All citizens are equal before the law. There are no privileges of birth, gender, status, class or religion . The legislation of the Second Republic since 1945 has always taken into account the ideas enshrined in the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights of 1948. In 1958 Austria ratified the Council of Europe's Convention on the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. Priorities All citizens of Austria have equal access to public office.
Personal freedom is safeguarded.
Only if important grounds pertain and certain formal requirements have been met may a person be arrested. The privacy of the home is protected. Search warrants are subject to conditions as stringent as those applying to arrest. The confidentiality of correspondence is inviolable. Te right of free movement of persons and property within the territory of Austria is unrestricted.