Procedures
A received Austrian code applied by a single first-instance court in Vaduz
Liechtenstein received Austrian civil procedure, so its ZPO tracks the 1895 Austrian code and Austrian case law is a standard interpretive aid. All civil matters begin in the Fürstliches Landgericht in Vaduz, with appeal to the Obergericht and then the Oberster Gerichtshof.
Key rules
- The Fürstliches Landgericht is the single court of first instance for all civil claims, whatever their value.
- Appeal (Berufung) lies to the Obergericht, and a further appeal (Revision) to the Oberster Gerichtshof on points of law.
- A Vermittleramt mediation attempt is required before certain actions are commenced.
- Private law follows the Austrian ABGB, so limitation periods track the Austrian scheme: thirty years generally, three years for damages claims.
- The Staatsgerichtshof hears individual complaints that a final judgment violated a constitutional or ECHR right.
Governing law
- Zivilprozessordnung (ZPO) (LGBl)Received from the Austrian code of 1895
- Allgemeines bürgerliches Gesetzbuch (ABGB)Austrian private law as received in Liechtenstein
- StaatsgerichtshofgesetzIndividual constitutional complaint after exhaustion of appeals
In practice
Two features matter disproportionately for a jurisdiction of this size. Because the code is received, Austrian commentary and OGH case law are cited routinely — a practitioner researching a Liechtenstein procedural point will spend most of the time in Austrian sources. And because Liechtenstein is an EEA rather than EU member, EEA law reaches the courts through the EFTA Court rather than the CJEU, which changes the reference route in any dispute with a single-market dimension.