The Council of Europe anti-corruption body (GRECO) has published two reports on Liechtenstein: a report on incriminations and transparency of party funding and a report on the prevention of corruption in respect of members of parliaments, judges and prosecutors. In its evaluation report on the prevention of corruption in respect of members of parliaments, judges and prosecutors, GRECO makes a series of recommendations and invites the authorities of Liechtenstein to report on progress made by the end of March 2022. (see French and German versions of the report)
Regarding members of parliament, GRECO recommends - among others - that measures be taken to increase the transparency of the legislative process insofar as the preliminary examination of draft legislation by parliamentary commissions is concerned, that a code of conduct be adopted, and that the disclosure of conflicts of interest be required. As regards judges, Liechtenstein should increase the role of the judiciary in the selection process of judges, adopt a judicial code of conduct and foresee training on integrity matters, and study the issue of the full professionalisation of all judges and the limitation of the number of part-time judges.
Finally, as far as prosecutors are concerned, the report recommends that the notion of “personal and professional suitability” be further refined with criteria for assessing a prosecutor’s integrity, that safeguards be added to Article 50 of the Public Prosecutors Act against it being used to dismiss a particular prosecutor as a retaliation measure, but also that a code of conduct be adopted and training on topics related to ethics and integrity be provided.
In its report on incriminations and transparency of party funding, GRECO concludes that Liechtenstein has implemented seventeen of the twenty recommendations made in 2016 and ends the conformity procedure. With regard to political financing however, GRECO notes that the Law on the Payment of Contributions to Political Parties, which has been revised with a view to providing a clearer framework for the financing of political parties and more transparency, responds to a number of, if not all, recommendations. It notably regrets the absence of financial supervision by a sufficiently independent public authority. (see French and German versions of the report)
Press release
Liechtenstein: publication of two reports on the fight against corruption
