CHAPTER VII. THE GOVERNMENT
Article 78
- Subject to the following provisions of this Article, the whole of the national administration shall be conducted by the Collegial Government responsible to the Prince Regnant and Parliament in conformity with the provisions of the present Constitution and the other laws.
- To be dealt with independently, specific functions may be transferred by law or by legally binding authorizations to certain officials, government offices or special commissions, subject to recourse to the Collegial Government.
- Special commissions for dealing with complaints may be set up by law to act on behalf of the Collegial Government.
- For the performance of economic, social and cultural obligations, special corporations, institutions and foundations of public law may be established by legislation and placed under the supervision of the Government.
Article 79
- The Collegial Government shall consist of the Head of the Government and four Government Councillors.
- The Head of the Government and the Government Councillors shall be appointed by the Prince Regnant with the concurrence of Parliament and on the proposal of the latter. A substitute shall be appointed in like manner for the Head of the Government and for each Government Councillor to represent the member of the Government in question who may be prevented from attending the meetings of the Collegial Government.
- On the proposal of Parliament, one of the Government Councillors shall be appointed by the Prince Regnant as the Deputy Head of the Government.
- The members of the Government must be citizens of Liechtenstein and eligible for Parliament.
- When the Collegial Government is appointed, care must be taken that at least two members are chosen from each of the two regions. Their substitutes must be chosen from the same region.
- The period of office of the Collegial Government shall be four years. Until a new Government is appointed, the previous members shall be responsible for carrying on Government business unless Art. 80 is applied.
Article 80
- If the Government loses the confidence of the Prince Regnant or Parliament, it shall lose its power to exercise its functions. For the period until the new Government takes office, the Prince, by application of the provisions of Art. 79 Paras. 1 and 4, shall appoint an interim Government to carry out the administration of the state (Art. 79 Para. 1). After four months at the latest, the interim Government shall submit to a vote of confidence in Parliament unless the Prince has previously appointed a new Government on Parliament’s recommendation (Art. 79 Para. 2).
- If a member of the Government should lose the confidence of the Prince Regnant or Parliament, the decision on whether to allow him or her to continue in office shall be taken by the Prince Regnant in agreement with Parliament. Until the new member is appointed, his official duties shall be performed by his deputy.
Article 81
For a decision of the Collegial Government to be valid, at least four members must be present and a majority of those members present must vote in favour. In the event of a tie, the chairman has the casting vote. Voting is compulsory.
Article 82
The grounds on which a member of the Government may be debarred from the performance of an official act or invited to abstain therefrom shall be laid down in law.
Article 83
Government business shall be dealt with partly on a collegial basis and partly on a departmental basis.
Article 84
The Collegial Government shall issue its rules of procedure in the form of a Government regulation.
Article 85
The Head of the Government shall preside at meetings of the Government, deal with business directly entrusted to him by the Prince Regnant, and countersign the laws and any decrees or ordinances issued by the Prince Regnant or a Regent. At public ceremonies he shall be accorded the honours prescribed by the regulations for the Representative of the Prince Regnant.
Article 86
- The Head of the Government shall submit reports by word of mouth or in writing to the Prince Regnant with regard to matters placed under the authority of the Sovereign.
- The texts of the decisions adopted by the Sovereign on his proposal shall be signed by the Prince Regnant with his own hand and shall also be countersigned by the Head of the Government.
Article 87
The Head of the Government shall take his oath of office before the Prince Regnant or the Regent; the other members of the Government and the State officials shall be sworn in by the Head of the Government.
Article 88
If the Head of the Government should be prevented from attending to his duties, the Deputy Head of the Government shall take over those functions which, according to the Constitution, expressly appertain to the Head of the Government. If the Deputy Head of the Government should also be prevented, the eldest Government Councillor shall take his place.
Article 89
The Head of the Government shall sign the decrees and orders issued by the Government in pursuance of its decisions taken in council. He shall further exercise direct supervision over the conduct of business in the Government.
Article 90
- All important matters assigned to the Government, especially the settlement of administrative disputes, shall be discussed and decided by the Government in council. Certain less important matters may be assigned by law to the appropriate members of the Government in accordance with the distribution of Government business to be dealt with independently.
- Minutes shall be taken at Government meetings by the Government Secretary, or, if he should be prevented, by a substitute to be appointed by the Collegial Government.
- The Head of the Government is responsible for executing the decisions of the Collegial Government. Only if he is of the opinion that a decision is contrary to existing laws or regulations may he delay its execution. He must, however, immediately notify the Administrative Court of the matter which, without prejudice to the right of appeal of a party involved, shall determine whether the decision shall be implemented or not.
Article 91
At the beginning of each period of office, the Collegial Government shall distribute its business between the Head of the Government and the Government Councillors to prepare the matters to be determined in council and to deal with that business which by law may be treated independently. A system of mutual deputizing shall be arranged for cases of indisposition.
Article 92
- The Government shall be responsible for the execution of all laws and of all such tasks as may be lawfully entrusted to it by the Prince Regnant or Parliament. To give effect to the laws, it shall issue the necessary implementation regulations which must, however, remain within the limits of the said laws.
- To give effect to the laws and directly applicable treaties, it shall issue the necessary implementation regulations which must, however, remain within the limits of the said laws and directly applicable treaties.
- To meet other treaty obligations, the Government may issue the necessary decrees provided that no new laws are required.
- All organs of the national administration may only act within the limits of the Constitution and the laws and the provisions of the treaties. Even in matters where the law allows the administrative authorities freedom of judgement, the limits imposed thereon by the law must be scrupulously observed.
Article 93
The following matters in particular shall fall within the sphere of action of the Government:
- supervision of all authorities and employees subordinate to the Government and the exercise of disciplinary powers in respect of employees; supervision and disciplinary powers in respect of public prosecutors shall be determined by law;
- the allotment of the staff required for the Government and the other authorities;
- supervision of the prisons and of the treatment of persons detained in custody and of convicts;
- the administration of buildings belonging to the State;
- monitoring of the lawful and uninterrupted conduct of business of the ordinary courts;
- the preparation of the report on its official activities to be submitted annually to Parliament;
- the preparation of Government bills for submission to Parliament and the expression of its opinion on proposals submitted to it for that purpose by Parliament;
- the deciding of urgent expenditure not provided for in the estimates;
- resolution on securities up to 250,000 francs, on the acquisition and alienation of landed property belonging to the financial assets up to 1,000,000 francs and belonging to the administrative assets up to 30,000 francs as well as, by virtue of legislative authorization, on the taking up of credits and loans.
Article 94
The organization of the administration shall be established by law.
