Registration and preliminary examination

Registration of popular initiatives

The registration of collective petitions (popular initiatives) is done by the initiators. Initiators can be all persons entitled to vote in Liechtenstein.

Initiatives may be submitted concerning the constitution or a law. They can be made in the form of a simple suggestion (simple initiative) or the elaborated draft (formulated initiative). They may be justified. The attachment of a withdrawal clause is permissible.

An initiative, the implementation of which will result in either a one-time expenditure of 500,000 francs not provided for in the Finance Law or a longer lasting annual burden of 250,000 francs, must be accompanied by a proposal for coverage.

When submitting a formulated initiative, the legislative guidelines must be observed.

Preliminary examination

Initiatives must be registered with the government for examination and publication. Signatures collected beforehand are disregarded.

The Government shall examine whether the initiatives registered with it are in conformity with the Constitution and existing treaties. It sends its report, including submissions, to Parliament. Parliament shall consider the initiative petition at its next session.

If Parliament finds that an initiative complies with the Constitution and existing state treaties, it shall declare it admissible.

Next step: The collection of signatures