A comparison of the Newly Reformed German and the Liechtenstein Foundation Law against the background of the competition between the legal systems

Abstract

Abstract An European legal framework for foundation practice is still missing. Even the proposal for a regulation on the statute of the Fundatio Europaea has not yet been implemented. Meanwhile, the civil law regulations of the various foundation law systems are manifold. At the same time, competition between European legal systems not only affects civil, corporate and tax law, but has also reached foundation law. Moreover, the social and international environment of foundations is changing. In addition to a new generation of young founders, the demographic change in society and the mobility of legal forms in the European environment are also having an impact on foundations. Due to current reforms in the traditional foundation law systems of Germany and Switzerland, the question arises whether Liechtenstein should react to the competition between foundation law systems and whether the Liechtenstein legislator should become active once again. For this reason, this article deals in detail with the most important changes in German foundation law that are relevant for Liechtenstein foundation law. The article also looks at the regulations in Liechtenstein foundation law in a comparative law perspective, highlighting the competition between foundation law systems.