of law but also points of fact, assessing evidence and questioning witnesses again. An "appeal-at-law" ( in civil trials, in criminal cases) can be filed against the decision of an appellate court. In criminal cases, appeals-at-law that are not obviously frivolous are also handled in public hearings. A successful appeal-at-law not only overturns but utterly erases the ruling of the appellate court, sending the case down the ladder again. Decisions of trial courts − although not of appellate courts − that result from a trial court's invocation of an unconstitutional statute or an illegal ordinance can be challenged before the Constitutional Court by filing an "extraordinary appeal-at-law". Powers and responsibilities The Supreme Court of Justice hears appeals-at-law ( and ) against rulings of lower appellate courts. In addition to that, the Court also deals with some intra-judicial disputes. It hears, as court of first instance, complaints lodged by judges against the public administration and disciplinary complaints against certain senior judges and prosecutors. It has appellate jurisdiction in disciplinary proceedings against lower-ranking judges and prosecutors, attorneys, and notaries. Decisions handed down by the Court are final; there is no appeal against the Supreme Court of Justice in internal affairs proceedings any more than there is in ordinary trials. In addition to its adjudicative functions, the Court is charged with publishing appraisals of draft legislation presented to the National Council by the Cabinet; the Court is required to evaluate a Cabinet bill if asked to do so by the president of the Court or the minister of justice. The Court does not have the authority to actually veto legislation, however, and neither does it have the soft power to make draft bills politically untenable. Austria is a parliamentary democracy in which most bills originate not from individual lawmakers but from the Cabinet; the country has had strong consociationalist tendencies historically and remains highly consensus-oriented to this day. Formal expert opinions on draft bills offered by political lobbying groups, professional associations, churches, regional governments, and various arms of the federal bureaucracy are a routine part of the legislative process; neither the Cabinet nor the legislature are required to defer to any of them. The Court maintains the Central Library (), Austria's official public law library. Composition The Supreme Court of Justice consists of a president, a vice president, and as many additional members as Court and Cabinet deem necessary and appropriate. Since the