Parliament Launches Inquiry Committee into Pilnacek Case
The Austrian Parliament has officially established a special inquiry committee to investigate the circumstances surrounding the late Justice Section Chief Christian Pilnacek. The committee convened for its inaugural session to outline its operational framework, set procedural guidelines, and schedule the first witness hearings, which are planned for mid-January. All relevant documents and materials for the committee, formed at the request of the Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ), must be submitted by mid-December.
National Council President Walter Rosenkranz, representing the FPÖ, will preside over the committee. His deputies will be Peter Haubner of the Austrian People's Party (ÖVP) and Doris Bures of the Social Democratic Party of Austria (SPÖ). The leadership roles within each parliamentary group have also been appointed: Christian Hafenecker for the FPÖ, Andreas Hanger for the ÖVP, Jan Krainer for the SPÖ, Nina Tomaselli for the Greens, and Sophie Wotschke for NEOS enters this role for the first time. The committee's legal proceedings will be supervised by former Higher Regional Court judge Christa Edwards, supported by lawyer Andreas Joklik. Additional legal backup is provided by former Administrative Court judge Wolfgang Köller and Michael Kasper, respectively.
The committee plans to hold 22 hearing days until early July of the following year, with most sessions scheduled on Wednesdays and Thursdays. The process for determining the course of the inquiry in the autumn will be set by mid-June. The first list of witnesses is set to be finalized in December, with hearings commencing in the morning and limited to eight hours per session. The investigation focuses on the period from October 2023 to September 2025, encompassing the events leading up to and following Pilnacek's death.
The FPÖ, which initiated the inquiry, seeks to examine potential political interference in investigations related to the Pilnacek case, specifically probing actions by the Ministry of the Interior, the Ministry of Justice, and the Federal Chancellery. Authorities previously concluded that Pilnacek's death in October 2023 was a suicide, though the FPÖ has raised concerns about possible undue influence during the investigation. The committee comprises 13 members: four from both the FPÖ and ÖVP, three from the SPÖ, and one each from NEOS and the Greens. Additional support roles, such as secretaries, have also been assigned within the committee.
An ongoing discussion concerns whether the committee sessions should be broadcast live to the public. Currently, attendance is limited to accredited media representatives. Implementing a public livestream would require a two-thirds parliamentary majority to amend existing procedural regulations. The FPÖ has advocated for such a change, and other parliamentary groups have indicated openness to the proposal. Some members have suggested looking to the German Bundestag's procedures as a potential model. However, legal experts have highlighted the need to balance transparency with privacy rights, suggesting that edited summaries of the hearings might be a more practical approach for public dissemination.
The committee's work represents the thirtieth such parliamentary investigation in Austria's Second Republic and is expected to play a significant role in clarifying the circumstances and any possible political influence surrounding the Pilnacek case. The inquiry is scheduled to continue until the summer of 2026, with the potential for procedural adjustments as the investigation progresses.