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Ludwig Adamovich Jr.

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Ludwig Adamovich Jr.
Adamovich in 2013
President of the Constitutional Court
In office
1 January 1984 – 31 December 2002
Vice PresidentKurt Ringhofer
Karl Piska
Karl Korinek
Preceded byErwin Melichar
Succeeded byKarl Korinek
Personal details
Born(1932-08-24)24 August 1932
Innsbruck, Tyrol, Austria
Died16 June 2024(2024-06-16) (aged 91)
SpouseBritta Adamovich-Wagner
Parent
Alma materUniversity of Vienna

Ludwig Karl Adamovich (24 August 1932 – 16 June 2024), commonly known as Ludwig Adamovich Jr., was an Austrian constitutional scholar, civil servant, and educator. From 1956 to 1984, Adamovich worked for the Constitutional Service of the Austrian Chancellery; he also taught law at the University of Graz. From 1984 to 2002, he served as the president of the Austrian Constitutional Court. From 2004, Adamovich acted, on an honorary basis, as an advisor on matters of constitutional law to Presidents Heinz Fischer and Alexander Van der Bellen.

Early life[edit]

Ludwig Karl Adamovich was born in Innsbruck, Tyrol, Austria on 24 August 1932.[1]

His father was Ludwig Adamovich Sr., a noted legal scholar and a member of the Austrian Constitutional Court at the time.[2] The family was conservative; the elder Adamovich had been educated at the Jesuit Kalksburg College, supported the Christian Social Party, and would later become minister of justice for the Austrofascist government of Chancellor Kurt Schuschnigg. The relationship between father and son was difficult. Adamovich Sr. was controlling and pedantic; Adamovich Jr. was unable to meet his father's expectations either academically or in terms of personality.[3]

Adamovich received his secondary education at the Akademisches Gymnasium.[2][4]

Career[edit]

After graduating from the Gymnasium, Adamovich enrolled at the University of Vienna to study law, receiving his doctorate in 1954.[1] Adamovich had originally wanted to become a surgeon; his mother descended from a family of physicians.[2] He eventually chose law instead because he feared that his poor talent for mathematics would make it impossible for him to succeed as a student of medicine.[3]

From 1955 to 1956, Adamovich worked in the Lower Austrian provincial administration. In 1956, Adamovich joined the Constitutional Service (German: Verfassungsdienst) in the Chancellery, an office that assists ministries in drafting legislation and in evaluating the constitutionality of draft statutes written elsewhere.[1] In his spare time, Adamovich continued to pursue academic ambitions. In 1973, he submitted his habilitation thesis to the University of Vienna; in 1974, he accepted an appointment to professor of public law (öffentliches Recht) at the University of Graz. Two years later, he returned to the capital and to the Chancellery; he was now the executive director of the Constitutional Service.[5][6][7] In his 2011 autobiography, Adamovich freely admits that his career was greatly helped by his father's reputation and, especially in its early years, by his family's political connections to the Austrian People's Party.[8]

As from 1 January 1984 Adamovich was appointed president of the Constitutional Court. He held this position for nineteen years, leaving the court when he reached the mandatory retirement age of seventy in 2002. Adamovich's tenure was a period of modernization; his leadership represented a break with the old ways in several respects. Among other things, Adamovich worked to establish relationships with sibling constitutional courts in other countries, especially with the new constitutional courts created during the 1990s in former Eastern Bloc nations.[1]

In 2004, Adamovich accepted an invitation of then-President Heinz Fischer to join the Presidential Chancellery, on an honorary basis, as an advisor on matters of constitutional law. He stayed on in this capacity when Alexander Van der Bellen replaced Fischer in 2016.[1][9]

Politics[edit]

Adamovich was considered right of center, although with a permissive, humanistic streak.[2] He called himself an "unorthodox conservative".[10]

Immediately after graduating from university, Adamovich used his family's connections to the Austrian People's Party to secure employment in the Lower Austrian bureaucracy, a fact he openly talks about in his autobiography. He formally joined to People's Party in 1956.[8] In spite of his declared allegiance, his career in the Constitutional Service was materially supported by then-Chancellor Bruno Kreisky, a Social Democrat; Adamovich claims that Kreisky had a general inclination to adopt sons of prominent families as his protégés.[3] In 1983, Adamovich withdrew from membership in the People's Party because Kreisky was considering him for appointment to minister of justice. It was Fred Sinowatz, another Social Democrat and Kreisky's successor as chancellor, who nominated Adamovich for president of the Constitutional Court later the same year.[10] The nomination was controversial.[11]

During his tenure as the president of the Constitutional Court, Adamovich had his disagreements with both sides of the political spectrum. Michael Graff, secretary general of the People's Party at the time, accused Adamovich of being a "stooge" of "the Reds". Adamovich also quarreled with Social Democrats, especially with Heinz Fischer, who nevertheless asked Adamovich to become his advisor on matters of constitutional law when he became President of Austria in 2004.[2][10]

