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HUMAN RIGHTS COMMITTEE CONSIDERS REPORT OF LIECHTENSTEIN
16 July 2004
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Human Rights Committee
16 July 2004
The Human Rights Committee has considered the initial report of Liechtenstein on how that State party implements the provisions of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
Introducing the report, Christian Wenaweser, Permanent Representative of Liechtenstein to the United Nations in New York, said his Government had taken a strong interest in the work of all treaty bodies and, in the recent past, had focused attention in particular on the issue of treaty body reform. In Liechtenstein, there was increasing recognition of the importance of the work of the United Nations in general and therefore also of the human rights treaties to which Liechtenstein was a party, Mr. Wenaweser added.
In preliminary remarks, Committee Chairperson Abdelfattah Amor took note that Liechtenstein had promised to withdraw some of its reservations to the Covenant in the near future which, he said, was to the credit of the State party. The Chairperson also noted with satisfaction that Liechtenstein did not extradite persons to countries where the death penalty was practiced. Of concern to the Committee were the issues of right-wing extremism, religious tolerance, the status of women and the situation of those arrested by the police.
Other Committee Experts raised questions on subjects pertaining, among other things, to domestic legislation in relation to the Covenant, gender equality and domestic violence, right-wing extremism, the penal system, foreigners, religious tolerance and the election of judges.
The Committee will issue its formal, written concluding observations and recommendations on the report of Liechtenstein towards the end of its session which will conclude on 30 July.
The delegation of Liechtenstein also included representatives of the country’s Immigration and Passport Office, the National Police and the Office for Foreign Affairs.
Liechtenstein is among the 152 States parties to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and as such it is obligated to submit reports on its performance aimed at implementing the provisions of the treaty. It is also one of the 104 States parties to the Optional Protocol to the Covenant.
The Committee will reconvene at 10 a.m. on Monday, 19 July to begin its consideration of the initial report of Serbia and Montenegro (CCPR/C/SEMO/2003/1).
Report of Liechtenstein
The initial report of Liechtenstein contained in document CCPR/C/LIE/2003/1 comprises general information on Liechtenstein and the respect for human rights as well as general guidelines of the Human Rights Committee, the treaty body of the International Covenant for Civil and Political Rights. The Parliament of Liechtenstein, known as the Diet, is elected for a term of four years and has the principal functions to participate in the elaboration of legislation, approve international treaties and elect judges upon recommendation by the special election body, among other things. The Constitution of Liechtenstein contains a catalogue of fundamental rights, specifically the right to freedom of residence and the right to own property, personal freedom, the right to due process before a duly appointed judge, and the right to free expression and freedom of the press. The Constitution also guarantees equality before the law for all citizens and stipulates that the rights of foreigners shall be determined by international treaties.
With the entry into force of the new Penal Code in 1988, the death penalty previously provided for therein was abolished. The procedure concerning custody pending extradition is governed by the Mutual Legal Assistance Act. The duration of custody pending extradition may not exceed six months and unlawfully arrested persons and persons arrested or sentenced who are proven to be innocent are thereby entitled to full compensation by the State as determined by the court. According to the law, persons held in pre-trial detention may not be detained jointly with convicts and as per the Juvenile Court Act minors held in pre-trial detention must be kept separate from adult prisoners. Liechtenstein has concluded a treaty with the Republic of Austria on the imprisonment of convicts. According to the provisions of this treaty, Austria grants legal assistance to Liechtenstein upon request by imprisoning persons who are to be held in custody pursuant to an order of a Liechtenstein court. Decisions concerning the duration of imprisonment are the prerogative of Liechtenstein authorities. Imprisonment is otherwise governed by Austrian law. Similar cooperation exists between Liechtenstein and individual cantons of Switzerland.
Deportation of a foreign citizen with a temporary residence permit or a permanent residence permit is only permissible if the foreign citizen is convicted of a criminal offence or if the foreign citizen or a person under the foreign citizen’s care is a substantial burden to social welfare, among other things. The question of family reunification plays an important role in Liechtenstein immigration policy, in view of the extraordinarily high proportion of foreigners in the population and the small size of the country, the report states.
Presentation of Report
CHRISTIAN WENAWESER, Permanent Representative of Liechtenstein to the United Nations in New York, said that the promotion and protection of human rights was an overarching foreign policy priority of Liechtenstein, including in particular in its work at the United Nations. As a young member of the United Nations, Liechtenstein had ratified six core human rights instruments and strongly subscribed to the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action. Moreover, Liechtenstein supported the streamlining of human rights issues into the overall agenda of the United Nations work and advocated an increase in the budget allocations of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Mr. Wenaweser said.
