Arbitration body pursuant to Art. 4 para. 1 lit. a ADR Act

Arbitration body in keeping with communications legislation pursuant to Art. 4 para. 1 lit. a of the Act on Alternative Dispute Resolution in Consumer Matters (Liechtenstein Law Gazette 2016 No. 516)

In its capacity as an arbitration body in keeping with communications legislation pursuant to Art. 4 para. 1 lit. a of the ADR Act, the Office for Communications supports consumers and companies in settling disputes quickly and cost-effectively. The Office for Communications is neutral and independent in this function and is considered a notified ADR entity in keeping with the applicable law.

Contact:

Amt für Kommunikation
Postfach 684
9490 Vaduz
info.ak@llv.li

Legal requirements:

Act on Alternative Dispute Resolution in Consumer Matters (Liechtenstein Law Gazette 2016 No. 516; in German)

Information on the arbitration body:

In keeping with communications legislation pursuant to Art. 4 para. 1 lit. a of the ADR Act, the arbitration body offers free, voluntary alternative dispute settlement in order to help resolve problems between consumers and businesses. In doing so, the body is neither on the consumer's side nor on the company's side, but acts neutrally and supports both sides in reaching an agreement. In this sense, we are not a consumer protection institution but a service board for consumers and companies.

The arbitration body is not a consumer protection institution. For this reason, we cannot offer legal advice to consumers, file lawsuits, or represent them against companies or in court. Our task is to mediate neutrally between consumers and companies and to support both sides in finding a solution.

Arbitration team:

Office for Communications

Arbitration procedure (rules of procedure):

For information on the procedure, please click here.

Responsibility:

You can turn to the Office for Communications in its capacity as an arbitration body in keeping with communications legislation pursuant to Art. 4 para. 1 lit. a of the ADR Act if:

• there is a dispute between a consumer and a company that falls within the scope of communications legislation;
• the consumer has their place of residence in Liechtenstein or an EEA member state;
• the company has a registered office in Liechtenstein (e.g., headquarters, subsidiary, etc.);
• the dispute does not fall within the competence of another arbitration board according to Art. 4 of the ADR Act.

There are currently four arbitration/conciliation boards under Art. 4 of the ADR Act in Liechtenstein, which are responsible for various disputes between consumers and businesses. The arbitration board for consumer matters at the Office of Economic Affairs handles all cases for which none of the other arbitration bodies is responsible. The websites of the individual bodies provide detailed information on their areas of competence.

Reasons for refusal:

Applications for arbitration must be rejected if:

• the case does not refer to a consumer dispute, but a dispute between two or more consumers or between two or more companies among themselves;
• the consumer does not have their place of residence in Liechtenstein or an EEA member state;
• the company does not have a registered office in Liechtenstein (e.g., headquarters, subsidiary, etc.);
• the case does not concern a claim arising from a contract for paid services;
• another arbitration board is the competent body.

Applications for arbitration will be rejected if:

• the complaint is malicious or wilful;
• the amount in dispute is less than CHF 30.00 (incl. VAT), unless the subject matter of the dispute has a significance that goes beyond the individual case;
• the complaint is being or has been dealt with before a court or another arbitration body;
• the complaint is not submitted to the arbitration body within a period of at least one year from the date on which the complaint was made to the company;
• the consumer does not credibly demonstrate in the complaint to have tried to reach an agreement with the company before submitting the application for arbitration;
• no specific claim is raised, but only general information is requested.

Applications:

Applications for arbitration can only be submitted in German. Before you submit an application, you must have confronted the company with your complaint. Please also refer to the detailed information about the procedure. This will help you to avoid filing an inadmissible application.

The consumer must pay an amount of CHF 50 for the initiation of the procedure, which is considered a contribution to ensure the seriousness of the case.

There is no obligation for the company to engage in the arbitration procedure.

The form can be found here (in German). 

ODR Platform:

If you have a problem with a company registered in Liechtenstein or another EEA member state and the contract was concluded online, you can also submit a dispute resolution application to the European Commission's ODR platform. ODR stands for "online dispute resolution". Your complaint is then automatically sent to the company concerned, which in turn proposes an arbitration/conciliation body. If you agree to the company's proposal, the complaint will be forwarded to the relevant body, which will then conduct the arbitration procedure. You can reach the ODR platform via:

https://webgate.ec.europa.eu/odr/main/index.cfm?event=main.home.chooseLanguage