When Thirty Becomes Ten: Liechtenstein’s Bold Curtailment Of The Civil Statute Of Limitations – Strategic Playbook For Boards, Claim-Managers And Transactional Counsel

Josef Bergt

2025

1. Context – why a centuries-old time‐bar suddenly looks Jurassic

For more than two hundred years the Allgemeines Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch (ABGB; Civil Code) allowed creditors an expansive 30-year window to sue, a horizon so generous that evidence, witnesses and even corporate records often evaporated long before the clock stopped. The Government’s Bill No. 50/2025 now trims that “long” period to a lean decade, aligning Liechtenstein with Switzerland’s ten-year default and the German ten-/three-year twin model, and responding to mounting industry criticism that an age-old rule is no longer fit for a digitalised economy where data-retention laws cap business-book archiving at the same ten years.

2. The new architecture in a single glance

3. Transitional tightrope – neither an amnesty nor retroactive guillotine

Existing claims continue to age under the old rules but will extinguish at the latest ten years after the Act enters into force, except where the new § 1489 (3 ABGB) preserves the 30-year horizon for crime-related damages. In practice, that grants stakeholders a finite grace period to verify dormant receivables or liabilities before they silently vanish.

4. Strategic implications across the market-spectrum

• Credit & securitisation desks ought to revisit long-dated representations and warranties: default probabilities fall as claims age-out faster, yet disclosure duties may tighten if prospectus language still cites a 30-year horizon.
• Construction, engineering and design firms finally see statutory liability converge with the ten-year archive duty for project files; insurers will recalibrate tail-coverage pricing accordingly.
• Trustees, directors and foundation councillors must distinguish between ordinary negligence (10 years absolute) and “qualified fault” scenarios that still enjoy a 30-year reach – contractual limitation clauses remain vital but cannot undercut the mandatory maxima.
• Litigation funders may face a near-term surge of “last-minute” filings as legacy claims approach sudden expiry; due-diligence models should incorporate the new sunset to avoid stranded portfolios.
• Compliance officers should instruct bookkeeping and data-privacy teams that retention beyond ten years is now rarely justifiable absent pending litigation, reducing storage costs and GDPR exposure.

5. Comparative edge – why timing matters

Neighbours have already shortened statutes (Germany in 2002, Switzerland even earlier), while Austria is publicly mulling an identical ten-year overhaul. Early implementation positions Liechtenstein as a predictably low-risk forum for cross-border contracts and wealth-holding structures, offering deal-makers a hard-wired certainty previously unavailable in the Principality.

6. Action checklist – convert reform into advantage today

1. Inventory pending and potential claims across all group entities; flag those older than twenty years for accelerated decision.
2. Amend standard terms (GTCs, loan covenants, SPA limitation clauses) to reference the ten-year ceiling and carve-outs.
3. Realign D&O and PI insurance retention and premium assumptions with the compressed exposure tail.
4. Update document-retention schedules: shred or anonymise data once dual thresholds (ten-year legal + business need) expire.
5. Educate board & staff; ignorance of the shortened window could amount to governance failure. Bergt Law offers bespoke workshops.

Sources: Report And Motion Concerning AMENDMENTS TO THE GENERAL CIVIL CODE AND TO THE PERSONS AND COMPANY LAW, No. 50/2025.

Key findings & core statements

• Ten replaces thirty: the general civil time-bar falls to 10 years, mirroring bookkeeping duties and Swiss standards.
• Protected pockets remain: enforcement titles, crime-linked damages and deliberate corporate misconduct keep a 30-year leash.
• Transition rule: legacy claims lapse at the sooner of their old expiry or 10 years post-enactment.
• Directors beware: Art 226 PGR still exposes qualifying fault to three decades of pursuit.
• Competitive signal: the reform aligns Liechtenstein with international best practice, enhancing legal certainty and investor confidence.

Our multidisciplinary team at Bergt Law stands ready to map your exposure matrices, draft limitation-proof contracts and litigate where necessary—turn imminent change into strategic certainty by contacting us at bergt.law/en.