A summons from the police arrives – over an incident that is years old. Or an investigation is opened against you long after the matter seemed forgotten. The question almost everyone asks first is a simple one: isn’t this crime long since time-barred? How long after a crime can you actually be charged in Austria – and can you still be prosecuted at all?

The statute of limitations – in Austrian law the limitation period for criminal offences (Verjährung) – is set out in §§ 57 to 60 of the Austrian Criminal Code (Strafgesetzbuch, StGB). It is one of the most important defense points in criminal practice. Once an offence is time-barred, it may no longer be prosecuted and the proceedings must be discontinued – regardless of how strong the evidence is. The periods run from one year for minor offences to no limitation at all for murder and genocide, with a graduated system of extensions and suspensions in between.

On this page I explain, as a criminal defense lawyer in Vienna, how long the limitation period is for each category of offence, when the clock starts, what stops or extends it, and why – for a common-law reader – the Austrian system works differently from the „charges must be filed within X years“ rule you may expect. The first thing I check in any case is the limitation position, because an expired limitation ends the matter at once.

How the limitation clock works

The limitation period runs from the moment the offence is completed. It stops as soon as the authorities move against the suspect, and it ends the case if it expires before that happens. Four stages describe the mechanism.

How long is the limitation period? (§ 57 StGB)

The limitation period for prosecution in Austria is between one and twenty years, and it is set by the maximum penalty the law attaches to the offence – not by the sentence actually imposed. The more serious the offence, the longer the period. Five tiers apply under § 57 para 3 StGB, above which the offence never becomes time-barred at all.

This is the point that most surprises common-law readers: the period does not depend on how much time a court would give you in the particular case. It depends on the statutory penalty range (Strafdrohung) of the offence charged. Even where a judge would in fact impose only a fine, the limitation period still follows the maximum sentence the provision allows.

Two different clocks: prosecution vs. enforcement

Austrian law knows two kinds of limitation, and common-law systems usually have no direct equivalent for the distinction. Limitation of prosecution (Verfolgungsverjährung, § 57 StGB) governs whether an offence may still be prosecuted at all. Limitation of enforcement (Vollstreckungsverjährung, § 59 StGB) governs whether a sentence that has already been imposed may still be carried out.

The two run on different logic. Limitation of prosecution is measured against the maximum penalty the offence carries. Limitation of enforcement is measured against the sentence actually imposed in the final judgment, and it only starts once that judgment becomes final (rechtskräftig). For most people the first is what matters – the question of whether they can „still be charged“. The second becomes relevant mainly with old convictions where the sentence was never served, for example after someone left the country.

When does the clock start?

The limitation period starts when the criminal conduct is completed – as soon as the punishable activity is finished or the punishable behaviour ceases (§ 57 para 2 StGB). The date of the offence itself is not counted. For most offences this is straightforward, but three situations shift the starting point and are worth understanding.

The standard case

For an ordinary offence, the clock starts the moment the act is done. Example: on 15 March 2024, A steals B’s laptop. Theft (§ 127 StGB, maximum six months) carries a one-year limitation period, so it becomes time-barred on 15 March 2025.

Continuing offences (Dauerdelikt)

Where an unlawful state is kept up over time – a continuing offence (Dauerdelikt) – the clock does not start until that conduct ends. For unlawful detention (Freiheitsentziehung, § 99 StGB), for instance, the period begins only when the victim is released, not when the detention started.

Result offences with a delayed result

Where the result that completes the offence occurs only after the conduct has ended, § 58 para 1 StGB adjusts the period: it does not end before the ordinary period has also run from the occurrence of the result. But one and a half times the ordinary period – at least three years – counted from the end of the conduct acts as an outer cap, and limitation takes effect as soon as either of those two points is reached.

What stops or extends the period? (§ 58 StGB)

The limitation period is not always a simple countdown. Under § 58 StGB it can be extended by a new offence, and it can be suspended – in common-law terms, tolled – so that certain periods do not count. These rules are often overlooked by suspects who assume an old matter has expired, and they are decisive in practice.

Extension by a new offence (§ 58 para 2)

If the offender commits a further punishable act during the running limitation period that rests on the same harmful inclination (gleiche schädliche Neigung), limitation of the first offence does not take effect until the period for the new offence has also expired. In practice, property offences – theft, fraud, receiving stolen goods – are regularly treated as resting on the same inclination. A new fraud allegation can therefore keep an old theft alive, even where years lie between the two acts.

Suspension while proceedings are running (§ 58 para 3 no 2)

The most important suspension ground: the time between the first prosecutorial step against the suspect – the first interrogation as an accused, the first use of coercion, the first investigative order or measure directed against the suspect, an alert, an arrest, a custody application or the bringing of charges – and the final conclusion of the proceedings is not counted into the limitation period. In other words, once the authorities genuinely move against a suspect, the clock stops. It does not start again while the case is pending.

Further suspension grounds

• § 58 para 3 no 1: time during which prosecution cannot be commenced or continued because of a statutory rule – for example parliamentary immunity.
• § 58 para 3 no 3: for offences against a minor, the time until the victim’s 28th birthday (see the separate section below).
• § 58 para 3 no 4: the running time of diversion measures (diversion) – the probation period, the deadlines for paying a sum of money or performing community service, and the victim-offender mediation phase.