Liechtenstein had taken a strong interest in the work of all treaty bodies and, in the recent past, had focused attention in particular on the issue of treaty body reform. In the opinion of the Government of Liechtenstein, effective reform measures were urgently needed concerning the burden of reporting placed on States. In response, it had organized an expert meeting on treaty body reform last year, in cooperation with the Office of the High Commissioner, which addressed a wide range of issues relevant to treaty body reform.
Mr. Wenaweser said that as a member of the Council of Europe, Liechtenstein was a State Party to the European Convention on Human Rights and therefore awareness of that human rights treaty among the general population was stronger than awareness of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. However, there was increasing recognition of the importance of the work of the United Nations in general and therefore also of the human rights treaties to which Liechtenstein was a party.
As far as the report was concerned, the head of delegation said, the drafting of the report was coordinated by the Office for Foreign Affairs in accordance with the guidelines issued by the Committee. The Government of Liechtenstein felt confident about its human rights record and was at the same time interested in ways of improving its national policies “because there is no perfection in the area of human rights”, Mr. Wenaweser said.
Discussion
Responses to Questions on the Constitutional Framework in which the Covenant is Implemented
In response to a written question, the delegation said Liechtenstein’s legal order did not contain explicit provisions governing the domestic status of treaties. The Constitutional Court had repeatedly found that international treaties approved by Parliament attained at least the status of statutory law in the domestic legal order. The status of treaties that substantively concerned constitutional law was formally below the Constitution, since they had not formally been adopted as a constitutional act. Moreover, with respect to the question of legal status of the Covenant in the domestic legal order, the jurisdiction of the Constitutional Court to decide on individual complaints and to review ordinances was of particular importance.
Since the entry into force of the first Optional Protocol for Liechtenstein in 1999, the delegation said, no individual complaint for alleged violation of rights guaranteed by the Covenant had been lodged with the Constitutional Court. Liechtenstein abided by the principle that treaty obligations should be entered into only when they could be fully complied with. Before acceding to or ratifying any international treaty, the compatibility of domestic legislation with the provisions of the treaty was thoroughly examined. In cases of conflicting provisions, Parliament either amended domestic legislation at the same time as it approved the ratification of the international treaty or it decided to enter the necessary reservations to the treaty.
Concerning the free movement of persons, Liechtenstein had a quota system of working and residence permits. On stateless persons, a comprehensive review of the situation of stateless persons was currently underway.
In response to a question posed orally by the Committee, the delegation said that due to its small size Liechtenstein there was a prohibition for certain short-term residents and students to let their families join them, however, in some special cases the Government had made exceptions.
The power of the State was embodied in the Reigning Prince and the people and was exercised by both in accordance with the Constitution, the delegation noted. The foundation of the Liechtenstein order was therefore a constitutionalism with separation of powers between the Reigning Prince and the people. Moreover, the Reigning Prince could indirectly trigger the termination of office of the entire Government by dissolving Parliament. The powers of the Reigning Prince prior to the constitutional revision of March 2003 included the right to dismiss the Government or individual Ministers from office, however, this right had never been exercised in practice.
The veto of right of the Reigning Prince, which was previously unlimited in time, had now been limited to six months through a Constitutional amendment. The sanction of the Reigning Prince was an essential part of the legislative process and allowed the Reigning Prince to prevent enactment of substantively misguided or unconstitutional laws. In practice, however, there had been only very few cases in which the Reigning Prince had been denied.
With respect to the succession to the throne, the Law on the Princely House contained the century-old rule of the lineal primogeniture, according to which the first-born of the oldest line of the House of Liechtenstein was called to the throne. This rule had been valid since 1606.
Response to Questions on the Equality of Men and Women and Prohibition of Discrimination
In 1997, the Office for Gender Equality invited all women’s organizations to participate for the first time in the planning and realization of a joint project. As a result, the Liechtenstein Women’s Network was established, the delegation said. Since then, the organizations had jointly sponsored an anti-violence campaign, set up an annual programme for the International Day of Women, and organized two Women’s Congresses. The Women’s Network also discussed legislative proposals of the Government. Currently, seventeen organizations were engaged in the Women’s network. In response to an additional question, the delegation noted that the network did not offer any courses or education programmes.
Political life in Liechtenstein was still dominated by men, although there were positive tendencies towards a higher representation and participation of women, the delegation said. In elections for the national parliament, about one third of the candidates were female. However, the chances to get elected remained relatively small, with little more than 10 per cent of the seats finally taken by women. The situation was better on the local level with about 30 per cent of the seats filled with women in the Municipal Councils.
