4. Law and legislation
Liechtenstein
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.
Last update: May, 2023
In Protocol 31 to the EEA Agreement on cooperation in specific fields outside the four freedoms, the EFTA States of Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein pledge to strengthen cooperation in the field of culture with the EU. LGBl. 1995 No. 068.131
Under the Government and Administration Organisation Ordinance (GAOO), cultural promotion, museums, stamps, national archives, libraries, monument protection and cultural asset preservation are assigned to the Ministry of Social Affairs and Culture. The Music School, the School of Fine Arts, the University and adult education are assigned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Education and Sport. LGBl. 2013 No. 163
The Culture Promotion Act (CuPA) regulates the state promotion of cultural creation by private individuals in literature, music, the performing and visual arts, audiovisual media as well as the preservation of local history and customs. LGBl. 2007 No. 290
The Liechtenstein Cultural Foundation Act (LCFA) regulates the tasks of the Foundation in accordance with the Cultural Promotion Act. The mandate of the Cultural Foundation is to develop artistic and cultural creation at a high level of quality through state funding. LGBl. 2007 No. 291
The Act on the Protection, Preservation and Maintenance of Cultural Assets (Cultural Assets Protection Act, CAPA) serves to implement the European Cultural Convention (1954), the European Convention for the Protection of the Archaeological Heritage (1992), the Convention for the Protection of the Architectural Heritage of Europe (1985), the Convention of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict (1954). LGBl. 2016 No. 270
With the Convention on the Protection of the Alps (Alpine Convention), Liechtenstein undertakes, among other things, to preserve and promote the cultural and social autonomy of the people in the Alpine region. LGBl. 1995 No. 186
(Source: gesetze.li)
Last update: May, 2023
The Liechtenstein National Museum Act (LNMA) stipulates that the independent foundation under public law is responsible for the collection, maintenance, exhibition and communication of Liechtenstein cultural assets as well as the promotion of the understanding of Liechtenstein’s geography and history. LGBl. 2009 No. 369
The Archives Act defines the contents of the National Archives and the state archives, as well as the administration and safeguarding of the archival property and its use. LGBl. 1997 No. 215
The purpose of the Liechtenstein National Library Act (LNLA) includes the task of collecting Liechtenstein literature and texts in their entirety. These include, for example, all Liechtenstein newspapers from 1863 to 2005 and the yearbooks of the Historical Society since 1902. LGBl. 2009 No. 368
Liechtenstein is a member of a number of international conventions, including the Hague Convention (1954) for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict, including the Second Protocol (1999), the Granada Convention (1985) for the Protection of the Architectural Heritage of Europe, the Malta Convention (1992) for the Protection of Archaeological Heritage, the International Venice Charter (1964) for the Conservation and Restoration of Monuments and Sites, and the Lausanne Charter (1989) for the Protection and Management of the Archaeological Heritage.
In principle, the protection of cultural assets is regulated in the Cultural Assets Protection Act (see 4.2.1).
Last update: May, 2023
The Culture Promotion Act (see 4.2.1) is the legal basis also for performing arts and music.
The Liechtenstein Music School Act (LMSA) defines the mandate to promote the musical life of the country through the teaching of instrumental and vocal music. The Music School plays a significant role in shaping cultural life through numerous events. Yearly highlights are the International Master Classes and the music competition “Making Music in Liechtenstein”. The Music School trains the next generation of musicians for the country’s music associations and prepares all age groups for admission to all types of higher education institutions for music. LGBl. 2009 No. 371
Last update: May, 2023
The Culture Promotion Act (see 4.2.1) strengthens and simplifies the state’s cultural mandate. Culture at the beginning of the 21st century is interpreted in a contemporary way and includes music, visual arts, literature, architecture, theatre, dance and film, as well as folk culture, science and monument preservation, museums and exhibitions.
