Fundamentals rights section 3.2. Principle of equality 3.2.1. Vienna: Place of residence determines fees for graves The Ombudsman Board is repeatedly concerned with differing assessments of fees for graves that are tied to the place of residence. This not only violates the principle of equality, but also EC law. In 1990, Mr. N.N. paid the fee for the granting of a right to use a grave at the Stammersdorf cemetery in Vienna. For the first ten years he had to pay triple the fee for the right to use the family grave. The calculation base was a decision of the Vienna Municipal Council from 1985 that divides Vienna’s metropolitan area into four zones. For decedents whose last place of residence did not lie within the residential zone belonging to the cemetery, three times the grave fee was charged. This was also the case for the father of the complainant. In the year 2000, Mr. N.N. extended the right to use, this time being charged a fee twice the amount. In the year 2001, the cemetery regulations of the City of Vienna were changed. Since 1 January 2002, fees for the extension of non-zone grave rights are only assessed at once the amount. The complainant therefore does not have to pay an increased fee for the right to use his father’s grave. From the point of view of the Ombudsman Board, different fees for graves for local and non-local residents within the City of Vienna violate Art. 12 and 49 EC Treaty according to the legal practice of the European Court of Justice. The Municipal Council of the City of Vienna pointed out that new graves cannot be created, or only to a very restricted extent, in all Viennese Municipal cemeteries. The calculation of charges is intended to prevent certain cemeteries usually preferred by the population from being overfilled. Above all, the population living around the cemetery should have the opportunity to acquire the right to use graves for their relatives that are relatively close to the place where they live. The Ombudsman Board cannot recognize a compelling reason of public interest within the meaning of the ECJ rulings on Art. 12 EC Treaty. Thus EU conformity concerning different grave fees depending on residence, all the more as merely economic objectives do not constitute such a reason. An argumentation that the burial of a citizen of the Municipality in a Municipal cemetery is ensured and that the cemetery does not reach its capacity limits for this reason because many outside decedents also find their final rest there cannot invalidate Community-law concerns from the point of view of the Ombudsman Board. 20 32nd Report of the Austrian Ombudsman Board to the National Council and the Federal Council 2008