Following the abolition of parliamentary democracy in March 1933, the Austrofascist dictatorship was es-tablished and the rule of law was undermined, with the judiciary in particular being brought into line with the government. In February 1934, the independence of judges was abolished, as they could no longer be transferred or dismissed solely on the basis of the findings of a judicial disciplinary court, but at the discreti-on of the Minister of Justice. On the other hand, the possibility of reprimanding lawyers and trainee lawyers was introduced, which reduced the independence of the legal profession. The Minister of Justice could now prohibit lawyers from practising and remove trainee lawyers from the register.
This paper first examines the detention of lawyers and trainee lawyers, both through formal judicial or police criminal proceedings and through extrajudicial detention in detention camps. The core of the study focuses on professional disqualifications - explicit bans on the practice of law and removal of trainee lawyers from the register - using disciplinary records maintained by the Ministry of Justice. Further attention is given to related issues such as the revocation of professional licences following deprivation of citizenship, relevant aspects of disciplinary law for lawyers, exclusion from court practice, denial of admission to the trainee list and removal from the list of defence counsel.