Liechtenstein in the Council of Europe

Liechtenstein has been a member of the Council of Europe since 23 November 23 1978. 

Within the Council of Europe, Liechtenstein is actively committed to the promotion of human rights, democracy and the rule of law in Europe. Liechtenstein's commitment focuses on strengthening the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), as well as combating money laundering and corruption. In the 45 years since its accession, Liechtenstein has shown that it is willing and able to contribute to overcoming common European challenges. Europe's strength is based on shared values such as the rule of law, protection of fundamental values and practiced democracy. The priorities of the Council of Europe coincide with Liechtenstein's foreign policy priorities in the multilateral area. Liechtenstein is determined to continue to actively promote these values. Further information on Liechtenstein's membership of the Council of Europe can be found on the member state page of the Council of Europe website.

Committee of Ministers

The Committee of Ministers is the central decision-making body of the Council of Europe. It adopts the Organisation’s Budget for example and monitors the execution of European Court of Human Rights judgments in the member States. It is made up of the member States’ Foreign Affairs Ministers. The Committee sits once a year at ministerial level and every week at the level of the Permanent Representatives to the Council of Europe (the Ministers’ Deputies) to discuss and examine specific topics. The Ministers’ representatives are supported by a Chair, a Secretariat, rapporteur groups, thematic co-ordinators and ad hoc working parties, although these have no decision-making powers of their own.

Liechtenstein is represented on the Committee of Ministers by Foreign Minister Dominique Hasler. She is represented at the weekly meetings by Ambassador Domenik Wanger and his team.

Parliamentary Assembly

The Parliamentary Assembly consists of 306 parliamentary delegates from the Council of Europe’s member States. As the Council of Europe‘s consultative body, it adopts PACE resolutions and recommendations for the attention of the Committee of Ministers. Its members also elect, among others, the Secretary General, the Deputy Secretary General, the Commissioner for Human Rights and the judges of the European Court of Human Rights.

Liechtenstein is represented by the Members of Parliament (MP) Franziska Hoop, Peter Frick, Hubert Büchel (Substitute) and Thomas Hasler (Substitute).

Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of Europe

The Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of Europe advises the Committee of Ministers and the Parliamentary Assembly in all matters of local and regional policy. The highly diverse activities of the Congress include the observation of local and regional elections, the setting of standards for protecting the prerogatives of local and regional authorities and the monitoring of the implementation of recommendations and resolutions as well as the execution of European Court of Human Rights judgments at local level. The Congress of Local and Regional Authorities comprises representatives of the local, municipal and regional authorities of the Council of Europe’s member States.

Liechtenstein is represented on this body by Petra Miescher (Mayor of Vaduz), Rainer Beck (Mayor of Planken), Daniela Erne (Substitute, Mayor of Triesen) and Christian Öhri (Substitute, Mayor of Ruggell).

The European Court of Human Rights

The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) ensures compliance with the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) of 1950. Since 1998 the European Court of Human Rights has been a permanently sitting court, where people can lodge applications claiming that a Council of Europe member State has violated their fundamental rights as set out in the Convention. Each of the 46 member States is represented by a judge working in the Court. The judges are elected by the PACE for each country from a list of three candidates for a non-renewable term of nine years. This possibility for an international court to pass legally binding judgments on human rights violations by States is unique in the world. In addition to the right of individual complaint, which is the channel for most of the cases coming before the Court, it is also possible for States to make applications against other States. The execution of judgments is supervised by the Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers.

Each member state is represented at the Court by an independent judge, which means that there are currently 46 judges at the Offices of the ECtHR. Judge Carlo Ranzoni holds this Office for Liechtenstein until August 2024.

Engagement at expert level

A special feature of the Council of Europe is the regular meetings between experts from the member states. At these expert meetings, the business that the Committee of Ministers decides on is prepared. These include, in particular, the Council of Europe Conventions, but also political recommendations that the Committee of Ministers addresses to the governments of the member states. The tasks of the Committees of Experts include not only the drafting but also the further development of legal instruments. Liechtenstein focusses its resources on specific topics. These include the further development of human rights protection in Europe, the fight against transnational organized crime, cybercrime and international terrorism, the fight against money laundering and corruption, as well as cooperation in the areas of education and protection of biodiversity.