On authority of Chapter II of the Sixth Section of the decree of 6 October 1931 (RGBl I, page 537), Article II of the law regarding the reunification of austria with the German Reich of 13 March 1938 (RGBl I, page 237) and Article 7 of the decree of the Fuehrer and Reich Chancellor regarding the administration of the Sudeten German territories of 1 October 1938 (RGBl I, page 1331), the following order is promulgated:

Article I

In cases of criminal acts which belong to the jurisdiction of the Assizes or of a lower court, the prosecuting authorities can bring the charge before the Special Court, if they believe that in consideration of the gravity or the wickedness of the deed, or the possible arousing of popular excitement, an immediate verdict by the Special Court is advisable.

Article II

(1) Under the same supposition in the state of Austria and in the Sudeten German territories the prosecuting authorities can bring the charge before the Court of Appeal in cases of criminal acts which, according to the existing legal procedure in those areas, belongs to the jurisdiction of the Jury Court or of a lower court. This is decided by the appointment of three professional judges.

(2) For the legal procedure the decree of 21 March 1933 (RGBl I, page 136) is applicable. The Reich Minister for Justice is to be consulted for more precise definitions.

Article III

In the proceedings before the Special Court (Court of Appeals) the period of time for summons is limited to 24 hours.

Article IV

As long as the main deliberation has not yet begun in cases of Articles I and II, proceedings which are pending in the Assizes (Jury Court) or a lower court at the time this decree enters into effect, are to be referred to the Special Court of the prosecuting authorities so proposed.

Article V

This decree becomes effective on the date of publication.