Chapters | Compendium of Cultural Policies & Trends

Last update: May, 2023

Liechtenstein is a constitutional hereditary monarchy which runs on a democratic and parliamentary basis. Even if the actual word “culture” does not appear in the Constitution, the state’s cultural mandate can be deduced in Article 14 stipulating the duty “to promote the overall welfare of the People”, as well as in Articles 15 and 16, which refer to the particular attention to be paid to education and schooling. The cultural mandate is also indicated by the general rights of individuals: freedom of belief and conscience, free expression of opinion and ideas, free association and assembly. Liechtenstein is also a principality with strongly developed direct democratic rights.

Last update: May, 2023

Public funds in Liechtenstein are allocated at two levels: the state and the municipalities. Beyond state cultural funding, theatres, museums, concert and exhibition organisers also seek funding from the private sector. Cultural promotion often follows a pragmatic approach in which the state, municipalities and private sponsors jointly support larger projects.

It includes, for example: promotion and support, contributions from benefactors, membership fees, sponsorships, partnerships and promotional awards. In Liechtenstein, promotion is broad-based. The principle of subsidiarity encourages and promotes private initiative.

The state intervenes where cultural activity is only possible with increased financial and human resources, especially as concerns exhibitions and educational institutions, or where structural requirements for cultural activity must be met. The Ministry of Culture also has a discretionary budget of CHF 125,000 per year for foreign cultural policy projects.

State spending on culture is administered by the departments (ministries) of culture and education, which provide transparent information on the money spent. The composition of the state budget for culture and education is regulated by the annual Finance Act.

The Minister of Finance announces the amount of funds to Parliament annually in the budget. In 2021, Liechtenstein spent CHF 31.3 million on culture and recreation as well as CHF 179.95 million on education, international programmes and research (including music and art schools).

Decisions on the promotion of culture are taken by the government at the request of the Liechtenstein Cultural Foundation. The Liechtenstein Cultural Foundation is financed primarily by the national contribution, income from cultural projects and events, as well as two-thirds of Liechtenstein’s share of the profits of the Swiss intercantonal national lottery Swisslos. In 2020, the payouts, which had fluctuated in previous years, were higher than budgeted by the Cultural Foundation at CHF 1.43 million. As a result, cultural creativity in Liechtenstein received extensive support.

In accordance with the Culture Promotion Act (2008), the Liechtenstein Cultural Foundation submits its annual budget, report and accounts to the government. The law sets out the funding principles. In its annual reports, the Cultural Advisory Council provides information on the funding that has been distributed to organisations, individuals and projects. The same applies to the Adult Education Foundation.

The Swiss intercantonal national lottery, known as Swisslos since 2003, has been running lotteries and sports betting in Liechtenstein since 1968. Swisslos is considered the most important promoter of culture and sport in Switzerland. Since 2011, the Gambling Act has been in force in Liechtenstein, which means that Swiss lottery law in Liechtenstein only applies to large Swiss operators such as Swisslos. Swisslos paid out a profit share totalling CHF 2.27 million to Liechtenstein in 2020, compared to CHF 2.15 million in 2019. One-third goes to the state treasury.

Last update: May, 2023

The cultural sector in Liechtenstein creates and supports jobs. While the Liechtenstein Statistics Office reported 58 full-time and part-time employees in the publishing and media sector in 2010, 252 employees in the education sector and 107 in the cultural sector, the numbers increased to 176, 1268 and 839, respectively, by 2019.

Employees in art and cultural organisations, institutions and associations are subject to the general law. There is no special social security framework for these individuals in Liechtenstein. This also applies to self-employed freelance artists, who generally are not entitled to unemployment insurance benefits. They also have to provide for their own occupational pension.

Liechtenstein introduced a “social time card” for volunteer work in 2003, such as for cultural associations. The card documents volunteer activities and thus becomes a personal job reference for use in the search for employment.

IG Kunst & Kultur (see 1.2.5) has continued to raise the issue of improving the economic conditions and social security of those working in the arts and culture.

Last update: May, 2023

Indirect state support for the arts and culture in the form of tax concessions is not regulated in a separate law, but in specialised laws. In the case of value added tax, a lower rate of 2.5 per cent instead of the usual 7.7 per cent applies to some cultural assets (such as books).

For volunteer and honorary work, the OASI-IV-FAK pension insurance and the tax administration have maintained an administrative practice since 2007 that relieves the burden on associations. Compensation paid by associations to their members as board compensation or for (occasional) work assignments is recognised as an expense allowance in the amount of CHF 350 per month or CHF 4,200 per year and thus as a contribution- and tax-free expense allowance (Art. 9(b) Tax Ordinance (SteV) and Art. 10(4) Ordinance on the Old-Age and Survivors Insurance (AHVV)).

