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REPORT SUBMITTED BY
PURSUANT TOARTICLE 25, PARAGRAPH 1,
OF THE FRAMEWORK CONVENTION FOR
THE PROTECTION OF NATIONAL MINORITIES
(Received on 3 March 1999)
GOVERNMENT OF THE PRINCIPALITY OF
National report of
Liechtenstein
First report pursuant to article 25 paragraph 1 of the
Framework Convention
for the Protection of National Minorities
of
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I. GENERAL INFORMATION 1 Country and people 1. 1 Geography The territory of the Principality of Liechtenstein
is enclosed between 1.2 Historical overview Archaeological finds bear witness to the fact that
the territory of the present-day Principality of Liechtenstein has been
permanently settled since the fourth millennium B.C. In the year 15 B.C., The In 1699, Prince Hans Adam von Liechtentstein
purchased the Lordship of Schellenberg and in 1712 the During the Napoleonic wars, 1862 a constitutional monarchy was instituted, by
means of the Constitution proclaimed by Prince Johann II. It guaranteed civil
liberties and gave the Landtag (Parliament) the right to participate in
legislation and in approval of the budget. This period also saw the beginning
of the industrialization of The First World War resulted in a pronounced setback
to economic development. In 1923 a Customs Treaty was concluded with Since the 1940s In recent decades, 1.3 Population At the end of 1997, 1.4 Religion At the end of 1997, 79.7 per cent of the total
population were Roman Catholic and 7.3 per cent Protestant (no information
provided by 7.8 per cent). The Constitution of Liechtenstein guarantees freedom
of belief and conscience to all persons. In addition, it guarantees civil and
political rights regardless of religious confession. On grounds of freedom of
religion, it is possible to opt out of religious education in the public
schools. Under the Constitution, the Roman Catholic Church is the State 1.5 Language According to the Constitution, the German language
is the national and official language in 1.6 Reception and status of non-citizens Due to the close links with „ Swiss citizens are in a privileged situation (on a
basis of reciprocity) as regards the possibility to work in Apart from this, non-citizens are equally treated
concerning their rights and duties. Public schools, public health services
etc are available to all non-citizens. The Associatonal life: "All associations are according to their
statutes non-political and open to non-citizens, and non-citizens are
generally well represented, particularly in the fields of sport and culture.
The activities of associations of non-citizens include meeting and
formulating a common position vis-a-vis the authorities in Awareness-raising: "Governmental and non-governmental campaigns
have been launched to demonstrate the situation and concerns of non-citizens
living in Monitoring the situation: "All official sources state that few problems
of racism and discrimination exist in In order to strengthen the legal basis for the
prevention of racist practices, the Government has assigned to a working
group the task of drawing up a supplement to the Penal Code introducing penal
provisions against racism and national socialist activities. It is planned to
submit a corresponding bill to the Landtag this year. With this adjustment to
the national legislation, the basis for 2 Form of Government and Constitution 2.1 Form of Government The Principality of Liechtenstein is a hereditary
constitutional monarchy with democratic and parliamentary foundations. The
power of the State is vested in the Prince and the people. In order to
maintain a separation of powers, the executive (Government), the legislature
(the Landtag) and the judiciary (the courts system) each possess their own
rights. The Constitution in force today dates back to the
year 1921, and was the outcome of a process of renewal in the aftermath of
the First World War. As compared with the previous Constitution, dating
from-1862, it was able to effect a considerable expansion of the rights of
the people as against the Prince, inter alia, by introducing elements
of direct democracy. 2.2 Fundamental rights and freedoms The Constitution of the Principality of
Liechtenstein guarantees a series of fundamental rights. Specifically, these
comprise the right to freedom of domicile and inheritance, personal freedom,
domestic authority, protection of the secrecy of correspondence and written
communications, the right of due process before a duly appointed judge,
inviolability of private property, freedom of trade, freedom of belief and conscience,
the right to free expression and press freedom, the right to free association
and assembly, the right to petition and the right of appeal. The Constitution also guarantees equality before the
law for all citizens and lays down flat the rights of aliens shall be
determined in the first instance by treaties, or, in the absence of such, on
a basis of reciprocity. 2.3 Prince Prince Hans Adam II von und zu 2.4 The Landtag 2.5 The Government The Government comprises five members: the Head of
Government, the Deputy Head of Government and three further members. The
members of the Government are appointed by the Prince on the proposal of the
Landtag. The Head of Government has the right to countersign all decrees and
orders issued by the Prince, as well as legislation endorsed by the Prince.
The Government is the supreme executive authority, and has under it some 30
departments, a number of diplomatic missions abroad, and offices. The work of
the administration is supported by some 50 commissions and advisory councils.
