History of the reception of private law in Liechtenstein

28 May 2024 - Neue Publikation
In a working paper, Lukas Ospelt examines the history of reception or «legal transplants» in the field of civil law in the Principality of Liechtenstein from the early modern period to the early 21st century. The unconventional question is also raised as to whether it would not have been more expedient for the Confederation of the Rhine in 1812 to adopt the French Civil Code of 1804 (in German translation) instead of the Austrian Civil Code of 1811.

The scope of the study ranges from 17th century rural customs to the drafting of a civil code by bailiff Josef Schuppler in 1809. century, the drafting of a civil code by Landvogt Josef Schuppler in 1809, the reception of the Austrian ABGB in 1812 and the associated phases of the automatic and autonomous reception of Austrian law, the «break in reception» in the early 1920s in the context of Liechtensteiner’s turn to Austrian law.The «break in reception» in the early 1920s in the context of Liechtenstein’s turn towards Switzerland, the plans of Dr. Wilhelm Beck and Dr. Emil Beck’s plans for a separate Liechtenstein Civil Code (and what became of them), the activities of the Rechtsbuchkommission in the 1950s, the judicial reform of the 1970s up to the revision project «200 Years of the General Civil Code» in the years 2007 to 2012. The working paper concludes with thoughts on today’s Liechtenstein mixed legal system and the question of the necessity of reception, especially for a microstate like Liechtenstein in an increasingly interconnected world.