Last update: May, 2023

The labour law applicable in Liechtenstein is regulated in the General Civil Code (CC) Section 1173a Art. 1 et seqq. and in the Act on Employment in Business, Trade and Industry (EmpA) as well as ordinances. It defines the rights and obligations of the employer and the employee with regard to work performance, pay, equal treatment of the sexes, leave, free time, occupational pension schemes, insurance, protective devices, termination of employment, etc. The Gender Equality Act (GEA) of March 1999 plus updates of April 2011 and June 2021 regulates the equality of men and women in the workplace. There are no special laws in Liechtenstein on working conditions for artists and other cultural creators. General labour laws apply.

There are collective agreements in force in a number of sectors, which in Liechtenstein are called collective employment agreements (CEA) and can be declared generally binding by the government according to the Act on the Declaration of the General Application of Collective Employment Agreements (DGAA). The social partners have set up the SAVE Foundation to monitor and enforce generally binding CEAs and have appointed the Central Joint Commission (ZKP) for monitoring purposes. CEAs are negotiated by the social partners: by the Liechtenstein Employees’ Association (LANV) on the employees’ side, and by the Chamber of Commerce (WKL) and the Liechtenstein Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) on the employers’ side.

Last update: May, 2023

Liechtenstein joined the Universal Copyright Convention in 1958. The Principality is a member of the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works and various special treaties such as the WIPO Copyright Treaty (WCT). Since May 2021, the Marrakesh Treaty on Facilitating Access to Published Works for People Who Are Blind, Visually Impaired or Otherwise Print Disabled has been in force in Liechtenstein. As is the Beijing Treaty on the Protection of Audiovisual Performances.

As an EEA country, Liechtenstein has also adopted EU directives on copyright since joining the European Economic Area (1995). As a consequence of the EEA Agreement and the agreement on Trade Related Aspects on Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS), Liechtenstein committed to the implementation of rules under the agreements pertaining to intellectual property. The provisions were incorporated into the Law on Copyrights and Related Intellectual Property Rights LGBl. 1999 No 160 and a 1999 ordinance.

The Copyright Act governs the protection of originators of literary works or artworks, protection of practising artists, directors, and producers of audio and audiovisual media, broadcasters and the activities of collecting societies as well as their supervision. The following applies: A work is copyrighted from the point of completion, independent of whether it has been medially recorded or not. The copyright lapses 70 years after the death of the originator.

The Act creates the basis for awarding concessions having national supply responsibility for the collective realisation of copyrights. In a June 2007 call for proposals, the government once again awarded corresponding concessions to the Swiss Society for the Rights of Authors of Original Works SUISA, ProLitteris, SUISSIMAGE and SWISSPERFORM. All collecting societies active in Liechtenstein are obligated to name a domestic summonable address. In cases where public institutions permit the use of literature and art, for example, teachers, businesses, institutions, commissions, public administrations, libraries and copy centres, fees must be paid to the originator. A new Collecting Societies Act (VGG) (LGBl. 2018 No. 111) has been in force since March 2018.

In September 2014, Liechtenstein amended the Copyright and Related Rights Act and adopted the EU Directive 2012/28/EU for the use of orphan works into national law. As a result, orphan works can also be made digitally accessible on the internet. A frequent phenomenon, especially with older holdings in archives, museums and libraries, are works protected by copyright whose right holder is unknown or cannot be found.

In 2020, Liechtenstein incorporated provisions of the EU Directive 2017/1564 into the Copyright Act. This allows persons who are blind, visually impaired or print disabled, as well as “authorised bodies” such as libraries for the blind and schools for the blind, to produce accessible formats of texts and associated illustrations without the permission of the author and to lend them offline and online to people with visual or reading disabilities.

Last update: May, 2023

The European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) has also been applicable law in the non-EU countries of the European Economic Area Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein since July 2018. Its goal is to keep pace with technical and economic developments, the flood of data and the global exchange of data. The GDPR is designed to protect individuals with regard to the processing of their data by competent authorities for the purposes of the prevention, investigation, detection or prosecution of criminal offences, the execution of criminal penalties and the free movement of such data. As a result, the processing of personal data is harmonised across the EU. The new legal framework is also intended to protect citizens’ fundamental rights and promote the (digital) single market.

