News: As President of the Linz Higher Regional Court, you are responsible for five regional courts, 26 district courts and around 1,500 employees in Upper Austria and Salzburg. Is that the culmination of your career in justice?
Erich Dietachmair: It is definitely a climax to reach this position. I am very happy about it. Much is of course also appropriate, I was in the right place at the right time.
In your free time, your passion is football, among other things. You used to be a player, then a coach and are an official at Union Schiedlberg. Can you learn something for your job from sport?
Sport definitely shaped me. You learn how important team spirit is. If one is running like crazy, but everyone else is standing, nothing will be achieved. You can only be successful in a team; this also applies here to the Linz Higher Regional Court. An OLG president is only as good as his team. I took over a well-ordered house.
How would you describe your leadership style?
Just yesterday a colleague congratulated me on my new job and said I should keep my composure, happiness and grounding. I think that’s pretty good.
Until recently there was a call for more staff from the judiciary. How is the situation now?
Until 2019, the impression was indeed that the judiciary was starving. I remember the words of the then Minister of Justice Clemens Jabloner, who said: “The judiciary is dying a silent death.” The higher budgets since 2019 and 2020 now point in the right direction. But we still have some catching up to do. If there are long-term illnesses, etc., we are still quick on the ceiling and not as powerful as I would like.
Long procedural times, keyword Buwog, are a point of criticism. Would you agree with that?
I have to point out that these are really individual, very complex procedures. But we are also measured by this. Any single procedure that takes too long is one too many. I will seek to see that we can get through our procedures in good time.
In the past few months the judiciary has been massively attacked, especially by the VP, keyword “left cells”. Has a red line been crossed?
These attacks are to be rejected as strongly as possible. The development is questionable and worries me. Political attacks on the judiciary have occurred time and again. But the intensity as in the previous months was surprising. It hurts my heart because I am convinced that we are doing a good job. The attacks will eventually subside because the forces in politics, who also see the rule of law at risk, gain the upper hand.
As a consequence of the debate, there should be a federal prosecutor. A good idea?
I was a professional representative in the judges’ association 20 years ago, and back then we demanded an independent federal prosecutor. I still stand by it. It is important to avoid any appearance of bias, you can see that especially with politically explosive topics.
How can you ensure the political independence of a federal attorney? Everyone is political.
Of course, but not politically. As with our jobs, it should be appointed by bodies such as the Supreme Court Personnel Senate, which has five independent judges. If politics makes the choice, that will not be enough.
Do you sign the rule of law and anti-corruption referendum?
I support every civil society initiative against corruption. I have not yet read the full text of the referendum, but I want to sign it.
How far can encroachments on fundamental rights go with the corona measures? The Constitutional Court has repealed ordinances. Are these casual sins because of the uniqueness of the situation?
I can only refer to the Constitutional Court: One or the other regulation was therefore insufficiently justified. The majority held up, however.
Erich Dietachmair: Justice, volunteering, football
Erich Dietachmair has been President of the Linz Higher Regional Court (OLG) since November 1st. The 62-year-old lives in Schiedlberg, is married and has three grown children.
Dietachmair began in 1987 as a judge at the regional court in Wels. From 1999 he worked at the OLG Linz for almost ten years, as a member of the personnel senate and in various management positions. In 2009 he became President of the Steyr Regional Court, which he was until his current move to Linz.
Dietachmair is involved on a voluntary basis, he was on the board of the Steyr emergency shelter until the end of the day. Offering early or conditionally released prisoners starting opportunities is important to him. The passionate footballer (position Strmer), mountain hiker and cyclist is deputy chairman of Union Schiedlberg and kicks with senior citizens there.
Source From: Nachrichten
