Margravate of Moravia, of the Duchy of Upper and Lower Silesia, of the Princely County of Tyrol and the territory of Vorarlberg, of the Margravate of Istria, of the Princely County of Goerz and Gradiska, and of the City of Triest with its territory. The Reichsrat is composed of a House of Lords (Herrenhaus) and a House of Representatives (Haus der Abgeordneten).

Persons appointed members of the House of Lords in conformity with secs. 3 and 5 may be elected to the House of Representatives. In case of the acceptance of such an election, the membership in the House of Lords ceases for the period during which such office is held.1

Should a representative be appointed to the House of Lords in conformity with secs. 3 or 5, his membership therein shall not begin until after he ceases to be a representative.2

SEC. 2.

Princes of the imperial family who have attained full age are by birth members of the House of Lords.

SEC. 3.

Chiefs of the indigenous noble families, of full age, who possess extensive landed property within the Austrian states, are hereditary members of the House of Lords, if such dignity has been conferred upon them by the Emperor.

SEC. 4. All archbishops and all bishops enjoying princely rank, within the Austrian states, shall be members of the House of Lords by virtue of their high ecclesiastical rank.

SEC. 5.

The Emperor shall have the right to call into the House of Lords as life members eminent men from the kingdoms and countries represented in the Reichsrat, who have rendered distinguished services to the state or church, to science or art.

[The number of such members shall not exceed 170 nor fall below 150.3]

SEC. 6. The House of Representatives shall be composed

1 As amended January 26, 1907.

As amended January 26, 1907.

Added by amendment of January 26, 1907.

of 516 members, apportioned to and elected in the several kingdoms and countries as follows:

Territory of Vorarlberg

6

6

5

Princely County of Tyrol

Margravate of Istria

Princely County of Goerz and Gradiska
City of Triest and its territory

The apportionment to the several election districts of the members of the House of Representatives, to be chosen in accordance with this list, shall be determined by the election law of the Reichsrat.1

SEC. 7. Every male person who has attained the age of twenty-four years, possesses Austrian citizenship, is not excluded from the right to vote by the provisions of the election law of the Reichsrat, and who at the time the election is ordered has resided for at least one year in the Austrian commune in which the right to vote is to be exercised, is qualified to vote for representatives.

Every male person who has been in the possession of

This section was amended on January 26, 1907, increasing the membership of the House of Representatives from 425.

Austrian citizenship for at least three years, has attained the age of thirty years, and is not excluded from the right to vote by the provisions of the election law of the Reichsrat, is eligible as a representative.

In case the election law of the Reichsrat should provide for the election of substitutes of representatives, the foregoing provisions concerning eligibility are also applicable to such substitutes.

The election law of the Reichsrat contains the further regulations concerning the exercise of the right to vote and concerning the conduct of elections.5

SEC. 8. Public officers and functionaries who may be elected to the House of Representatives do not need a leave of absence in order to attend the meetings of that body.

SEC. 9. The Emperor appoints the president and vicepresident of the House of Lords, from among its members, and for the term of the session. The House of Representatives elects from its own members its president and vice-president. Each of the houses chooses its other officers.

SEC. 10. The Reichsrat shall be convened annually by the Emperor, during the winter months when possible.

The text here given is that introduced by amendment of January 26, 1907. Before this change there were five classes of electors: (1) The great land owners, comprising those who paid a certain land tax, varying in the several provinces from 50 to 250 florins; this class elected 85 representatives. (2) The cities, where the electoral franchise was extended to all males of twenty-four who paid a tax of 5 florins; this class elected 99 representatives. (3) Chambers of commerce and of industry; this class alone elected 21 representatives and together with the second class chose 19 others. (4) Rural communes, in which the qualifications for voting were the same as in the cities; this class elected 129 representatives. (5) A fifth class created by law of June 14, 1896, included all males who had attained the age of twentyfour years; this class chose 72 representatives.

The amendment of 1907 abolishes the class system of voting, and establishes universal suffrage for all representatives. The election law of the Reichsrat of January 26, 1907, makes the further provisions for elections under the new system of universal suffrage; each province is divided into election districts, most of which choose only one representative; each commune forms a voting precinct.

SEC. II. The competence of the Reichsrat extends to all matters which relate to the rights, obligations, and interests common to the countries represented therein, in so far as these matters are not to be handled in common, in consequence of the agreement of the countries of the Hungarian crown with the other countries of the monarchy.

Thus, the competence of the Reichsrat extends to:

a) The examination and approval of commercial treaties and of those political treaties which place a financial burden upon the empire or upon any part thereof, which place obligations upon individual citizens, or which have as a consequence a change of the territory of the kingdoms and countries represented in the Reichsrat.

b) All matters which relate to the form as well as to the regulation and term of military service; particularly the annual grant of military forces, and the general provisions regarding the furnishing of relays, and the maintenance and quartering of troops.

c) The establishment of the budget, and particularly the annual grant of taxes and duties to be levied; the examination of the accounts and of the results of the financial administration, the final approval of such accounts; the issue of new loans, the conversion of the existing state debt, the alienation, transformation, or burdening of the public domain; legislation concerning monopolies and seigniorial rights, and in general all financial affairs which are common to the kingdoms and countries represented in the Reichsrat.

d) The regulation of the monetary system and of banks of issue, of customs and commercial affairs, of the telegraph, post, railways, navigation, and of other means of communication within the empire.

e) Legislation concerning credit, banks, patents of inventions, industry, with the exception of legislation concerning the monopoly of liquor; weights and measures, the protection of trade marks and of industrial models.

f) Legislation concerning public health, and for protection against epidemics and epizootics.

g) Legislation concerning citizenship and domicile, the police control of foreigners, the system of passports, and the taking of the census.

h) Concerning confessional relations, the rights of assembly and of association; concerning the press and the protection of literary and artistic property. ·

i) The establishment of the principles of the educational system in the primary and secondary schools, and legislation concerning the universities.

k) Legislation concerning criminal justice and police penalties; the civil law, with the exception of legislation concerning the details of the systems of public registries and concerning such matters as, in the terms of the provincial constitutions and of this fundamental law, belong within the competence of the provincial diets; legislation concerning commercial law and commercial paper, maritime law, mines, and feudal rights.

1) Legislation concerning the principles of the judicial and administrative organization.

m) The laws to be passed in execution of the fundamental laws concerning the general rights of citizens, the imperial court, the judicial power, and the administrative and executive power.

n) Legislation concerning the matters which relate to the duties and relations of the particular countries among themselves.

o) Legislation concerning the manner of handling matters which, through the agreement with Hungary, are recognized as common to the two parts of the empire.

SEC. 12. All matters of legislation other than those expressly reserved to the Reichsrat by the present law, belong within the power of the Provincial Diets of the kingdoms and