The percentage of women in the workplace had continued to grow during the last 70 years; in 2000 almost 45 per cent of all those employed were women.
The delegation said that looking at statistics, it could be seen that girls and boys were equally represented in primary and secondary schools, and in 2003 there were for the first time more girls than boys registered at the Liechtenstein high schools. At the university level women were catching up; they made up 43 per cent of all Liechtenstein students.
A special initiative, undertaken in 2000, addressed the issue of equal opportunities in the choice of profession. The project focused on girls and young women, raising their awareness for the importance of a good education and aiming at broadening the spectrum of possible professions. A further workshop on this topic was organized in 2002, especially sensitizing teachers and parents on gender specific education and role models.
With regard to the activities of right-wing extremists, the delegation said this situation had improved in Liechtenstein. Unfortunately there were still some isolated incidents such as sporadic verbal attacks against individuals or racist expressions sprayed anonymously on walls in public places. The public appearance of extremist groups, however, had virtually ceased, as well as any forms of organized racist action. The Government had decided to address the phenomenon in a broader manner through the prevention of the use of violence by young people in general. It had established a national commission which gave advice to the Government in view of a comprehensive violence prevention policy.
In response to a question on granting citizenship, the delegation said Liechtenstein nationality may be acquired in three different ways, namely by birth or adoption, through marriage or through naturalization. Except for the acquisition by birth, where dual citizenship was possible, a person acquiring Liechtenstein nationality had to renounce his or her former citizenship. Concerning naturalization, a minimum of five years was required to file such a request; during the past ten years 90 persons had acquired Liechtenstein citizenship through this procedure.
In response to a question on domestic violence, the delegation said that as per an amendment in the Police Act in 2001, additional powers had been granted to the police in relation to domestic violence; namely, the power to expel an offender from their household and the power to prohibit the offender from returning to their household for ten days. The victim could apply for an extension of the prohibition of the offender to return beyond the ten days. In practice there were about ten cases a year of this type.
Asked for clarification on matters pertaining to the Office of Gender Equality, the delegation said the Office worked together with its counterparts in Switzerland and Austria; one example of this inter-regional cooperation was the creation of a joint website on gender issues.
Response to Questions on Derogation
According to the Constitution, the delegation said, the Reigning Prince may “take necessary measures for the security and welfare of the State”. Emergency decrees may therefore only be enacted in grave circumstances. They also required the counter-signature by the Prime Minister. The constitutional revision of March 2003 did not expand the emergency powers of the Reigning Prince that had existed since 1921, but rather explicitly stated the already existing limits and restrictions.
Response to Questions on the Right to life, Right to Liberty and Security of Person, and the Rights of Persons Deprived of their Liberty
In response to a question posed by the Committee in writing, the delegation said the right to life had been explicitly included in the list of non-derogable rights under the provisions on emergency decrees. When elaborating on the Police Act of 1989, the Government took, in view of the close police cooperation with its neighbouring countries, the relevant Swiss law as a model. Practical questions on the application of the relevant provisions constituted an integral part of basic and continuous training of police officers in Liechtenstein.
The rate of use of firearms by national police in Liechtenstein was very low. The last case dated back to March 1996 when a police officer fired a warning shot to stop a robber. And in 1999 a weapon smuggler was shot by the Swiss border control forces after he shot a border control officer. There had been no more incidents of this kind in Liechtenstein during the last ten years.
There were plans to adopt a new provision recognising the right to inform a person of the prisoner’s choice immediately after entering the prison for prisoners on remand. The prisoner was informed of the right to choose a lawyer at the latest in the course of the first interrogation by the court. Additionally, any detainee could see his or her lawyer, a medical doctor, psychological therapists or a pastor without restriction to visiting hours and basically also without any further timely restrictions as long as security and order in operating the prison was not intolerably disturbed.
Liechtenstein’s special situation due to the existence of only one prison meant that contact to certain other prisoners had to be restricted more often than it were the case if these prisoners could be accommodated in different prisons in order to make contact between them impossible. Moreover, there was currently no legal basis for isolation in prison, not even for disciplinary measures, the delegation noted.
The delegation responded to a related question by saying Liechtenstein did not extradite persons to countries where the extradited person could be subject to the death penalty.
Response to Questions Concerning Aliens
The delegation indicated that decisions on expulsion must always respect the principle of proportionality. In any decision on expulsion, the relevant legally protected interests must be balanced and the international legal obligations of Liechtenstein must be respected, as stipulated in the Regulation on the Movement of Persons. No person requesting residence status with the proper documentation had been denied residence status for the past five years.
