Objective justification required For entities which run public facilities under private law, the principle of equal treatment requires an objective justification for exceptions. A differentiation that has been objectively justified would, for example, be if parity of tariffs among both local residents and nonresidents would result in a displacement of or insufficient access for local residents. To what extent this applies in a specific case can be assessed only in accordance with the concrete circumstances on a case-by-case basis. Restitutory claims Contracts between municipalities and citizens that violate these EU regulations or the principle of equality under the Constitution must be deemed partially null and void. Such a partial nullity can, if applicable, result in restitutory claims for the additional amounts charged in comparison to residents of the municipality. In the opinion of the AOB, excessive charges during that last three years could be reclaimed. Season tickets for Numerous times there were permutations of indirect preferential treatment relative to tariffs that complicated the AOB’s investigations. In the town of Wiener Neudorf in Lower Austria the prerequisite for the purchase of a season ticket for the swimming pond was that one had a so-called Wiener Neudorf Card. However, in order to purchase a Wiener Neudorf Card, it was mandatory to be a resident of the municipality of Wiener Neudorf. To what extent such indirect measures violate the prohibitions listed above must be evaluated according to whether this had primarily legitimate objectives, from the pursuit of which such preferential treatment relative to tariffs resulted as a secondary effect or if the ostensible effect and primary objective of these constructs was a hidden preferential treatment of the residents of the municipality. residents only Many complaints regarding the private sector Another problem crops up if private companies are the direct provider. In the complaints received by the AOB, it has emerged that the municipality is often not the direct operator of public facilities or the provider of public services, but that these are provided by private companies. Based on the results of its ex-officio investigative proceedings, the AOB assumes that pursuant to rulings by the European Court of Justice, the EC prohibition of discrimination also applies directly between private parties and therefore represents a prohibition under the law. As companies operating under private law, even if they are 32