TITLE I
General Provisions
General Reservation
§ 2. A foreign request may only be complied if this does not violate public order or other essential interests of the Republic of Austria.
Reciprocity
§ 3. (1) A foreign request may only be complied if it is ensured that the requesting State would also comply with a similar request by Austria.
(2) A request under this federal law may not be filed by an Austrian authority if it were not possible to comply with a similar request by another State, unless a request appears to be needed urgently for specific reasons. In this case, the requested State shall be notified of the absence of reciprocity.
(3) In the event of doubts concerning compliance with reciprocity, the opinion of the Federal Minister of Justice shall be obtained.
(4) Another State may be assured of reciprocity in connection with a request made under this federal law, provided that there are no intergovernmental agreement and that it would be admissible under this federal law to comply with a similar request of this State.
Conditions
§ 4. There shall be compliance with the conditions that another State imposes on the occasion of granting an extradition, transit or surrender, when providing judicial assistance, or in connection with taking over a case for criminal prosecution, surveillance, or execution, and which were not rejected.
TITLE IV
Judicial Assistance to Foreign Countries
CHAPTER TWO
Competences and Procedure
Form and Content of a Request for Judicial Assistance
§ 56. (1) Judicial assistance may only be provided if it is possible to gather from the request the facts and the classification of the punishable act underlying the request. A reference to the criminal-law stipulations applicable or applied in the requesting State shall suffice in the case of requests for the service of documents.
(2) A request for ordering and performing one of the investigative measures governed by Chapter One to Chapter Eight of Title 8 of the Code of Criminal Procedure shall comprise a copy, a certified copy or a photostat copy of the order of the competent authority. If this is not a court order, the authority requesting judicial assistance shall present a statement explaining that the prerequisites required for
such measures are met under the law applicable in the requesting State.
3. Upon the request of the Court, a State Party shall consult with the Court, either generally or with respect to a specific matter, regarding any requirements under its national law that may apply under paragraph 2 (e). During the consultations, the State Party shall advise the Court of the specific requirements of its national law.
Where a State Party receives a request under this Part in relation to which it identifies problems which may impede or prevent the execution of the request, that State shall consult with the Court without delay in order to resolve the matter. Such problems may include, inter alia:
(a) Insufficient information to execute the request;
(b) In the case of a request for surrender, the fact that despite best efforts, the person sought cannot be located or that the investigation conducted has determined that the person in the requested State is clearly not the person named in the warrant; or
(c) The fact that execution of the request in its current form would require the requested State to breach a pre-existing treaty obligation undertaken with respect to another State.