In response to a question on foreigners and minorities, the delegation said that in Liechtenstein, there were 90 different minorities including foreigners. Integration into society was the task of the whole society and raising awareness was the most successful strategy towards foreigners who wanted to become part of Liechtenstein society.
Response to Questions Concerning Independence of the Judiciary
The Constitution of 1921 did not uniformly regulate the appointment of judges, the delegation said. For the appointment of some of the highest judges, the mutual agreement of the Reigning Prince and Parliament was required and the Reigning Prince had absolute veto over the appointment of judges.
The Constitutional revision of March 2003 created a joint body of the Reigning Prince and Parliament for the selection of judges, consisting of representatives of Parliament and the Minister of Justice. The Reigning Prince himself chaired the body and had the casting vote. The body recommended candidates for election by Parliament. Moreover, the term of office of Constitutional Court judges was five years; the term of office of the Administrative Court, however, corresponded to the legislative term of Parliament.
Responses Concerning Questions on the Freedom of Religion, Freedom of Expression and the Right of Minorities
A question was asked on what measures had been taken by the State party given that there had been increased intolerance and prejudice towards Muslims in Liechtenstein after the events of 11 September 2001. In response the delegation mentioned the creation by the Government in June 2002 of a working group under the direction of the Office of Foreign Affairs which was mandated to develop a National Action Plan for the implementation of the Declaration and Programme of Action against racism adopted at the World Conference in Durban. In February 2003 the Government adopted its five-year National Action Plan based on Liechtenstein-specific recommendations by the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.
Through public relations and continuing education at various levels and in different forms, the population had been sensitized to the causes and the potential for conflict and violence against racism and xenophobia.
The delegation drew attention to the establishment of a working group specifically aimed at the integration of the Muslim population. The working group was composed of representatives of the two most important associations of Muslims in Liechtenstein and of the relevant offices of the national administration. It met regularly to discuss concrete integration measures.
Under the Constitution, the delegation said, the Roman Catholic Church enjoyed the explicit protection of the State. Other denominations enjoyed this protection indirectly through the constitutional guarantee for freedom of belief and conscience. This did not, however, give the Catholic Church the same status as an official State church.
In the framework of a general population census conducted in 2000, all persons living in Liechtenstein were asked to indicate their religious affiliation; 78.4 per cent of the total population said they were Roman Catholics, 8.3 per cent said they were Protestants and 4.8 per cent were Muslims, while 6.9 per cent either considered themselves to belong to no religious group at all or did not provide data on their religious affiliation.
The limitations to the freedom of expression mentioned in the report were either based on the need to protect the rights or reputations of others, for example, offences against honour or of racist propaganda, or of public health or morals, for example, offences against public peace. The Liechtenstein Criminal Code, the delegation noted, which criminalized such behaviour, was worded on the basis of the corresponding articles in the Austrian Criminal Code. During the past ten years there had not been any police report with regard to these offences.
When ratifying the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages, Liechtenstein declared that there were no regional or minority languages in the sense of the Charter in its territory at the time of ratification. The right of linguistic groups to use their language among themselves was fully guaranteed in Liechtenstein, the delegation added. Furthermore, the teaching of foreign children in their mother tongue as well as on the customs and culture of their home country was promoted by their authorities through the provision of the necessary infrastructure.
Preliminary Remarks
ABDELFATTAH AMOR, Committee Chairperson, said the delegation of Liechtenstein had shown its determination to cooperate with the Committee. It had a positive attitude which made it clear that the Committee was competent to determine reservations in keeping with the objectives and purpose of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Mr. Amor took note that Liechtenstein had promised to withdraw some of its reservations in the near future which, he said, was to the credit of the State party. The Chairperson also noted with satisfaction that Liechtenstein did not extradite persons to countries where the death penalty was practiced.
Of concern to the Committee was the issue of right-wing extremism and some manifestly racist trends in Liechtenstein. These manifestations were perhaps the outcome of the lack of understanding and inadequate prevention. Cultural differences could not provide a justification or an alibi in the failure to respect others, Mr. Amor said. The State of Liechtenstein needed to carry out substantial preventive work so that outsiders should not be seen as coming from inferior cultures. The Chairman said the Government of Liechtenstein should take the responsibility of reducing any intolerance, especially those pertaining to religion and Muslims. Society as a whole had a role to play but the State must spearhead these efforts, he added.
In conclusion, Mr. Amor said more needed to be done in terms of the status of persons arrested by police, in terms of the safeguards provided to them, and on the status of women in Liechtenstein in general.
