On 3 and 4 October 2024, the Chair for Economic Criminal Law, Compliance, and Digitalization held the fourth edition of the intensive course "International Sanctions Law."

Following the welcome address by Prof. Dr. Konstantina Papathanasiou, LL.M., the course featured seven presentations covering various aspects of international sanctions law. The opening lecture was delivered by Dr. Georges Baur (Research Associate in Law at the Liechtenstein Institute, Gamprin-Bendern), who provided insights into the international framework of Liechtenstein’s sanctions law (UN–EEA treaties with Switzerland) and the political dimensions of sanctions.

Prof. Dr. Konstantina Papathanasiou, LL.M. (Chair of Economic Criminal Law, Compliance, and Digitalization) then introduced Liechtenstein’s Sanctions Act (ISG), focusing on Articles 1–5b and 9 ISG, and explained the criminal provisions in Articles 10 and 11 ISG. The focus was on distinguishing between intent and negligence, as well as on the liability of legal persons. These provisions were illustrated using the criminal provisions of the Ukraine Regulation. The presentation concluded with a look at the EU Directive 2024/1226, which defines criminal offenses and penalties for violations of the Union’s restrictive measures.

Next, Biba Homsy (Partner and Founder, Homsy Legal, Geneva/Luxembourg) gave an online presentation on “Practical Issues in Sanctions Law in Luxembourg.”

The first day ended with a talk by Mag. Piotr Daniel Kocab, LL.M. (Gasser Partner Attorneys at Law) titled “Fear of the OFAC – Resignation from a Foundation Board Due to Russia-Related Connections? What Is Reasonable to Expect from a Foundation Board Member?”

On the second day, Dr. Teresa-Christina Macan, Dr. Hannah Blecha, LL.B., and Lic. iur. Alexander Schwartz (Schwärzler Attorneys at Law) presented “Practical Issues in Sanctions Law in Liechtenstein and Switzerland, Focusing on Sanctions Against Russia Based on the Ukraine Sanctions Regulation,” analyzing recent case law and practical examples.

This was followed by a presentation by Mag. Piotr Daniel Kocab, LL.M. (Gasser Partner Attorneys at Law) on the topic “Over-Compliance: How Much Protection Does the Law Offer?”

The course concluded with a presentation by Gerd König (Financial Crime Prevention LGT, Vaduz) on the significance and scope of international sanctions, with a focus on EU–US relations and their impact on Liechtenstein banks.

The strong interest of the numerous participants once again confirmed the need for in-depth and ongoing dialogue on this highly relevant and complex subject. The next course will take place on 10 and 11 April 2025.

Further information is available at www.uni.li/isg.

As part of the Token Summit Liechtenstein, the 7th session of the "MiCAR Expert Roundtable Series" took place at the University of Liechtenstein in early October.

The roundtable was organized by the CCA Trustless Technologies Association e.V. in collaboration with the European Commission, the Office for Financial Market Innovation & Digitalization, NÄGELE Attorneys at Law LLC, CCA-Token Summit Liechtenstein, the University of Liechtenstein, and Bitpanda.
Professor Konstantina Papathanasiou opened the event with a welcome address, followed by a keynote by Dr. Clara Guerra. Presentations included topics such as capital requirements by Dr. Christian Steiner, gas fee stations by Nina Gartmann, and outsourcing by Dr. Thomas Nägele.

Insightful discussions with a diverse group of participants—industry experts, regulators, and practitioners—rounded off the roundtable.

Nowadays, children are exposed to the dangers of the internet at a very early age. There is therefore an urgent need to develop suitable didactic tools for teaching cyber safety to young people. The new Erasmus+ project ‘KidCy’ at the University of Liechtenstein, led by Dr Irdin Pekaric and Prof Dr Pavel Laskov at the Hilti Professorship for Data and Application Security, is addressing this issue.

Nowadays, entry into the digital world begins at a young age. Exciting games, funny videos, later social contacts, online shopping and even their own accounts - children already master a wide range of digital applications and technologies with impressive naturalness, which have a significant influence on their private and later also their professional lives.

The security risks to which children are exposed on the internet range from social phenomena such as bullying and damage caused by fraudulent messages or apps to threats to their physical safety through communication with strangers. Dealing with such risks has long been a concern for parents, teachers and socio-educational services. However, the problems are complex and require technical as well as social and educational measures.

The new Erasmus+ project ‘KidCy’ at the University of Liechtenstein, led by Dr Irdin Pekaric and Prof. Dr Pavel Laskov at the Hilti Professorship for Data and Application Security, is concerned with developing a new curriculum that includes suitable didactic tools for teaching cyber security to children. The aim of the project is to first research children's self-perception of cyber security and link it to the known risks in order to develop suitable teaching methods and teaching materials on this basis.

At the first project meeting on 26 and 27 September 2024, researchers from Liechtenstein, Norway, Austria, Lithuania and the Czech Republic met at the University of Liechtenstein to discuss the planning and design of the first steps of this ambitious project. The results are to be presented to stakeholders in the school system and social services in the Rhine Valley region as early as 2026.

On Thursday, 26 September 2024, an intensive train-the-trainer workshop focusing on self-leadership took place at the University of Liechtenstein under the direction of Julia Tenschert (Chair of Entrepreneurship and Leadership).

Self-leadership plays a decisive role in aviation - especially in situations where precise decisions are required under high time pressure and in complex environments. After all, successful leadership begins with the manager himself.

The core team of the SWISS Operations Leadership Curriculum and eight other leadership facilitators and pilots were not only strengthened in their own self-leadership potential in this workshop, but also received practical methods that they can apply and pass on in future leadership training courses and within SWISS Operations.
 

The Executive Master of Laws (LL.M.) in Banking and Financial Market Law kicked off its next round today.

22 students were welcomed by PD Dr. Bernhard Burtscher, who also presented the roadmap for the program: The upcoming four semesters will be filled with lectures on banking and financial market law, including all its subfields and related neighboring areas. At the same time, networking will not be neglected — not only among the students through a social program, but also with key players in the financial market industry in Frankfurt, Luxembourg, and Paris, which will be visited during study trips.