Data protection and data security

IV. Statistical confidentiality and data security

Art. 16: Statistical confidentiality

1) Statistical data may be used only for statistical purposes, unless otherwise provided hereinafter.

2) Use for non-statistical purposes is permissible if there is a legal basis or the persons concerned have given their written consent.

3) Persons entrusted with statistical activities are obliged to treat the personal data obtained in the course of their activities as confidential. They may not make this data accessible to anyone, subject to Article 8 paragraph 2 and Article 17 paragraph 1.

Art. 17: Disclosure of data

1) The Office of Statistics may disclose personal data to other foreign statistical offices and to research bodies for exclusively statistical purposes. If another body is the owner of these data, the Office of Statistics must obtain its consent in advance.

2) Research bodies to which personal data within the meaning of paragraph 1 are passed on must confirm in writing that they will maintain statistical confidentiality and, insofar as data of natural persons are concerned, comply with the provisions of data protection legislation.

Art. 18: Data security and data retention

1) Personal data collected for statistical purposes must be protected by appropriate technical and organizational measures.

2) Personal data must be stored in such a way that they cannot be accessed, altered or destroyed by unauthorized persons.

3) Lists of names and addresses created for the purpose of data collection, as well as survey material with personal identification numbers, shall not be kept. They shall be destroyed as soon as they are no longer required for statistical activity or for the keeping of registers.

Statistics Act (StatG) - In case of doubt, the German version always applies to legal texts.

A. Liechtenstein Business Register (LUR)

Art. 7: Data access

According to Article 14 ZPRG, access to data of the LUR is granted by users who have the necessary authorization to do so.

Art. 8: Disclosure of data to private persons

1) The Office of Statistics may disclose to private parties data of the following characteristics of enterprises and workplaces, provided that this serves a public interest:

a) name and address;
b) identifiers;
c) size class of the enterprise in terms of employees and full-time equivalents;
d) type of economic activity;
e) Company structure;
f) legal form;

2) The disclosure of data for purposes other than those specified in paragraph 1 is prohibited.

B. Building and Housing Register (GWR)

Art. 12: Access rights

1) The Office of Statistics may grant access rights to the GWR to the following agencies to the extent necessary for planning purposes or to carry out statutory duties:

a) municipalities, special-purpose associations of municipalities and citizens' cooperatives for the municipal area;
b) other official bodies;
c) the Liechtenstein Power Plants, the Liechtenstein Gas Supply and surveying companies that are active within the scope of official surveying.

2) If another body is the owner of the data of individual characteristics, the Office of Statistics shall obtain its consent in advance.

Art. 12a: Publication of data

The following building characteristics shall be published on the website of the National Administration:

a) building identifier;
b) Municipality name;
c) address of the building, including zip code and city;
d) Name of the building;
e) Building category;
f) Parcel number and building coordinates.

Art. 13: Disclosure of data

1) The Office of Statistics may disclose data on building and dwelling characteristics to public-law bodies and private persons in accordance with Article 10, paragraph 2 and 3, provided that this serves a public interest.

2) The disclosure of non-published data from the GWR for purposes other than those specified in paragraph 1, in particular for address trading or other commercial purposes, is prohibited.

Statistics Ordinance (StatV)- In case of doubt, the German version always applies to legal texts.

PRINCIPLE 5: Statistical Confidentiality and Data Protection

The privacy of data providers, the confidentiality of the information they provide, its use only for statistical purposes and the security of the data are absolutely guaranteed.

5.1 Statistical confidentiality is guaranteed in law.

5.2 Staff sign legal confidentiality commitments on appointment.

5.3 Penalties are prescribed for any wilful breaches of statistical confidentiality.

5.4 Guidelines and instructions are provided to staff on the protection of statistical confidentiality throughout the statistical processes. The confidentiality policy is made known to the public.

5.5 The necessary regulatory, administrative, technical and organisational measures are in place to protect the security and integrity of statistical data and their transmission, in accordance with best practices, international standards, as well as European and national legislation.

5.6 Strict protocols apply to external users accessing statistical microdata for research purposes.

On the basis of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), natural persons are entitled to the following rights: the Right of access by the data subject (Article 15), Right of rectification (Article 16), Right of erasure (Article 17), Right of restriction of processing (Article 18), Right of data portability (Article 20), and the Right to object (Article 21), insofar as these rights exist in individual cases on the basis of statutory provisions.

Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)

Data Protection Act (DSG) - In case of doubt, the German version always applies to legal texts.