Politics of Liechtenstein

The current iteration of the Constitution of Liechtenstein was adopted in March 2003, amending the 1921 constitution. The 1921 constitution had established Liechtenstein as a constitutional monarchy headed by the reigning prince of the Princely House of Liechtenstein; a parliamentary system had been established, although the reigning Prince retained substantial political authority.^[1][2][3]

In a national referendum in March 2003, nearly two-thirds of the electorate voted in support of Hans-Adam II's proposed constitutional reform. The proposals were criticised by many, including the Council of Europe, as it expanded the powers of the monarchy (extending monarch's power of veto law, increasing his executive authority, and allowing him to dismiss the government, or any minister, at will). The Prince threatened that if the constitution failed, he would, among other things, convert some princely property for commercial use and move to Austria.^[4] The princely family and the Prince enjoy tremendous public support inside the nation, and the resolution passed with about 64% in favour.^[5] A proposal to revoke the Prince's veto powers was rejected by 76% of voters in a 2012 referendum.^[6]

 

The monarch is hereditary. Following legislative elections, the head of government is appointed by the prince and proposed and voted on by the parliament. Thus the government is usually composed of the members of the majority party. It is, however, also customary that the leader of the largest minority party in the Diet is appointed the deputy head of government by the monarch. According to the constitution of Liechtenstein, the government is a collegiate body and consists of the head of government and four governmental councilors.

Amendment to the constitution or new law have to be adopted by Parliament, signed by both the Prince and the head of government, and published in the Principality's Law Gazette.

Prince Hans Adam II is the current head of state. His constitutional powers include the power to veto any legislation, to be used at his discretion, as well as the dissolution of the parliament (this may be subject to a referendum). He represents the state vis-à-vis foreign states. He signs international treaties either in person or delegates this function to a plenipotentiary. Some treaties under international law only become valid when they have been ratified by Parliament. On the basis of the names put forward by Parliament, the Prince nominates the government, district and high court judges, the judges of the Supreme Court, and the presidents and their deputies of the Constitutional Court and of the Administrative Court of Appeal.^[7] The Prince's other authorities include exercising the right to mitigate and commute punishments that have been imposed with legal force and the abolition — i.e., the dismissal — of investigations that have been initiated. All judgments are issued in the name of the Prince.

In August 2004, Prince Hans-Adam handed over the day-to-day running of the country to his son, Crown Prince Alois, while still remaining the official head of state.^[8]

 

The Government of Liechtenstein is based on the principle of collegiality; namely, of colleagues collaborating with each other. The government consists of the head of government and four Councilors. The members of the government are proposed by the Parliament and are appointed by the Prince. Only men or women born in Liechtenstein, and who are eligible to be elected to Parliament, may be elected to the government committee. The two electoral areas of the country, the highlands and the lowlands, are entitled to at least two members of the government, and their respective deputies must come from the same area.^[9]

According to the constitution, the cabinet shall consist of the Prime Minister and four other Ministers. The Prime Minister and the other Ministers shall be appointed by the Reigning Prince with the agreement of Parliament and on its proposal. On the proposal of Parliament, one of the Ministers shall be appointed by the Reigning Prince as the Deputy Prime Minister. If an individual Minister should lose the confidence of the Reigning Prince or of Parliament, the decision on the loss of the authority of the Minister to exercise his functions shall be taken by mutual agreement of the Reigning Prince and Parliament. Until a new Minister has been appointed, the official duties of the Minister shall be performed by the Minister's alternate.^[10]

 

The Prince's involvement in legislation consists in a right to take initiatives in the form of government bills and in the right to veto parliamentary proposals. The Prince has the power to enact princely decrees. Emergency princely decrees are possible when the security and welfare of the country is at stake. A countersignature by the head of government is, nevertheless, required. The Prince has the right to convene and adjourn parliament and, for serious reasons, to adjourn it for 3 months or to dissolve it.

The Landtag of Liechtenstein has 25 members, elected for a four-year term by proportional representation in two multi-seat constituencies. Until 1989, 15 members represented the population of the two constituencies (six for the lowland area and nine for the highland area). Since 1989 the lowland constituency has been entitled to have 10 members and the highland area 15. The Landtag's main task is to discuss and adopt resolutions on constitutional proposals and draft government bills. It has the additional duties of giving its assent to important international treaties; of electing members of the government, judges, and board members of the Principality's institutions; setting the annual budget and approving taxes and other public charges; and supervising the administration of the state. The Landtag observes its rights and duties in the course of sessions of the whole Landtag and through the parliamentary commissions that it elects. All members of the Landtag exercise their mandates in addition to their normal professions or occupations. The President of the Landtag and his deputy are both elected at the opening meeting for the current year. The president convenes the individual meetings during the session, leads them, and represent the Landtag externally.^[11] During the parliamentary recess — normally from January to February/March — a "state committee" assumes Parliament's duties, and such a committee must also be elected in the case of any adjournment or dissolution of Parliament. A "state committee" consists of the president of Parliament and four other members.^[12] The duties and working procedures of Parliament are laid down in the constitution and in Parliament's standing orders.

