Austrian Criminal Law Amendment 2026: human trafficking, organ trafficking and jurisdiction

The draft implements several European and international instruments: Directive (EU) 2024/1712 on combating human trafficking, the Council of Europe Convention against Trafficking in Human Organs, the 2014 Montreal Protocol to the Tokyo Convention on offences committed on board aircraft and amendments to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.

For criminal defence, the draft is relevant not only because it creates new offences. New aggravating factors, broader domestic jurisdiction and more specific offence definitions may determine whether Austrian authorities are competent, which allegations are investigated and which penalties are at stake.

Section 104a of the Criminal Code is to be expanded. The draft refers to additional forms of exploitation such as forced marriage, surrogacy and unlawful adoption, in order to align Austrian law with the EU directive.

A new section 104b is proposed. It would punish the use of a service provided by a person where the offender knows that the person is a victim of human trafficking and is exploited in providing the service. The proposed penalty is imprisonment of up to two years unless a stricter provision applies.

From a defence perspective, proof of knowledge will be central. The draft does not merely require negligent ignorance. It requires knowledge that the person is a victim. Investigations will therefore have to examine which information was available to the accused person and when.

A new chapter on organ trafficking and related offences is to be inserted after section 110 of the Criminal Code. Section 110a defines the scope as human organs and clarifies that the donor is not to be punished under that chapter.

Section 110b would cover financially motivated organ removal and brokering activities. In particular, it would criminalise removing an organ from a living or deceased person where a financial advantage was offered, promised or granted. Certain compensation, such as loss of earnings and justified expenses, remains excluded.

Section 110c concerns trafficking in or using unlawfully removed organs. For clinics, intermediaries, advisers and private persons, the boundary between lawful medical organisation, reimbursement of expenses and criminal advantage will matter.

The draft expands section 64 of the Criminal Code. Organ-trafficking offences could be prosecuted in Austria under certain conditions irrespective of the place of commission. A new jurisdictional basis is also proposed for offences committed on board aircraft where there is a close Austrian link, for example through landing, planned landing or operator connection.

This matters because jurisdiction is often one of the first issues in a criminal case. If Austrian jurisdiction is broadened, investigations may be conducted even where the facts have a strong foreign element. Defence teams and companies must then examine both the allegation and the Austrian link.

The draft also adapts terminology and offences relating to international core crimes. The explanatory materials refer to amendments of the Rome Statute, particularly prohibited means of warfare.

In everyday criminal practice, this part will appear less often than human trafficking, organ trafficking or jurisdictional issues. It nevertheless shows how strongly Austrian criminal law is shaped by international minimum standards and treaty obligations.

As long as the draft has not been enacted, it does not create new liability. It does, however, show which areas are likely to receive closer attention: supply chains, brokering activities, medical and advisory services, international fact patterns and conduct with technical or cross-border elements.

In investigations, the timeline will be decisive. What law applied at the time of the alleged conduct? When did the alleged act occur? Are there transitional provisions? Which mental element does the new offence require? With new offences, the legal analysis must not stop at the political headline.