LIECHTENSTEIN Law and Practice Contributed by: Moritz Blasy, Nicolai Binkert, Simon Ott and Kathrin Binder, Schurti Partners Attorneys at Law Ltd
its. In particular, this applies to formal objections and applications for security of costs and fees. Upon receipt of the statement of claim and before serving it on the defendant and scheduling a first hearing, the court ex officio will determine whether certain severe procedural errors have occurred. In the event that the court concludes that such an error has occurred, it rejects the claim immediately (a limine) without holding a hearing. Other than that, parties may apply for interim injunc- tions already prior to filing a substantive claim. Also, the Liechtenstein Civil Procedure Code allows for the taking of evidence in the form of judicial inspections and the interrogation of witnesses and experts already prior to the lodging of a lawsuit, in case evidence will not otherwise be available at a later stage. 4.2 Early Judgment Applications Parties may apply for a case to be struck out on pro- cedural grounds (such as a lack of jurisdiction, inad- missibility of the resort to civil litigation, res judicata or lis pendens) before the case is heard on the merits. These formal objections are usually dealt with at the outset of the proceedings. In the case of a lack of jurisdiction, the respective motion must be made at the first hearing, at the very latest, and in any event before arguing the case on the merits, otherwise it will not be heard (and the party will be deemed to have accepted jurisdiction). If the court concludes that the objection is justified, the court will enter an early judg- ment rejecting the claim. Other than that, a claimant may apply for a partial judgment ( Teilurteil ) if one or more of several claims brought in a lawsuit are acknowledged by the defend- ant. Also, the court may decide to enter an interlocu- tory judgment ( Zwischenurteil ) in cases where a claim has been disputed both in terms of its basis and its extent, and the court concludes that the case permits a decision as to the basis but not yet as to the extent of the claim. 4.3 Dispositive Motions Dispositive motions are often filed to dispose of a claim on procedural grounds (such as lack of juris-
diction, inadmissibility of recourse to civil litigation, res judicata or lis pendens). 4.4 Requirements for Interested Parties to Join a Lawsuit A third party who has a legal interest in the outcome of a lawsuit – ie, whose legal position will be affected by the outcome (for example, since one of the litigants may take recourse to the third party if the case is lost), may join the proceedings on the claimant’s or on the defendant’s side (known as third-party intervention or Nebenintervention ). A third-party intervention consists of a written submis- sion to the court in which the third party expresses its legal interest. This can be done at any stage of a lawsuit, provided that no final, non-appealable judg- ment has been issued. The parties to the lawsuit may oppose the third-party intervention, in which case there will be a hearing and the court will decide on the intervention in a formal decision. However, only a decision rejecting the third-party intervention is sub- ject to a separate appeal. Such an appeal does not stay the lawsuit as such and, pending the outcome of the appeal, the third party can participate as if it had been admitted. Any procedural steps that a third party deems favour- able for the party it supports may be taken without the consent of that party, unless such steps are explicitly opposed by that party or contradict its own proce- dural actions. The third party may appeal decisions without the approval, and even against the will, of the supported party. Conversely, if a litigant intends to take recourse against a third party in the event of defeat, the litigant may give formal notice to such third party by means of a written submission and invite the third party to support the litigant in the lawsuit (third-party notice or Streitverkündung ). Although the third party is under no obligation to follow such an invitation, the practical effect of such third-party notice is that the notifying party may rely on a (negative) decision and the find- ings of fact contained therein in a later lawsuit against the third party, and the third party will be precluded from arguing that the notifying party had not conduct- ed the first lawsuit diligently.
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