LIECHTENSTEIN Law and Practice Contributed by: Simon Ott, Andreas Vogel, Husmira Halis and Felix Bayer, Schurti Partners Attorneys at Law Ltd
According to the Mutual Legal Assistance in Crimi - nal Matters Act, Liechtenstein will refuse mutual legal assistance, if: • the request for mutual legal assistance does not refer to a criminal law matter; • it is not guaranteed that the requesting state would comply with an identical request made by the Prin - cipality of Liechtenstein (principle of reciprocity); • the act underlying the request for mutual legal assistance is not liable to prosecution under Liech - tenstein criminal law (principle of double criminal - ity); or • the request would violate the public order or national interests of the Principality of Liechten - stein. Against this background, legal mutual assistance requests in criminal matters that are mere fishing expeditions without sufficient evidence of a criminal offence are inadmissible. Liechtenstein would there - fore not grant legal assistance. Requests for mutual legal assistance addressed to the Princely District Court (via diplomatic channels) must include the following information: • the legal grounds for the request for mutual legal assistance (ie, the pertinent bilateral or multilateral agreement or an undertaking to grant reciprocity); • the requesting authority; • the subject of the request (investigation or criminal proceedings before a judicial authority or prelimi - nary investigation by an authority with powers of judicial investigation); • the identification of the accused person(s) as pre - cisely as possible; • a summary of the facts of the case underlying the mutual legal assistance request and a legal analy - sis together with the relevant legal provisions; and • the reasons for the request (ie, the link between the foreign proceedings and the requested mutual legal assistance as well as the requested mutual assistance measures). Relevant mutual assistance measures in multi-juris - dictional white-collar crime matters that are often applied in Liechtenstein are seizure and transmission
of evidence, freezing of assets, and examination of witnesses. Extradition in white-collar crime matters is granted, if: • it is requested in order to: (a) prosecute an intentionally committed criminal offence punishable both in Liechtenstein and the requesting state by a prison sentence of at least one year; or (b) execute a prison sentence for an intentionally committed criminal offence with a prison sen - tence of at least one year; • the prosecution or enforcement of the prison sen - tence is not time-barred (neither under the laws of the requesting state nor under Liechtenstein laws); and • the punishment in the foreign state to which extra - dition shall be granted complies with the principles of the rule of law. Additionally, the provisions of the Schengen Conven - tion dealing with mutual legal assistance in criminal matters are applicable in Liechtenstein. 1.5 Corporate and Personal Liability In 2010, provisions dealing with the criminal liability of legal entities were introduced to the Liechtenstein Criminal Code. According to the pertinent provisions of the Liechtenstein Criminal Code, legal entities can be held criminally liable under the following circum - stances: • for acts that have been committed unlawfully and culpably by an executive in connection with the business activity of the legal entity within the scope of its purpose; or • for acts that have been committed by an employee in connection with the business activity of the legal entity within the scope of its purpose, but only to the extent that a breach of monitoring obligation on the part of the management level has at the least substantially facilitated the commission of the offence (ie, an organisational fault). The criminal liability of a legal entity therefore depends on the commission of an offence that has been com - mitted in the course of business activities within the
177 CHAMBERS.COM
Powered by FlippingBook