LIECHTENSTEIN Law and Practice Contributed by: Moritz Blasy, Nicolai Binkert, Simon Ott and Christian Scheffknecht, Schurti Partners Attorneys at Law Ltd
12.2 Enforcement Procedure The enforcement of an arbitral award does not require a separate recognition procedure in Liechtenstein since arbitral awards are deemed to be equal to judg - ments of the ordinary (Liechtenstein) courts. Arbitral awards will be enforced in the same way as judgments of the ordinary courts – ie, by means of an application for enforcement to the Liechtenstein District Court. The enforcement of a foreign arbitral award in Liech - tenstein is governed by the provisions of the New York Convention. Accordingly, to enforce a foreign arbitral award, the enforcing party must enclose with the application for enforcement the certified original or a duly certified copy of the arbitral award and a certified translation of the arbitral award. Further, the Liechtenstein District Court must confirm the enforce - ability of the arbitral award (what may be applied for in the application for enforcement). The main difference between enforcement on the basis of a domestic arbitral award and enforcement on the basis of a foreign arbitral award is that, in the latter case, the Enforcement Act provides for a spe - cial opposition procedure ( Widerspruchsverfahren ) in which the debtor can raise objections that are specifi - cally (and only) available against the enforcement of foreign arbitral awards – eg, that the conditions set forth in the New York Convention are not fulfilled, or that the foreign arbitral award violates Liechtenstein public policy ( ordre public ). The opposition is to be raised with the Liechtenstein District Court and is to be dealt with in an oral hearing. An opposition can be raised in parallel to an appeal against the enforcement order with the Liechtenstein Court of Appeal. If an award has been set aside by the courts in the seat of arbitration in a binding decision, the respective award cannot be enforced in Liechtenstein under the New York Convention. It is up to the party against which enforcement is sought to argue and prove that the award has been set aside in a binding decision. The mere challenge of the award does not constitute an obstacle to recognition. However, the enforcement may be suspended upon request if an action for the award to be set aside was filed.
According to Liechtenstein and Austrian case law, a state or state entity may successfully raise the defence of sovereign immunity in all areas of sovereign activity. Actions performed by a state iure gestionis (ie, like a private individual) are not covered by this immu - nity. The decision as to whether a state activity is to be qualified as sovereign or private shall be made According to Liechtenstein case law, the New York Convention must be interpreted in a manner support - ing the arbitration and enforcement thereof. The public policy grounds must reach a high threshold for the enforcement of an arbitral award to be impeded. According to Liechtenstein case law, not every devia - tion from Liechtenstein law constitutes a violation of public policy – a severe violation of the fundamental values of the Liechtenstein legal order as a whole is required. Therefore, the public policy exemption is applied extremely restrictively. according to Liechtenstein law. 12.3 Approach of the Courts 13. Miscellaneous 13.1 Class Action or Group Arbitration In principle, the Liechtenstein Arbitration Law and the Liechtenstein Rules do not provide for class actions or group arbitrations. However, the Liechtenstein Arbi - tration Law provides for the joint appointment of one or more arbitrators by more than one party “on the same side”. 13.2 Ethical Codes Neither the Liechtenstein Arbitration Law nor the Liechtenstein Rules contain specific provisions for the ethical conduct of the legal representatives con - ducting arbitration proceedings. Relevant provisions may in this regard result from the IBA Rules of Ethics for International Arbitrators, the Liechtenstein Code of Civil Procedure, the Liechtenstein Lawyer Act, the professional guidelines of lawyers, or other profes -
sionals’ codes of conduct. 13.3 Third-Party Funding
There are no rules in Liechtenstein concerning litiga - tion funding by third parties. Thus, third-party litiga -
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