Following the complete overhaul of the Data Protection Act (DPA) of October 2018 and the Data Protection Ordinance (DPO), Liechtenstein adopts the new legal framework of the EU and replaces the Data Protection Act of 2002. The German Federal Data Protection Act (BDSG), a pioneering data protection law in Europe, served as a template for the overall reform.

The Liechtenstein Data Protection Act of 2002 had implemented the 1995 EU directive: to guarantee the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data. For around 20 years, the Data Protection Directive was the basis for the Europe-wide but fragmented harmonisation of data protection law.

In 2008, Liechtenstein further adjusted its Data Protection Law to the EU Data Protection Directive. In 2009, Liechtenstein established an independent and autonomous Data Protection Unit, as called for by Article 28 of the EU Data Protection Directive. The unit is attached to the Liechtenstein Parliament. Liechtenstein’s data protection had thus attained the level of the EU, as was necessary for Liechtenstein’s access to the Schengen/Dublin agreement at the end of 2011.

In doing so, the Data Protection Unit also keeps an eye on the intersection between security and compliance with fundamental rights. To be sure, a heightened sense of security leads to demands for as well as further developments of security measures. Data retention, facial recognition and video surveillance are just a few such measures implemented by the state. They are meant to increase security, but at the same time they also affect human rights such as privacy.

In November 2008, Liechtenstein also signed the Council of Europe Convention on Cybercrime of 2001 (CCC) and amended its criminal laws accordingly. The Council of Europe Convention on Cybercrime is the first international convention to combat computer and cybercrime. This mainly concerns copyright violations, computer fraud, child pornography and breaches of electronic network security. The primary purpose of the Convention is to pursue a common criminal justice policy for protection against computer-related offences through appropriate legislation and the promotion of international cooperation. Under the Convention, signatory states are required to adapt their legislation to the challenges posed by new information technologies. Liechtenstein made various substantive and procedural adjustments to its national legal system in 2015 in order to implement the Convention in full.

Last update: May, 2023

According to Article 6 of the Constitution, German is the national language in Liechtenstein and is taught as the mother tongue for around 87 per cent of the population at all schools.

Liechtenstein also signed the Council of Europe’s European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages in 1998 to preserve its dialects. The objective of this Charter is to promote the written and oral use of dialects as an essential element of Europe’s cultural richness and diversity.

According to the School Act of November 1929, the language of instruction is the written German language. As stated in an ordinance of December 2001, a one-year intensive course in “German as a Second Language” is offered in an attempt to compensate for any deficits.

Like the European Commission, Liechtenstein speaks out against racism and intolerance. At the same time, the government, authorities and Parliament are convinced that mastering the German language is an important tool to improve the integration of immigrants from non-German speaking regions. A minority of the Liechtenstein population comes from non-German-speaking countries. The Foreign Nationals Act (FNA) of September 2008 stipulates that learning the German language forms a necessary part of integration. Since 2008, foreign nationals wishing to acquire Liechtenstein nationality must demonstrate that they have mastered the German language and that they have basic knowledge of the legal order, structure of the state, history and culture of the country. Acquisition of citizenship is seen as the final point of successful integration. At the same time, the period for simplified naturalisation due to marriage was reduced from ten to five years. In 2008, the government created the position of an integration commissioner, followed in December 2010 by the development of a comprehensive integration concept. Currently, the Integration Strategy 2021 is in effect.

Last update: May, 2023

Gender equality

With 17 Sustainable Development Goals, the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development sets out areas in which Liechtenstein is seeking to make progress. In the 2019 country report “Sustainability in Liechtenstein”, the government lists eight priorities for increased engagement. For example, action is particularly needed on item 5 “Gender equality”, with the Association for Human Rights (VMRG) in particular pointing out the urgency of measures to improve the reconciliation of family and work. By law, the VMRG has been the UN human rights institution in Liechtenstein since 2017. In recent decades, Liechtenstein has gradually eliminated statutory discrimination between men and women and established legal equality. The Liechtenstein Constitution stipulates in Art. 31 para. 2 that men and women have equal rights. The Gender Equality Act (GEA) of March 1999 guarantees legal protection for girls and women against discrimination in employment relationships governed by private and public law. However, women are significantly less likely to hold leadership positions in professional life than men. In 2015, over 40 per cent of men held executive positions, but only just over 20 per cent of women. The median wage of women in 2016 was about 85 per cent of that of men.

In October 2021, the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence, the Istanbul Convention, entered into force in Liechtenstein. Its purpose is to protect women from all forms of violence and to help to eliminate all forms of discrimination, as well as to promote the empowerment of women.

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