* *** *
16 July 2004
The Human Rights Committee has considered the initial report of Liechtenstein on how that State party implements the provisions of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
Introducing the report, Christian Wenaweser, Permanent Representative of Liechtenstein to the United Nations in New York, said his Government had taken a strong interest in the work of all treaty bodies and, in the recent past, had focused attention in particular on the issue of treaty body reform. In Liechtenstein, there was increasing recognition of the importance of the work of the United Nations in general and therefore also of the human rights treaties to which Liechtenstein was a party, Mr. Wenaweser added.
In preliminary remarks, Committee Chairperson Abdelfattah Amor took note that Liechtenstein had promised to withdraw some of its reservations to the Covenant in the near future which, he said, was to the credit of the State party. The Chairperson also noted with satisfaction that Liechtenstein did not extradite persons to countries where the death penalty was practiced. Of concern to the Committee were the issues of right-wing extremism, religious tolerance, the status of women and the situation of those arrested by the police.
Other Committee Experts raised questions on subjects pertaining, among other things, to domestic legislation in relation to the Covenant, gender equality and domestic violence, right-wing extremism, the penal system, foreigners, religious tolerance and the election of judges.
The Committee will issue its formal, written concluding observations and recommendations on the report of Liechtenstein towards the end of its session which will conclude on 30 July.
The delegation of Liechtenstein also included representatives of the country’s Immigration and Passport Office, the National Police and the Office for Foreign Affairs.
Liechtenstein is among the 152 States parties to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and as such it is obligated to submit reports on its performance aimed at implementing the provisions of the treaty. It is also one of the 104 States parties to the Optional Protocol to the Covenant.
The Committee will reconvene at 10 a.m. on Monday, 19 July to begin its consideration of the initial report of Serbia and Montenegro (CCPR/C/SEMO/2003/1).
Report of Liechtenstein
The initial report of Liechtenstein contained in document CCPR/C/LIE/2003/1 comprises general information on Liechtenstein and the respect for human rights as well as general guidelines of the Human Rights Committee, the treaty body of the International Covenant for Civil and Political Rights. The Parliament of Liechtenstein, known as the Diet, is elected for a term of four years and has the principal functions to participate in the elaboration of legislation, approve international treaties and elect judges upon recommendation by the special election body, among other things. The Constitution of Liechtenstein contains a catalogue of fundamental rights, specifically the right to freedom of residence and the right to own property, personal freedom, the right to due process before a duly appointed judge, and the right to free expression and freedom of the press. The Constitution also guarantees equality before the law for all citizens and stipulates that the rights of foreigners shall be determined by international treaties.
With the entry into force of the new Penal Code in 1988, the death penalty previously provided for therein was abolished. The procedure concerning custody pending extradition is governed by the Mutual Legal Assistance Act. The duration of custody pending extradition may not exceed six months and unlawfully arrested persons and persons arrested or sentenced who are proven to be innocent are thereby entitled to full compensation by the State as determined by the court. According to the law, persons held in pre-trial detention may not be detained jointly with convicts and as per the Juvenile Court Act minors held in pre-trial detention must be kept separate from adult prisoners. Liechtenstein has concluded a treaty with the Republic of Austria on the imprisonment of convicts. According to the provisions of this treaty, Austria grants legal assistance to Liechtenstein upon request by imprisoning persons who are to be held in custody pursuant to an order of a Liechtenstein court. Decisions concerning the duration of imprisonment are the prerogative of Liechtenstein authorities. Imprisonment is otherwise governed by Austrian law. Similar cooperation exists between Liechtenstein and individual cantons of Switzerland.
Deportation of a foreign citizen with a temporary residence permit or a permanent residence permit is only permissible if the foreign citizen is convicted of a criminal offence or if the foreign citizen or a person under the foreign citizen’s care is a substantial burden to social welfare, among other things. The question of family reunification plays an important role in Liechtenstein immigration policy, in view of the extraordinarily high proportion of foreigners in the population and the small size of the country, the report states.
Presentation of Report
CHRISTIAN WENAWESER, Permanent Representative of Liechtenstein to the United Nations in New York, said that the promotion and protection of human rights was an overarching foreign policy priority of Liechtenstein, including in particular in its work at the United Nations. As a young member of the United Nations, Liechtenstein had ratified six core human rights instruments and strongly subscribed to the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action. Moreover, Liechtenstein supported the streamlining of human rights issues into the overall agenda of the United Nations work and advocated an increase in the budget allocations of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Mr. Wenaweser said.
