Corruption
The Council of Europe's Group of States against Corruption (GRECO) was founded in 1999. GRECO uses a monitoring mechanism, to which 50 member states belong, to check whether the fight against corruption in the member states complies with international standards.
At the end of 2023, the fourth round of evaluations to prevent corruption in parliament, courts and the public prosecutor's office was completed. The preliminary implementation report was published in March 2024. Liechtenstein has already taken steps to implement several recommendations: After the Judges Appointment Act and the Public Prosecutor's Office Act were amended in 2022, a code of conduct for members of parliament was introduced in the reporting year and integrity criteria for the court and public prosecutor's office were developed or further developed.
Nevertheless, not all recommendations have yet been fully implemented - in particular, further improvements are needed in terms of transparency, judicial independence and protection mechanisms. Furthermore, the group of states misses regulations for members of parliament on dealing with conflicts of interest, confidential information, lobbying and the acceptance of gifts. Secondary employment and financial interests of members of parliament should also be disclosed. With regard to the training of judges, the committee misses an annual training course on ethics and the appointment of a confidential advisor. In the case of the Public Prosecutor's Office, the government's termination of Article 50 of the Public Prosecutor's Act continues to be met with criticism. Overall, Liechtenstein was able to implement six of the sixteen recommendations satisfactorily. Of the remaining recommendations, eight were partially implemented and two were not implemented.
From 15 to 19 April 2024, a GRECO evaluation team visited Liechtenstein as part of the fifth evaluation round and exchanged views with authorities and civil law organizations on measures to prevent corruption and promote integrity in the government, senior civil servants and the police. Particular attention was paid to the handling of ethical principles and rules of conduct, conflicts of interest, transparency regarding activities, assets, income or financial obligations and conflicts of interest. The report on the fifth evaluation round is expected in 2025.
Establish additional rules for MEPs to deal with conflicts of interest, confidential information, secondary employment, contacts with third parties and the acceptance of gifts.
