LIECHTENSTEIN Law and Practice Contributed by: Simon Ott, Andreas Vogel, Husmira Halis and Felix Bayer, Schurti Partners Attorneys at Law Ltd
punishable with a fine of up to CHF100,000 or, in the event of non-recovery, with imprisonment for up to three months. The offence is not prosecuted by the Prosecution Service, but by private parties (eg, a com - peting legal entity that is negatively affected by unfair competition or other consumers is entitled to file an indictment against the offender with the Princely Dis - trict Court). Further, the Unfair Competition Act stipulates a crimi - nal provision dealing with breaches of the obligation to disclose prices to consumers (eg, the rule on dis - closure of prices in advertising). The commission of a breach of the obligation to disclose prices to consum - ers is punishable by a fine of up to CHF20,000 (in the event of non-recovery, with imprisonment for up to two months). In the event of negligent commission, the upper limit of the fines is reduced to half. In accordance with the respective applicable EU Direc - tives and Regulations, the Unfair Competition Act, inter alia, includes provisions on geo-blocking. The commission of a violation of the ban on geo-blocking is punishable with a fine of up to CHF100,000 (in the event of non-recovery, with imprisonment for up to three months). Further, specific provisions on trade secrets were introduced as well (see 3.10 Financial/ Trade/Customs Sanctions ). 3.8 Consumer Criminal Law Consumer protection in Liechtenstein is primarily regulated in the Consumer Protection Act ( Konsu- mentenschutzgesetz – KSchG) and the Distance and Foreign Trade Act ( Fern- und Auswärtsgeschäftege- setz – FAGG). In the event of breaches of the protective provisions of the Consumer Protection Act and the Distance and Foreign Trade Act (eg, breach of obligation to disclose information or sending goods to consumers without being asked to do so and thereby incurring a demand for payment), the Office of Economic Affairs will impose a fine of up to CHF5,000 for an infringe - ment or up to CHF20,000 in the event of a repeat offence, unless the act constitutes a criminal offence falling within the jurisdiction of the courts or is punish - able by a more severe penalty under other administra - tive penal provisions. Additionally, the Liechtenstein
Unfair Competition Act contains a provision dealing with fines for the breach of information disclosure obligations towards consumers (see 3.7 Cartels and Criminal Competition Law ). 3.9 Cybercrimes, Computer Fraud and Protection of Company Secrets The Liechtenstein Criminal Code stipulates several provisions dealing with cybercrimes, computer fraud, and breach of company secrets. The most relevant provision of the Liechtenstein Crim - inal Code relating to cyberfraud is the fraudulent mis - use of data processing. This offence is committed by any person who, with the intent of unlawfully enriching themselves or a third party, causes financial or other material damage to another person by influencing the result of an automated data processing system, by designing the program, by entering, modifying, delet - ing or suppressing data, or otherwise influencing the course of the processing operation. The offence is punishable with imprisonment of up to six months or with a monetary penalty of up to 360 daily rates. In the case that the financial damage caused exceeds CHF7,500 or the act is committed for commercial gain, the offence is punishable with imprisonment of up to three years. In the case of the financial dam - age caused exceeding CHF300,000, the sentence is imprisonment of one to ten years. The Liechtenstein Criminal Code further punishes data theft. This offence is committed by any person who, with the intent of unlawfully enriching themselves or a third party, procures data processed with the aid of automation, which they are not allowed to access or to access on their own. The offence of data theft is sentenced with imprisonment of up to three years or with a monetary penalty of up to 360 daily rates (whereby both penalties can be imposed concur - rently). Further relevant criminal offences stipulated in the Liechtenstein Criminal Code are data corruption, interference with the functioning of a computer sys - tem, and improper use of computer programs or access data. These offences are generally punishable with imprisonment of up to six months or a monetary penalty of up to 360 daily rates. The available penalty
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