Liechtenstein had taken a strong interest in the work of all treaty bodies and, in the recent past, had focused attention in particular on the issue of treaty body reform. In the opinion of the Government of Liechtenstein, effective reform measures were urgently needed concerning the burden of reporting placed on States. In response, it had organized an expert meeting on treaty body reform last year, in cooperation with the Office of the High Commissioner, which addressed a wide range of issues relevant to treaty body reform.
Mr. Wenaweser said that as a member of the Council of Europe, Liechtenstein was a State Party to the European Convention on Human Rights and therefore awareness of that human rights treaty among the general population was stronger than awareness of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. However, there was increasing recognition of the importance of the work of the United Nations in general and therefore also of the human rights treaties to which Liechtenstein was a party.
As far as the report was concerned, the head of delegation said, the drafting of the report was coordinated by the Office for Foreign Affairs in accordance with the guidelines issued by the Committee. The Government of Liechtenstein felt confident about its human rights record and was at the same time interested in ways of improving its national policies “because there is no perfection in the area of human rights”, Mr. Wenaweser said.
Discussion
Responses to Questions on the Constitutional Framework in which the Covenant is Implemented
In response to a written question, the delegation said Liechtenstein’s legal order did not contain explicit provisions governing the domestic status of treaties. The Constitutional Court had repeatedly found that international treaties approved by Parliament attained at least the status of statutory law in the domestic legal order. The status of treaties that substantively concerned constitutional law was formally below the Constitution, since they had not formally been adopted as a constitutional act. Moreover, with respect to the question of legal status of the Covenant in the domestic legal order, the jurisdiction of the Constitutional Court to decide on individual complaints and to review ordinances was of particular importance.
Since the entry into force of the first Optional Protocol for Liechtenstein in 1999, the delegation said, no individual complaint for alleged violation of rights guaranteed by the Covenant had been lodged with the Constitutional Court. Liechtenstein abided by the principle that treaty obligations should be entered into only when they could be fully complied with. Before acceding to or ratifying any international treaty, the compatibility of domestic legislation with the provisions of the treaty was thoroughly examined. In cases of conflicting provisions, Parliament either amended domestic legislation at the same time as it approved the ratification of the international treaty or it decided to enter the necessary reservations to the treaty.
Concerning the free movement of persons, Liechtenstein had a quota system of working and residence permits. On stateless persons, a comprehensive review of the situation of stateless persons was currently underway.
In response to a question posed orally by the Committee, the delegation said that due to its small size Liechtenstein there was a prohibition for certain short-term residents and students to let their families join them, however, in some special cases the Government had made exceptions.
The power of the State was embodied in the Reigning Prince and the people and was exercised by both in accordance with the Constitution, the delegation noted. The foundation of the Liechtenstein order was therefore a constitutionalism with separation of powers between the Reigning Prince and the people. Moreover, the Reigning Prince could indirectly trigger the termination of office of the entire Government by dissolving Parliament. The powers of the Reigning Prince prior to the constitutional revision of March 2003 included the right to dismiss the Government or individual Ministers from office, however, this right had never been exercised in practice.
The veto of right of the Reigning Prince, which was previously unlimited in time, had now been limited to six months through a Constitutional amendment. The sanction of the Reigning Prince was an essential part of the legislative process and allowed the Reigning Prince to prevent enactment of substantively misguided or unconstitutional laws. In practice, however, there had been only very few cases in which the Reigning Prince had been denied.
With respect to the succession to the throne, the Law on the Princely House contained the century-old rule of the lineal primogeniture, according to which the first-born of the oldest line of the House of Liechtenstein was called to the throne. This rule had been valid since 1606.
Response to Questions on the Equality of Men and Women and Prohibition of Discrimination
In 1997, the Office for Gender Equality invited all women’s organizations to participate for the first time in the planning and realization of a joint project. As a result, the Liechtenstein Women’s Network was established, the delegation said. Since then, the organizations had jointly sponsored an anti-violence campaign, set up an annual programme for the International Day of Women, and organized two Women’s Congresses. The Women’s Network also discussed legislative proposals of the Government. Currently, seventeen organizations were engaged in the Women’s network. In response to an additional question, the delegation noted that the network did not offer any courses or education programmes.
Political life in Liechtenstein was still dominated by men, although there were positive tendencies towards a higher representation and participation of women, the delegation said. In elections for the national parliament, about one third of the candidates were female. However, the chances to get elected remained relatively small, with little more than 10 per cent of the seats finally taken by women. The situation was better on the local level with about 30 per cent of the seats filled with women in the Municipal Councils.