The Government has the authority to issue orders,
and hence is also a legislative body. Orders may however only be promulgated
in the context of laws and State treaties. 2.7 Communes In 2.8 Jurisdiction Jurisdiction is divided into public law
(extraordinary) jurisdiction and ordinary jurisdiction. Public law
jurisdiction is exercised by the Board of Administrative Appeal and the State
Court. The Board of Administrative Appeal hears appeals against decisions and
orders of the Government or representative commissions. The functions of the
State Court include namely the protection of the rights guaranteed by the
Constitution and established in the European Convention on Human Rights as
well as the International Covenant on civil and political rights. It also
verifies the constitutionality of laws and the legality of government
ordinances. The regular jurisdiction comprises the
administration of justice in civil and penal cases. The court of first
instance is the 3 Economy 3.1 Economic area Since the entry into force in 1924 of the Customs
Treaty with Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Switzerland have constituted a
common economic area. The border between the two States is open, while the
border with Austria is guarded by Swiss customs officers. Under the Currency
Agreement with Switzerland, the legal tender in Liechtenstein is the Swiss
franc. Since 1 May 1995 Liechtenstein has been a participant in the European
Economic Area, forming a single domestic market together with the 15 member
States of the European Union as well as Norway and Iceland. 3.2 Structure of economy Liechtenstein is a modern industrial and services
State with worldwide contacts. Its economic success in recent decades has
been based on favourable overall conditions resulting from liberal economic
legislation and tax advantages for resident companies. These are made
possible not least as a result of an efficient financial services system. 3.3 Structure of employment Liechtenstein's small size and the prevailing
economic upturn have resulted in a situation where a large proportion of the
labour force commutes across the national border (cross- border workers). At
the end of 1997, 14,732 employed people resided in Liechtenstein, and a
further 8,743, or 37.2 per cent of the total work force, commuted in from
neighbouring countries. In 1997, 53 per cent of the workforce was employed
in the services sector and 45.7 per cent in industry and trade. Although
Liechtenstein was an agricultural country until the 1940s, agriculture is no
longer ofmajor significance in the national economy. Only 1.3 per cent of the
labour force ist still employed in the primary sector. 3.4 Unemployment In international terms, unemployment is low. At the
end of 1998, the unemployment rate was at 2 per cent. 3.5 Education system The public education system in Liechtenstein
consists of the compulsory education and various forms of farther education
(technical college, apprenticeships, vocational school, evening school).
There is an International Academy for Philosophy in Liechtenstein. Apart from
this, Liechtenstein has no university. Access to university education in
neighbouring States, however, is guaranteed by treaties. Compulsory school attendance
is for nine years, from the age of 7 to 16. It consists of five years of
primary school and four years of secondary school (upper secondary school
(Gymnasium): eight years). Under the terms of the Education Act, the
establishment and operation of private schools in Liechtenstein is subject to
authorization. Authorization is granted if generally accessable instruction
in conformity with the regulations and consistent with the purposes of
education in Liechtenstein is guaranteed. The curricula of private schools
must be in conformity with the curricula for the public schools. Currently,
there are three private schools in Liechtenstein. Non-German-speaking children who are subject to
compulsory education have the opportunity of attending courses in their
mother tongue and the geography of their home country. The courses are
organized by private bodies. The necessary infrastructure (classes within the
class timetable, school premises) is generally provided by the State. In order to promote their integration, intensive
courses in the German langugage are conducted for incoming children over the
age of eight who do not yet possess a sufficient knowledge of German. The
purpose of the intensive course is to enable the children to enter the
appropriate grade and the appropriate type of school after at most one school
year. So that the integration will also be successful in social terms, the
children are familiarized with conditions in Liechtenstein. 4 International human rights conventions and
Liechtenstein law 4.1 Liechtenstein's Participation in
international human rights conventions As a member of the United Nations and the Council of
Europe, Liechtenstein has ratified a number of European and international
conventions relating to the protection of human rights. These are, inter
alia: - Convention on the Status of Refugees, of 28 July
1951 Liechtenstein abides by the principle that
international treaty obligations should be entered into only when they can be
complied with. According to the prevailing doctrine, international treaties
have at least the status of law within the domestic legal order. 4.2 Information on human rights conventions All laws, and thus also international agreements,
are discussed in the Landtag and have to be publicized. Therefore, they are
accessible to the public. The public is actively informed of international
human rights instruments by the Government at the time of parliamentary
approval and entry into force, and thereafter as required. Given the fact,
however, that the European Convention on Human Rights is repeatedly referred
to in speeches and written opinions, it may be assumed that there is a high
level of awareness of this instrument. II INFORMATION
WITH REGARD TO THE FRAMEWORK CONVENTION 1 Declaration Liechtenstein. ratified the Framework Convention for
the Protection of National Minorities on 18 November 1997 with the following
declaration contained in the instrument of ratification: The Principality of Liechtenstein declares that
Articles 24 and 25, in particular, of the Framework Convention for the
Protection of National Minorities of 1February 1995 are to be understood
having regard to the fact that no national minorities in the sense of the
framework Convention exist in the territory of the Principality of
Liechtenstein. The Principality of Liechtenstein considers its ratification
of the Framework Convention as an act of solidarity in the view of the
objectives of the Convention. 2 Advisory committee Taking into consideration the fact the 3 Confidence-building measures (1)Since
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