Adamovich viciously clashed with Jörg Haider and the Freedom Party in the Ortstafelstreit, a dispute concerning the language rights of Austria's Slovenian minority that Haider had been using to whip up populist resentment and that eventually became one of the cases before the court.[12] The dispute led to personal attacks on Adamovich by Haider that commentators have described as vulgar.[2][11][13][14] When Haider accused Adamovich of misconduct in office, Adamovich insisted on being formally investigated; the inquest exonerated him roundly.[7][15][16]

Defamation case[edit]

In 2008, then-Minister of the Interior Günther Platter asked Adamovich to chair an inquest into the police investigation of the abduction of Natascha Kampusch. Kampusch was a girl from Vienna who had been abducted, at age 10, in 1998; she was not heard from again until she walked away from her abductor more than eight years later. Critics alleged that Kampusch would have found been quickly and easily had investigators not committed a number of inexplicable unforced errors.[17] The official version of events published by the authorities when the case was finally closed was considered improbable by some. Investigators blamed the entire affair on a single criminal acting alone, even though Kampusch's abduction and captivity would have been logistically challenging and even though eyewitnesses claimed to have seen two abductors; the main suspect conveniently killed himself after Kampusch made her escape but before he could be apprehended.[2][18][19]

In 2009, Adamovich gave a series of interviews in which he stated that he too had come to doubt the official version of events. Additionally, he speculated that Kampusch's life in captivity may not have been much worse than her earlier life with her dysfunctional family; Kampusch's mother may have been physically abusing the child; Kampusch may have stayed with her abductor more or less voluntarily. Kampusch's mother demanded that Adamovich be prosecuted; Adamovich was found guilty of defamation and fined.[20][21][22] The judge presiding over his trial, Birgit Schneider, was the daughter of Otto Schneider, a former head of the Vienna prosecution service whose decisions in the Kampusch case Adamovich had also been criticizing. The family connection caused commentators such as Johann Rzeszut, a former president of the Austrian Supreme Court of Justice and a member of the inquest committee himself, to call the verdict a miscarriage of justice; according to Rzeszut, Birgit Schneider would have been obligated to recuse herself.[17]

In 2010, Adamovich's conviction was overturned on appeal; the appellate court held that Adamovich's remarks were covered by his right to free speech.[23][24][25][26]

Death[edit]

Adamovich died on 16 June 2024, at the age of 91.[27]

Selected awards[edit]

Publications[edit]

Standard textbooks[edit]

Together with Bernd-Christian Funk, Gerhart Holzinger, and Stefan Leo Frank, Adamovich is the author of Österreichisches Staatsrecht, a four-volume general introduction to Austrian constitutional law. The first volume was first published in 1997, the last volume in 2009; all four volumes have been revised and reprinted at least once:

  • Grundlagen (2nd, revised ed.). Vienna: Springer. 2011 [1997]. ISBN 978-3-704-66112-8.
  • Staatliche Organisation (3rd ed.). Vienna: Springer. 2014 [1998]. ISBN 978-3-704-66542-3.
  • Grundrechte (2rd ed.). Vienna: Springer. 2015 [2003]. ISBN 978-3-704-66113-5.
  • Allgemeine Lehren des Verwaltungsrechts (2rd ed.). Vienna: Springer. 2017 [2009]. ISBN 978-3-704-67712-9.

Selected other books[edit]

  • Adamovich, Ludwig; Pernthaler, Peter, eds. (1980). Auf dem Weg zu Menschenwürde und Gerechtigkeit. Festschrift für Hans R. Klecatksy, dargeboten zum 60. Lebensjahr. Vienna: Braumüller. ISBN 3-700-30257-6.
  • —; Funk, Bernd-Christian (1987) [1980]. Allgemeines Verwaltungsrecht (3rd ed.). Vienna: Springer. ISBN 3-211-81558-9.
  • — (2004). Eine neue Republik? Gedanken zur Verfassungsreform. Vienna: Holzhausen. ISBN 3-854-93083-6.
  • — (2008). Der Weg zum allgemeinen und gleichen Wahlrecht. Vienna: Verlag Österreich. ISBN 978-3-704-65258-4.
  • — (2011). Erinnerungen eines Nonkonformisten. Vienna: Seifert. ISBN 978-3-902-40687-3.
  • —; Funk, Bernd-Christian; Frank, Stefan L., eds. (2017). Festschrift für Gerhart Holzinger. Vienna: Verlag Österreich. ISBN 978-3-704-67735-8.