The percentage of women in the workplace had continued to grow during the last 70 years; in 2000 almost 45 per cent of all those employed were women.
The delegation said that looking at statistics, it could be seen that girls and boys were equally represented in primary and secondary schools, and in 2003 there were for the first time more girls than boys registered at the Liechtenstein high schools. At the university level women were catching up; they made up 43 per cent of all Liechtenstein students.
A special initiative, undertaken in 2000, addressed the issue of equal opportunities in the choice of profession. The project focused on girls and young women, raising their awareness for the importance of a good education and aiming at broadening the spectrum of possible professions. A further workshop on this topic was organized in 2002, especially sensitizing teachers and parents on gender specific education and role models.
With regard to the activities of right-wing extremists, the delegation said this situation had improved in Liechtenstein. Unfortunately there were still some isolated incidents such as sporadic verbal attacks against individuals or racist expressions sprayed anonymously on walls in public places. The public appearance of extremist groups, however, had virtually ceased, as well as any forms of organized racist action. The Government had decided to address the phenomenon in a broader manner through the prevention of the use of violence by young people in general. It had established a national commission which gave advice to the Government in view of a comprehensive violence prevention policy.
In response to a question on granting citizenship, the delegation said Liechtenstein nationality may be acquired in three different ways, namely by birth or adoption, through marriage or through naturalization. Except for the acquisition by birth, where dual citizenship was possible, a person acquiring Liechtenstein nationality had to renounce his or her former citizenship. Concerning naturalization, a minimum of five years was required to file such a request; during the past ten years 90 persons had acquired Liechtenstein citizenship through this procedure.
In response to a question on domestic violence, the delegation said that as per an amendment in the Police Act in 2001, additional powers had been granted to the police in relation to domestic violence; namely, the power to expel an offender from their household and the power to prohibit the offender from returning to their household for ten days. The victim could apply for an extension of the prohibition of the offender to return beyond the ten days. In practice there were about ten cases a year of this type.
Asked for clarification on matters pertaining to the Office of Gender Equality, the delegation said the Office worked together with its counterparts in Switzerland and Austria; one example of this inter-regional cooperation was the creation of a joint website on gender issues.
Response to Questions on Derogation
According to the Constitution, the delegation said, the Reigning Prince may “take necessary measures for the security and welfare of the State”. Emergency decrees may therefore only be enacted in grave circumstances. They also required the counter-signature by the Prime Minister. The constitutional revision of March 2003 did not expand the emergency powers of the Reigning Prince that had existed since 1921, but rather explicitly stated the already existing limits and restrictions.
Response to Questions on the Right to life, Right to Liberty and Security of Person, and the Rights of Persons Deprived of their Liberty
In response to a question posed by the Committee in writing, the delegation said the right to life had been explicitly included in the list of non-derogable rights under the provisions on emergency decrees. When elaborating on the Police Act of 1989, the Government took, in view of the close police cooperation with its neighbouring countries, the relevant Swiss law as a model. Practical questions on the application of the relevant provisions constituted an integral part of basic and continuous training of police officers in Liechtenstein.
The rate of use of firearms by national police in Liechtenstein was very low. The last case dated back to March 1996 when a police officer fired a warning shot to stop a robber. And in 1999 a weapon smuggler was shot by the Swiss border control forces after he shot a border control officer. There had been no more incidents of this kind in Liechtenstein during the last ten years.
There were plans to adopt a new provision recognising the right to inform a person of the prisoner’s choice immediately after entering the prison for prisoners on remand. The prisoner was informed of the right to choose a lawyer at the latest in the course of the first interrogation by the court. Additionally, any detainee could see his or her lawyer, a medical doctor, psychological therapists or a pastor without restriction to visiting hours and basically also without any further timely restrictions as long as security and order in operating the prison was not intolerably disturbed.
Liechtenstein’s special situation due to the existence of only one prison meant that contact to certain other prisoners had to be restricted more often than it were the case if these prisoners could be accommodated in different prisons in order to make contact between them impossible. Moreover, there was currently no legal basis for isolation in prison, not even for disciplinary measures, the delegation noted.
The delegation responded to a related question by saying Liechtenstein did not extradite persons to countries where the extradited person could be subject to the death penalty.
Response to Questions Concerning Aliens
The delegation indicated that decisions on expulsion must always respect the principle of proportionality. In any decision on expulsion, the relevant legally protected interests must be balanced and the international legal obligations of Liechtenstein must be respected, as stipulated in the Regulation on the Movement of Persons. No person requesting residence status with the proper documentation had been denied residence status for the past five years.
