LIECHTENSTEIN Law and Practice Contributed by: Moritz Blasy, Nicolai Binkert, Simon Ott and Kathrin Binder, Schurti Partners Attorneys at Law Ltd
that prohibits the ordering of security for costs, or unless a cost award would be enforceable in the jurisdiction where the claimant resides. In the case of a legal entity, security for costs can be imposed if the claimant cannot prove to have sufficient funds in such jurisdiction. The amount of the security is to be determined based on the defendant’s (or respondent’s) prospective costs for legal representation and the court fees to be borne by the defendant (or respondent), whereby the costs for legal repre- sentation are determined in accordance with the tariffs set by the government (and not, for exam- ple, based on the actual fee agreement between the defendant and its legal representatives). The deposit serves as security for the cost claim of the defendant (or respondent) against the claimant (or appellant) in case the defendant (or respondent) succeeds. The deposit is to be made in cash or securities or, with the consent of the court, in the form of a bank guarantee. The application for security for costs must be made at the first hearing before the case is heard on the merits or, in cases of appeal proceed- ings, before or together with the response to the appeal. If, during the proceedings, the amount turns out to be insufficient, the defendant (or respondent) can apply for additional security to be posted by the claimant (or appellant). If the security is not lodged in time, the court declares the claim (or appeal) withdrawn upon request of the defendant (or respondent). 4.6 Costs of Interim Applications/ Motions In orders dealing with interim applications or motions, the court may only decide on the costs of these applications or motions if the obliga-
tion to pay such costs (usually according to the principle that the loser pays) does not depend on the outcome of the lawsuit. For example, in decisions relating to oppositions to third-party interventions and decisions concerning appli- cations for legal aid, if the counterparty of the applicant opposes the grant of legal aid. 4.7 Application/Motion Timeframe There are no fixed timeframes for the courts to deal with applications or motions. However, courts usually take into account the urgency of a particular application or motion. If the court is in default with a procedural step (eg, taking a decision or scheduling a date for a hearing), the parties may apply to the relevant juridical supervisory authority to set a deadline for the court to take the relevant step. Pre-trial discovery, in the strict sense, does not exist under Liechtenstein law. However, the Liechtenstein Civil Procedure Code allows for the taking of evidence in the form of judicial inspections and the interrogation of witnesses and experts prior to the lodging of a lawsuit if it is to be feared that the evidence will otherwise not be available at a later stage. 5.2 Discovery and Third Parties A third party may be ordered to produce a spe- cific document if the third party is under an obli- gation to produce it as a matter of substantive law, or if the document is considered a joint doc- ument of the requesting party and the third party. 5.3 Discovery in This Jurisdiction A party may request the court to order the counterparty to produce a specific document. 5. Discovery 5.1 Discovery and Civil Cases
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