Type and Duration
FFF-Förderprojekt, March 2024 until January 2025Coordinator
Banking & Financial Market LawMain Research
Business LawDescription
In October 2020, the Liechtenstein government launched an ambitious legislative project. By January 1st 2025, a new banking and financial markets law shall enter into force and align the legal framework with the latest European legal requirements. The primary focus of the legislative project is the Banking Act (Bankengesetz – BankG), the original version of which dates back to 1992. The provisions on prudential requirements of investment firms, the provision of investment services and investment activities as well as the rules on trading facilities will be transferred to independent special laws and the Banking Act will be comprehensively reformed. At the same time, the new laws serve to implement current EEA legislation. The project aims at significantly reducing the complexity of banking and financial markets law in Liechtenstein.The reform of Liechtenstein banking and financial market law raises several legal questions that will be addressed in the course of the research project. Against this background, the reform project is also analysed from a comparative law perspective.
Practical Application
The Liechtenstein financial centre has grown considerably in recent years and has developed into a central pillar of the country's economy. As a result, financial market law is also of direct importance to more and more economic operators and companies. With the ‘New Concept for Financial Market Law’, which is the subject of this research, the legislator is pursuing, among other things, the goal of aligning the legal framework more closely with EEA law and simplifying it for the legal practitioner. To this end, the Liechtenstein legal framework is being thoroughly revised.The enactment of a new legal framework also brings with it new questions of interpretation. The review of the ‘New Concept of Financial Market Law’ as part of the research project promotes legal clarity and thus legal certainty in Liechtenstein. The exchange with companies and public institutions can also provide practical guidance for the interpretation and application of the new provisions. The research results will be made available to legal practitioners in the form of a conference (Liechtenstein Banking Law Forum) and a conference volume.
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Reference to Liechtenstein
The Liechtenstein financial centre is of central economic and social importance for the country. A coherent, clear and user-friendly financial market law is the basis for the competitiveness and further development of the financial centre and business location. It is also a prerequisite for the implementation of innovations in the areas of digitalisation and sustainability. At the same time, financial market law is strongly characterised by the increasing number of EEA legal acts, which are being amended at an ever-increasing pace. With the ‘reconceptualisation of financial market law’, the legislator aims to adapt the legal framework to new European legal requirements and simplify it at the same time.The academic analysis of the ‘New Approach to Financial Market Law’ can make a significant contribution to increasing legal certainty in Liechtenstein and ensuring the best possible interaction between European and national regulation. On the one hand, it can support legislators in further improving the legal framework for future reforms and aligning it even better with the needs of market participants. On the other hand, the key results of the project will be presented in autumn 2024 at a symposium organised by the professorship (Liechtenstein Banking Law Forum) and discussed with companies and public institutions. This will provide practical guidance in the interests of promoting Liechtenstein as a business location. The objectives of the research project are in line with the government programme 2021-2025, which provides for the continuous adaptation of the financial market law framework to the requirements of the market, taking into account international developments and enabling digital and sustainable innovations.
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Keywords
Stock Exchange, Banking and Financial Markets Law, Banking Regulation, Investment Services