In response to a question on foreigners and minorities, the delegation said that in Liechtenstein, there were 90 different minorities including foreigners. Integration into society was the task of the whole society and raising awareness was the most successful strategy towards foreigners who wanted to become part of Liechtenstein society.
Response to Questions Concerning Independence of the Judiciary
The Constitution of 1921 did not uniformly regulate the appointment of judges, the delegation said. For the appointment of some of the highest judges, the mutual agreement of the Reigning Prince and Parliament was required and the Reigning Prince had absolute veto over the appointment of judges.
The Constitutional revision of March 2003 created a joint body of the Reigning Prince and Parliament for the selection of judges, consisting of representatives of Parliament and the Minister of Justice. The Reigning Prince himself chaired the body and had the casting vote. The body recommended candidates for election by Parliament. Moreover, the term of office of Constitutional Court judges was five years; the term of office of the Administrative Court, however, corresponded to the legislative term of Parliament.
Responses Concerning Questions on the Freedom of Religion, Freedom of Expression and the Right of Minorities
A question was asked on what measures had been taken by the State party given that there had been increased intolerance and prejudice towards Muslims in Liechtenstein after the events of 11 September 2001. In response the delegation mentioned the creation by the Government in June 2002 of a working group under the direction of the Office of Foreign Affairs which was mandated to develop a National Action Plan for the implementation of the Declaration and Programme of Action against racism adopted at the World Conference in Durban. In February 2003 the Government adopted its five-year National Action Plan based on Liechtenstein-specific recommendations by the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.
Through public relations and continuing education at various levels and in different forms, the population had been sensitized to the causes and the potential for conflict and violence against racism and xenophobia.
The delegation drew attention to the establishment of a working group specifically aimed at the integration of the Muslim population. The working group was composed of representatives of the two most important associations of Muslims in Liechtenstein and of the relevant offices of the national administration. It met regularly to discuss concrete integration measures.
Under the Constitution, the delegation said, the Roman Catholic Church enjoyed the explicit protection of the State. Other denominations enjoyed this protection indirectly through the constitutional guarantee for freedom of belief and conscience. This did not, however, give the Catholic Church the same status as an official State church.
In the framework of a general population census conducted in 2000, all persons living in Liechtenstein were asked to indicate their religious affiliation; 78.4 per cent of the total population said they were Roman Catholics, 8.3 per cent said they were Protestants and 4.8 per cent were Muslims, while 6.9 per cent either considered themselves to belong to no religious group at all or did not provide data on their religious affiliation.
The limitations to the freedom of expression mentioned in the report were either based on the need to protect the rights or reputations of others, for example, offences against honour or of racist propaganda, or of public health or morals, for example, offences against public peace. The Liechtenstein Criminal Code, the delegation noted, which criminalized such behaviour, was worded on the basis of the corresponding articles in the Austrian Criminal Code. During the past ten years there had not been any police report with regard to these offences.
When ratifying the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages, Liechtenstein declared that there were no regional or minority languages in the sense of the Charter in its territory at the time of ratification. The right of linguistic groups to use their language among themselves was fully guaranteed in Liechtenstein, the delegation added. Furthermore, the teaching of foreign children in their mother tongue as well as on the customs and culture of their home country was promoted by their authorities through the provision of the necessary infrastructure.
Preliminary Remarks
ABDELFATTAH AMOR, Committee Chairperson, said the delegation of Liechtenstein had shown its determination to cooperate with the Committee. It had a positive attitude which made it clear that the Committee was competent to determine reservations in keeping with the objectives and purpose of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Mr. Amor took note that Liechtenstein had promised to withdraw some of its reservations in the near future which, he said, was to the credit of the State party. The Chairperson also noted with satisfaction that Liechtenstein did not extradite persons to countries where the death penalty was practiced.
Of concern to the Committee was the issue of right-wing extremism and some manifestly racist trends in Liechtenstein. These manifestations were perhaps the outcome of the lack of understanding and inadequate prevention. Cultural differences could not provide a justification or an alibi in the failure to respect others, Mr. Amor said. The State of Liechtenstein needed to carry out substantial preventive work so that outsiders should not be seen as coming from inferior cultures. The Chairman said the Government of Liechtenstein should take the responsibility of reducing any intolerance, especially those pertaining to religion and Muslims. Society as a whole had a role to play but the State must spearhead these efforts, he added.
In conclusion, Mr. Amor said more needed to be done in terms of the status of persons arrested by police, in terms of the safeguards provided to them, and on the status of women in Liechtenstein in general.
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