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e "Ludwig Adamovich ist 85: Ein außergewöhnlicher Mensch mit beeindruckendem Lebenswerk". Austrian Constitutional Court. 24 August 2017. Retrieved 9 June 2018.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g "Ludwig Adamovich: Der Mann, der die Ruhe stört". Die Presse. 8 August 2009. Retrieved 9 June 2018.
  3. ^ a b c Braunrath, Birgit (28 February 2012). "Adamovich: Verbeißen geb' ich zu". Kurier. Retrieved 8 June 2018.
  4. ^ Scheidl, Werner (17 October 2007). "Juristen sind nicht spröde". Die Presse. Retrieved 9 June 2018.
  5. ^ Adamovich, Ludwig (2011). Erinnerungen eines Nonkonformisten. Vienna: Seifert. ISBN 978-3-902-40687-3.
  6. ^ a b c d e Schinnerl, I. "Adamovich, Ludwig junior". Austria-Forum. Retrieved 9 June 2018.
  7. ^ a b Kommenda, Benedikt (26 October 2007). "Adamovich: Die Unverschämtheit ist gestiegen". Die Presse. Retrieved 9 June 2018.
  8. ^ a b "Ein Nonkonformist als konservativer Kritiker". Der Standard. 19 October 2011. Retrieved 9 June 2018.
  9. ^ Sprenger, Michael (21 April 2017). "Ex-VfGH-Präsident Adamovich bleibt Van der Bellens Berater". Tiroler Tageszeitung. Retrieved 9 June 2018.
  10. ^ a b c "Und dann überfällt mich ein heiliger Zorn". Der Standard. 27 November 2009. Retrieved 9 June 2018.
  11. ^ a b Pachner, Carina (22 November 2011). "Der Nonkonformist". NEWS. Retrieved 9 June 2018.
  12. ^ "Haider: Die erbittertsten Gegner". Salzburg24. 11 October 2008. Retrieved 9 June 2018.
  13. ^ "Heinz Fischer gratuliert Ludwig Adamovich zum runden Geburtstag". Austrian Parliament. 23 August 2002. Retrieved 9 June 2018.
  14. ^ "Karl Korinek: Intoleranz und Primitivität". Der Standard. 19 December 2006. Retrieved 9 June 2018.
  15. ^ "Haider vs. Adamovich". Der Standard. 7 January 2002. Retrieved 9 June 2018.
  16. ^ "Adamovich bleibt im Amt". Der Standard. 7 January 2002. Retrieved 9 June 2018.
  17. ^ a b Kramer-Schmid, Ulla (15 October 2010). "Fall Kampusch: Nicht nachvollziehbare Plichtverweigerung". Profil. Retrieved 9 June 2018.
  18. ^ Wetz, Andreas (10 August 2009). "Analyse: Warum die Kampusch-Kommission nicht aufgibt". Die Presse. Retrieved 9 June 2018.
  19. ^ "Polizei hat nicht gut genug nach mir gesucht". Oberösterreichische Nachrichten. 8 January 2018. Retrieved 9 June 2018.
  20. ^ "Adamovich soll 10.000 Euro Entschädigung zahlen". Der Standard. 24 December 2009. Retrieved 9 June 2018.
  21. ^ "Ex-Richter wegen übler Nachrede verurteilt". Süddeutsche Zeitung. 17 May 2010. Retrieved 9 June 2018.
  22. ^ "Kampusch: Adamovich gesteht Fehler". Oberösterreichische Nachrichten. 7 January 2010. Retrieved 9 June 2018.
  23. ^ Schmidt, Colette M. (22 December 1010). "Adamovich gewinnt gegen Kampuschs Mutter". Der Standard. Retrieved 9 June 2018.
  24. ^ "Freispruch für Ludwig Adamovich: Keine üble Nachrede im Fall Natascha Kampusch". NEWS. 22 December 2010. Retrieved 9 June 2018.
  25. ^ "Adamovich in zweiter Instanz freigesprochen". Niederösterreichische Nachrichten. 22 December 2010. Retrieved 9 June 2018.
  26. ^ "Freispruch für Adamovich in der Causa Kampusch". Die Presse. 22 December 2010. Retrieved 9 June 2018.
  27. ^ "Früherer VfGH-Präsident Adamovich gestorben". derstandard.at (in German). 16 June 2024. Retrieved 16 June 2024.
  28. ^ a b c "Anfragebeantwortung 10694/J" (PDF). Austrian Parliament. 23 April 2012. Retrieved 9 June 2018.
  29. ^ "Ehrenzeichen des Landes Wien". City of Vienna. 15 November 1989. Retrieved 9 June 2018.
  30. ^ "Ludwig Adamovich". Masaryk University. Retrieved 9 June 2018.
  31. ^ "Dr.- Dr.h.c. Ludwig Adamovich". European Forum Alpbach. Retrieved 9 June 2018.
  32. ^ "Franz Gschnitzer-Förderungspreise und -Wissenschaftspreise: Preisträger ab 1996" (PDF). University of Innsbruck. Retrieved 9 June 2018.
  33. ^ "Ludwig Adamovich". Austrian Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 9 June 2018.
  34. ^ "Referencia del Consejo de Ministros: Condecoraciones". Palace of Moncloa. 7 September 2001. Retrieved 9 June 2018.
  35. ^ "Die Israelitische Kultusgemeinde Wien verleiht am 29. Oktober 2002 die Friedrich Torberg-Medaille". Austria Press Agency. 28 October 2002. Retrieved 9 June 2018.
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