One further point catches people out: under § 58 para 3a StGB, once a suspension has taken effect it remains effective even if a later change in the law would, on the new rules, already have rendered the offence time-barred. The legislator built this in so that running investigations are not undone by subsequent legislative changes.

Which crimes never become time-barred

Two categories of offence never become time-barred in Austria (§ 57 para 1 StGB). First, offences carrying ten-to-twenty-year imprisonment or life imprisonment – above all murder (Mord, § 75 StGB). Second, all offences under the 25th chapter of the Criminal Code: genocide (§ 321), crimes against humanity (§ 321a) and war crimes (§§ 321b ff).

There is one qualification worth knowing. After twenty years have passed, a threatened life sentence is replaced by a sentence of ten to twenty years‘ imprisonment. The offence itself remains prosecutable without any time limit – but the maximum sentence that can then be imposed is capped. So „never time-barred“ does not mean the possible punishment stays frozen forever; it means the door to prosecution never closes.

Special rule: offences against minors

Where the victim of an offence was a minor at the time, a special suspension applies: the time until the victim’s 28th birthday is not counted into the limitation period (§ 58 para 3 no 3 StGB). In effect, the limitation clock does not start to run until the victim turns 28. This is the point that draws searches for the statute of limitations for sexual abuse in Austria.

The rule covers offences against life and limb, against liberty, and against sexual integrity and self-determination where the victim was under 18 at the time of the offence. It matters most for sexual offences against children. An example: a serious sexual offence against a ten-year-old that carries up to ten years‘ imprisonment has a ten-year limitation period – but because the clock does not start until the victim’s 28th birthday, the offence becomes time-barred at the earliest when the victim turns 38. The rule reflects the reality that victims of abuse are often able to speak about it, and to report it, only years or decades after the event.

Is there a deadline to report a crime?

No. Austria has no deadline for reporting a crime to the police or the prosecution – a criminal complaint (Anzeige) can be filed at any time. What is limited is something different: the state’s right to prosecute. A complaint filed after the limitation period has expired cannot revive a case that is already time-barred.

This distinction is a frequent misunderstanding, and it cuts both ways. For an injured party it means there is no „time limit to press charges“ as such – but reporting late does not extend the period, and a report on its own does not stop the clock either. The limitation period is only suspended once the authorities take a concrete investigative step against the suspect (§ 58 para 3 no 2 StGB). For a suspect it means the decisive window lies before any investigation is directed at them: if the full limitation period has run before the authorities moved, the offence is time-barred – whatever complaint may later be filed.

Limitation of enforcement (§ 59 StGB)

Even a final sentence can become unenforceable with time. Under limitation of enforcement (Vollstreckungsverjährung, § 59 StGB), a sentence that has already been imposed with final effect may no longer be carried out once a set period has passed. That period runs from the moment the judgment becomes final and is measured against the sentence actually imposed – not the abstract maximum penalty.

Sentences that never expire

The enforcement of some penalties never becomes time-barred (§ 59 para 1 StGB): a life sentence, a prison sentence of more than ten years, sentences for offences under the 25th chapter, and placement in a forensic-therapeutic centre (forensisch-therapeutisches Zentrum) or an institution for dangerous recidivists.

The periods for all other sentences (§ 59 para 3 StGB)

Where several sentences were imposed at the same time, limitation follows the sentence with the longest period (§ 59 para 4 StGB). In practice, limitation of enforcement matters above all for old convictions where the person never began to serve the sentence – for instance after fleeing abroad.

Limitation as a defense strategy

Limitation is not a technicality – it is one of the sharpest defense levers there is. If the offence is time-barred, the proceedings must be discontinued at once, regardless of the evidence or even a confession, and the court is obliged to consider limitation of its own motion. A defense that starts with the limitation position starts in the right place.

Use questions of legal classification

The limitation period depends on how the offence is legally classified. If an aggravated form (for example serious fraud) can be reduced to the basic offence (simple fraud), the limitation period shortens with it – sometimes decisively. Reclassifying a charge can bring a case within a period that has already expired.

Attack the exact start date

With continuing offences and result offences, the precise starting point is often contested. A careful analysis of when the conduct ended – and when any result occurred – can be the difference between limitation and conviction.

Challenge the extension grounds

Prosecutors frequently rely on the „same harmful inclination“ extension (§ 58 para 2 StGB) to keep an old offence alive. The defense can often argue that the acts do not in fact rest on the same reprehensible attitude, so that limitation ran unimpeded. The link with any pending criminal investigation (Ermittlungsverfahren) also has to be examined precisely, because it is the first step against the suspect that stops the clock.

The limits of „running out the clock“

Once an investigation is under way, you cannot simply wait limitation out. As soon as proceedings are directed against the suspect, the period is suspended under § 58 para 3 no 2 StGB and does not run during the case; procedural motions do not change that. The decisive period is the one before the authorities act – if it has passed untouched, the offence is time-barred.

Frequently asked questions on limitation in Austrian criminal law

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