LIECHTENSTEIN Law and Practice Contributed by: Moritz Blasy, Nicolai Binkert, Simon Ott and Kathrin Binder, Schurti Partners Attorneys at Law Ltd
judgment debtor violates an obligation to refrain from a specific action). Enforcement procedures are initiated by way of an enforcement application by the creditor. In the appli - cation, the creditor must specify the creditor and the debtor, the claim to be enforced (including the enforce - able title on which the claim is based), the means of enforcement and the particular assets against which enforcement is sought. If all requirements are fulfilled, the court will issue the enforcement order ex parte – ie, without hearing the debtor. Once the enforcement order has been issued, the debtor can appeal it within 14 days of service. Likewise, if the court dismissed the enforcement application, the creditor can file an appeal within 14 days of service. As a matter of law, an appeal of a debtor against an enforcement order does not have suspensive effect but the court has discretion to stay enforcement pending appeal upon the application of the appellant if it is of the view that the purpose of the appeal would otherwise be defeated. If the debtor does not appeal the enforcement order or if the court does not stay enforcement pending appeal, the procedure will continue with the actual enforce - ment. The enforcement is taken care of by court offic - ers ( Gerichtsvollzieher ) and the particular steps to be taken depend on the means of enforcement and the assets against which enforcement is sought. 2.3 Costs and Time Taken to Enforce Domestic Judgments The costs involved in enforcing a judgment in Liech - tenstein typically comprise attorney’s fees, court fees and, as the case may be, costs related to the relevant means of enforcement. While it is difficult to give a general indication of attorney’s fees and the costs related to the means of enforcement, given that much depends on the circumstances of the case, the court fees merely depend on the amount of the claim to be enforced, and range between CHF10 and CHF3,400. In terms of timing, while an enforcement order can usually be obtained relatively quickly (the process being ex parte), the length of the actual enforcement process depends on the means of enforcement and
the assets against which enforcement is sought. Also, enforcement orders can be appealed by the debtor and, even though an appeal against an enforcement order does not have suspensive effect as a matter of law, the court has discretion to stay enforcement pending appeal upon the application of the appellant if it is of the view that the purpose of the appeal would otherwise be defeated. A stay of enforcement pend - ing appeal may delay the enforcement procedure by A creditor seeking enforcement of a judgment must specify in the enforcement application with reason - able detail the means of enforcement and the assets against which enforcement is sought. However, that does not mean that a creditor is required to describe the relevant assets in full detail. Rather, it is sufficient for a creditor to describe the assets in a general man - ner, such as “all chattels in the possession of the debt - or” or “all bank accounts” held by the debtor with a particular bank. In the latter case, the bank can then be ordered by the court to disclose all bank accounts held by the debtor with the bank. several months, or even more than a year. 2.4 Post-Judgment Procedures for Determining Defendants’ Assets Furthermore, if the enforcement of a monetary judg - ment remains unsuccessful because no realisable assets can be found, debtors can be ordered by the court to submit a statement of all their assets to the court. Failure to comply with such an order constitutes a criminal offence under Liechtenstein law. 2.5 Challenging Enforcement of Domestic Judgments Enforceable Judgments Only “enforceable” judgments can be enforced under the Liechtenstein Enforcement Act. A judgment or order is enforceable if an appeal is no longer available or, if an appeal is available, the appeal does not have suspensive effect as a matter of law and the court does not grant a stay of enforcement. Once a judgment is enforceable, the judgment credi - tor can apply for an enforcement order. The enforce - ment order can be appealed by the debtor within 14 days of service. An appeal against an enforcement order does not have suspensive effect as a matter of
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