secured to the consumer price index (VPI).
4. Deposit (Kaution)
The tenant pays a deposit of €[..] (customarily up to three monthly rents). The landlord holds it so that it bears interest to the tenant's benefit and returns it after the tenancy, less only specific, provable claims, in line with § 16b MRG.
5. Maintenance (Erhaltung)
The landlord maintains the general condition of the building and remedies serious defects and defects affecting heating, water and electricity (§ 3 MRG). The tenant keeps the flat in good order, handles minor upkeep, and reports defects promptly.
6. Use, subletting, pets
The flat is used for residential purposes only. Full subletting or any change of use needs the landlord's prior written consent. Keeping animals suitable for a flat may not be unreasonably refused.
7. Termination (Kündigung)
An indefinite lease in the full-application area of the MRG can be ended by the landlord only in court and only for an important reason listed in § 30 MRG. The tenant may terminate in writing within the agreed notice period. A fixed-term lease ends on the agreed date without notice, subject to the tenant's early-termination right above.
8. Return of the flat (Rückstellung)
At the end of the tenancy the flat is returned cleared and clean, in the condition recorded in the handover protocol, normal wear and tear excepted. Keys are handed over against a dated, signed protocol.
9. Form and charges
Changes require written form. Since 11 November 2017 no stamp duty (Mietvertragsgebühr) is payable on residential leases in Austria.
10. Governing law and venue
This lease is governed by Austrian law (MRG, ABGB). The competent district court (Bezirksgericht) for the location of the flat has jurisdiction.
[Place, date and the signatures of landlord and tenant follow in the full document.] · Sources: RIS · MRG §§ 3, 16b, 21, 29, 30 · ABGB
This Agreement is entered into between [Party A] and [Party B] (each a "Party") to protect confidential information exchanged while exploring a potential business relationship.
1. Definition of confidential information
"Confidential Information" means any non-public information disclosed by one Party (the "Discloser") to the other (the "Recipient"), in any form, that is marked confidential or that a reasonable person would understand to be confidential given its nature or the circumstances of disclosure.
2. Obligations of the recipient
The Recipient shall use the Confidential Information solely to evaluate and pursue the parties' business relationship, disclose it only to employees and advisers who need to know it and are bound by equivalent duties, and protect it with at least the degree of care it uses for its own confidential information, and never less than reasonable care.
3. Exclusions
These obligations do not apply to information that is or becomes public through no fault of the Recipient, was lawfully known before disclosure, is independently developed without using the Confidential Information, or is rightfully received from a third party without restriction.
4. Compelled disclosure
If the Recipient is legally required to disclose Confidential Information, it shall, where lawful, give the Discloser prompt notice and reasonable cooperation so the Discloser may seek protective measures.
5. Term and return
The confidentiality obligations survive for three (3) years from the date of disclosure. On the Discloser's request, the Recipient shall promptly return or destroy the Confidential Information and confirm in writing that it has done so.
6. No licence; remedies
No licence or other right is granted by disclosure. The Parties agree that damages may be inadequate for a breach and that injunctive relief may be sought in addition to any other remedy available at law.
7. Governing law and jurisdiction
This Agreement is governed by the laws of [jurisdiction], and the courts of [venue] have exclusive jurisdiction over any dispute arising from it.
[Signature blocks for both Parties follow in the full document.]