The Liechtenstein Art Museum Foundation Act (LAMFA) defines the mission of the Art Museum: among other things, to expand, scientifically process and maintain the collections of visual arts, as well as to promote the understanding of art and culture, and to boost Liechtenstein’s reputation abroad. LGBl. 2000 No. 137
The Temporary Immunity of Cultural Assets Act (TICAA) regulates the return guarantee of collection objects sent to Liechtenstein from abroad for exhibitions. This law for the immunity of cultural assets promotes the exchange of cultural assets between museums and facilitates cross-border exhibitions. LGBl. 2008 No. 009
The purpose of the Liechtenstein School of Fine Arts Foundation Act (SFAFA) includes the development and promotion of creative perception, design and expression as well as aesthetic education and cultural training, and its operation as an educational institution that prepares children, young people and adults for admission to art academies. LGBl. 2002 No. 022
Last update: May, 2023
The Liechtenstein National Library Act (LNLA) also defines the purpose of the National Library. Thus, the National Library not only collects Liechtenstein literature and texts, it also makes specialist literature available for scientific research and provides books for education and entertainment. LGBl. 2009 No. 368
Freedom of expression is enshrined in Article 40 of the Liechtenstein Constitution. This also includes freedom of the media, which refers to print, radio, television and digital media (see 4.1.1).
The Media Act guarantees the freedom of the media, the right to information and the protection of journalism. It also calls for journalistic diligence, accountability under media law and constitutionality. LGBl. 2005 No. 250
With this media law, Liechtenstein amended and integrated the existing laws to bring them in line with the information age. The law expands the protection of media consumers and makes media integration and responsibilities transparent. It prevents media concentration to ensure diversity, and it implements the EU’s TV and broadcasting directives.
The Media Promotion Act of 2006 regulates the specifically Liechtenstein way of promoting media. Compared to the surrounding countries and regions, Liechtenstein has an astonishing media density for its size. The Liechtenstein market is (too) small for two daily newspapers, a weekly newspaper, a Sunday newspaper, various other newspapers and magazines, online portals, a TV station and a radio station. Media promotion is intended to help maintain or expand Liechtenstein’s media diversity for the purpose of ensuring a diversity of opinion as well as a democratic process of opinion-forming. LGBl. 2006 No. 223
Last update: May, 2023
Liechtenstein media law is essentially based on the Liechtenstein Radio Act (LRA) LGBl. 2003 No. 229 and the Media Act LGBl. 2005 No. 250
The Liechtenstein Media Act follows an integral approach that responds to media convergence as a result of digitalisation. It consists of a General Part (Art. 1–54), which applies to all types of media, and a Special Part for terrestrial broadcasting and for television-like online media (Art. 55–81). This integral approach has proved successful.
The amendment of the Liechtenstein Media Act and the LRA to implement the EU Directive 2010/13/EU in 2013 was therefore limited to the provisions of the Directive “on audiovisual media services”.
By enacting the Electronic Communications Act (Communications Act, ComA), Liechtenstein adopted the overall reform of the European regulatory framework for electronic communications, known as the “2002 Telecoms Package”, which was completed in 2002. The most important innovation compared to the telecommunications legislation adopted in Liechtenstein in 1996 is that the licence regime has been abolished and all activities in the field of electronic communications may be provided without a licence. LGBl. 2006 No. 091
Last update: May, 2023
Art in public buildings has become a subject of discussion over the last fifteen years. The Liechtenstein Building Act of December 2009 regulates the construction, alteration, demolition, maintenance and use of buildings and facilities for the purpose of promoting the quality of design and settlement in the municipalities. Under Article 4, funds must be made available for artistic design for new buildings and conversions of public buildings. The benchmark for buildings is one per cent of the construction costs. LGBl. 2009 No. 044
Liechtenstein has neither its own patent law nor its own patent office. Patents for inventions are subject to Swiss patent law (Patent Treaty of 1978). They are administered by the Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual Property (IPI) in Bern. However, Liechtenstein has its own Trademark Protection Act (1997). As a result of its EEA membership (1995) and its customs treaty with Switzerland (1923), Liechtenstein must comply with both jurisdictions.
With the Designs Act (DesA) of September 2002, Liechtenstein created the legal basis for accession to the Hague Agreement, amended by the Geneva Act 1999, which regulates the international registration of industrial designs. Anyone who registers a design internationally, for example with the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), enjoys protection in 65 member states (including the EU and Switzerland). LGBl. 2002 No. 134