LIECHTENSTEIN Law and Practice Contributed by: Moritz Blasy, Nicolai Binkert, Simon Ott and Kathrin Binder, Schurti Partners Attorneys at Law Ltd
Convention, which Liechtenstein signed and ratified in 2011. 4.2 Variations in Approach to Enforcement of Arbitral Awards A distinction is to be drawn between domestic and foreign arbitral awards. While domestic arbitral awards are deemed by law to have the effect of final and bind - ing judgments of the ordinary Liechtenstein courts and are therefore enforceable just like judgments of the ordinary courts, the enforcement of foreign arbitral awards in Liechtenstein is governed by the provisions of the New York Convention. 4.3 Categories of Arbitral Awards Not Enforced The enforcement of foreign arbitral awards in Liech - tenstein is governed by the provisions of the New York Convention. Foreign arbitral awards that do not fall within the ambit of the New York Convention are not enforceable in Liechtenstein. 4.4 Process of Enforcing Arbitral Awards To the extent an arbitral award is enforceable in Liech - tenstein (because it is a Liechtenstein arbitral award or a foreign arbitral award that falls within the ambit of the New York Convention), the enforcement pro - cedure, in principle, is the same as for judgments of the ordinary courts. In particular, in the case of a for - eign arbitral award, a creditor can apply directly for an enforcement order based on the foreign arbitral award without first having to apply for the foreign arbitral award to be formally recognised. 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. 4.5 Costs and Time Taken to Enforce Arbitral Awards In principle, the procedure to enforce an arbitral award is the same as the procedure to enforce a judgment of the ordinary courts. Therefore, court fees are also the same, ranging between CHF10 and CHF3,400, depending on the amount of the claim to be enforced. However, in practice, the enforcement of a foreign arbitral award often turns out to be more time-con - suming and therefore more expensive (in terms of attorney’s fees) than the enforcement of a domestic arbitral award because additional challenges that are specifically available against the enforcement of for - eign arbitral awards may be raised by the debtor. 4.6 Challenging Enforcement of Arbitral Awards If an award has been set aside by the courts in the seat of arbitration in a binding decision, said award cannot be enforced in Liechtenstein under the New York Convention. It is up to the party against whom 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. 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 in order for the enforcement of an arbitral award to be impeded. Not every deviation 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.
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