Moreover, the people of Liechtenstein have very strong direct democratic rights. If called for by at least 1,000 citizens, a referendum on any law can be initiated. Referendums can suspend parliament or change the constitution, but at least 1500 citizens must vote affirmative, so referendums to suspend parliament or change the constitution fail if they have low turnout even if the required percentage of total voters is met.

The political parties are in practice politically decisive and are the moving forces with regard to the composition of the government. In the 2001-05 legislature period of office, one Councillor and three deputies were women.

From 1938 to 1997 Liechtenstein had a coalition government. Until recently there were only two parties in Parliament: the Patriotic Union and the Progressive Citizens' Party. Liechtenstein's distinctive form of coalition government came to an end in April 1997, when the Patriotic Union won an absolute majority of seats. It took sole responsibility for the government during the 1997 to 2001 Parliament, with its members filling all the positions on the government committee. Between 2001 and 2009, the Progressive Citizen's Party formed the government, winning an absolute majority in the 2001 elections^[13] and the most seats in the 2005 elections.^[14] The Patriotic Union once again won an absolute majority of seats in the February 2009 elections.^[15] Minority parties, as opposition parties, act as a check on the government in Parliament and on parliamentary commissions.

The VU and FBP both received 35.9% of the vote. The result was close between the top two parties with the VU initially reported to have received just 23 votes more than the FBP; in later results, the gap was marginally wider at 42 votes.^[16][17][18] The FBP result was a slight improvement on their 2017 performance when they received 35.2% of the vote, while the VU increased their vote share from 33.7%. Both the VU and FBP won ten seats, an increase from eight and nine respectively.^[16][19] The FBP and VU will be called upon to form a coalition to govern the country as they had before the election. With both parties tied on ten seats, it was not clear which party leader would be elected prime minister.^[17] The Independents saw their share fall from 18.4% to just 4.2% and failed to win a seat, a reduction of five on their 2017 result. The Free List received 12.9% of the vote, a moderate increase from their 12.7% in 2017, and kept their representation at three seats which made them the third-largest party in the Landtag. The new party, Democrats for Liechtenstein received 11.1% of the vote and won two seats.^[16][19]

A total of 15,901 ballots were cast, resulting in a 78% voter turnout. The vast majority (97%) of ballots were cast by post.^[16] The results were described by local media as some of the most exciting in recent history.^[20]

Party		Votes	%	Seats	+/–
	Patriotic Union	72,361	35.89	10	+2
	Progressive Citizens' Party	72,319	35.87	10	+1
	Free List	25,943	12.87	3	0
	Democrats for Liechtenstein	22,456	11.14	2	New
	The Independents	8,556	4.24	0	–5
Total		201,635	100.00	25	0
Valid votes		15,284	96.12
Invalid/blank votes		617	3.88
Total votes		15,901	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		20,384	78.01
Source: Landtagswahlen

Those in bold elected to the Landtag. Those in italics elected deputy Landtag members.

The main part of the Judicial Branch of Liechtenstein is made up of the Supreme Court (German: Oberster Gerichtshof), the Princely Court of Appeals (German: Fürstliches Obergericht, lit. 'Princely Higher Court'), and the Princely Court of Justice (German: Fürstliches Landgericht, lit. 'Princely Land Court').^[21]

In the sphere of administrative law there is also the Administrative Court, and in the sphere of constitutional law there is the State Court.

Liechtenstein is divided in eleven communes (German: Gemeinden); Balzers, Eschen, Gamprin, Mauren, Planken, Ruggell, Schaan, Schellenberg, Triesen, Triesenberg, and Vaduz.

Municipalities of Liechtenstein are entitled under the constitution to secede from the union by majority vote.^[22]

The autonomy of the Liechtenstein communities is in the upper range compared to the other Central European states along with Switzerland. Despite their small size, the municipalities have complex forms in terms of their territorial extent: in addition to a main part, seven municipalities also include one or more exclaves. Citizens' cooperatives, which exist in about half of Liechtenstein's municipalities, own forests and pastures for collective use, as well as parceled areas that are left for private use.^{[citation needed]}

The municipalities of Liechtenstein are divided between the two electoral districts of Unterland and Oberland. This division is historical; the Unterland depends^{[clarification needed]} on Schellenberg, the Oberland on the county of Vaduz.^[23]

Liechtenstein is a member of the following organizations:

• Council of Europe
• EBRD
• U.N. Economic Commission for Europe
• European Free Trade Association
• International Atomic Energy Agency
• International Criminal Court
• ICRM
• IFRCS
• Intelsat, Interpol
• International Olympic Committee
• ITU
• OPCW
• Organization for Security and Co-Operation in Europe
• PCA
• United Nations
• UNCTAD
• Universal Postal Union, WCL
• World Intellectual Property Organization
• World Trade Organization