Heimatrecht

Lex patriae (Heimatrecht), term for the affiliation of a person to a certain municipality. Initially only subsidiary law because of the prevalence of the manorial system and because of certain provisions of civil law, the Heimatrecht was made imperative by the Provisional Municipality Act of 1849. The Imperial law of 1863 required the members of a municipality to be registered in the "Heimatrolle" (record of citizenship) and certificates of nationality (Heimatschein) to be issued. The Heimatrecht ensured the right to undisturbed residence and to poor relief in times of need. It could be obtained on accession to an office, by prescription (after 10 years), marriage and descent; an absence for two years resulted in its loss. In 1939 the Heimatrecht was abolished in Austria and replaced after 1945 with the "Staatsbürgerschaftsnachweis" (certificate of citizenship) (Citizenship).

Literature: R. Thienel, Das österreichische Staatsbürgerschaftsrecht, 1993.