Plenary
The Liechtenstein Parliament consists of 25 Members of Parliament (MPs). Parliament exercises its rights in the plenary meetings of Parliament. Detailed consideration of legislation also generally takes place in plenary. The Liechtenstein Parliament is therefore considered a “working Parliament”. Compared to other parliaments, only few tasks are delegated to committees. To the extent that committees are formed, they largely only assume the task of preparing certain items for the parliamentary plenary and of formulating corresponding recommendations.

Members of Parliament
All Members of Parliament serve part-time; they hold office in parallel with their regular professions. They receive an annual compensation and a per diem. They receive remuneration for each meeting day of preparatory work. MPs may not be held legally accountable for their statements made in Parliament. They enjoy immunity to the extent that they may not be arrested while Parliament is in session without the consent of Parliament.

President of Parliament
The President of Parliament and the Vice-President of Parliament are elected in the inaugural meeting of Parliament for the current year. The President of Parliament opens parliamentary meetings during the year; he chairs the meetings and acts as the representative of Parliament. The Vice-President of Parliament represents the President if the President is unavailable.
(Source: Parliament Secretariat, Parliament 2002)

Standing Committees
In the inaugural meeting of the year, Parliament elects the three standing committees for the current year: the Foreign Affairs Committee, the Finance Committee, and the Administration and Management Committee. Only the Finance Committee is mandated to make decisions on its own, as it may decide on certain financial transactions (e.g., land purchases). All standing committees consist of five MPs.

Special Committees
According to the Parliamentary Rules of Procedure, Parliament may also appoint special committees. These may consist of three or five MPs. Their membership on the committee ends upon completion of the mandate, at the latest however upon expiration of their term of office. The task of the special committees is to prepare individual laws or other agenda items and to make appropriate recommendations to the parliamentary plenary. The EEA Committee verifies whether planned EEA legal norms require approval by Parliament. Investigation committees are a manifestation of a strong minority right: On the request of only seven MPs, Parliament is required to appoint an investigation committee.

Parliamentary Delegations
At the beginning of the term of office, Parliament elects delegations to the international parliamentary bodies it participates in. These delegations include two delegates and two alternate delegates each to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, the EFTA/EEA parliamentary committees and the EEA Joint Parliamentary Committee, and the Parliamentary Assembly of the OSCE; four delegates to the Inter-Parliamentary Union; and three delegates to the Lake Constance Parliamentary Commission. The election of these delegations is for their entire term of office, i.e., four years.

Parliamentary Bureau
The Parliamentary Bureau consists of the President of Parliament, the Vice-President of Parliament, and the Spokespersons of the parliamentary groups. The Parliamentary Secretary serves as a non-voting advisor. The Parliamentary Bureau advises the President, in particular with regard to preparing the agenda of the meetings of Parliament; the Bureau prepares the budget of Parliament and decides on employing staff for the Parliament Secretariat.

Clerk
In the inaugural meeting each year, Parliament elects two Clerks. They act as vote counters.

Parliament Secretariat
The Parliament Secretariat consists of the Parliament Secretary, the Deputy Secretary, and further staff. The Secretariat’s main duties are to prepare the minutes of the meetings of Parliament and its committees, to support the President, the MPs, the committees, and the parliamentary delegations, and to provide information for the MPs. In addition, the Secretariat is in general responsible for reading out proposals in plenary meetings. The Parliament Secretary and the Deputy Secretary are elected by Parliament in an open meeting.

Parliamentary Groups
The parliamentary groups are the bridge between the political parties and the MPs: Before an item is considered by Parliament, the MPs meet for party-internal consultations within their parliamentary groups. These meetings are intended to form joint opinions. There is no party compulsion, but there is a certain party discipline. The opinion of the parliamentary group is announced in Parliament by the Spokesperson of the group. The parliamentary groups are entitled to their own meeting room. The formation of a parliamentary group requires at least three MPs.

National Committee
The National Committee ensures the rights of Parliament while Parliament is not in session and therefore cannot exercise its functions (i.e., from the adjournment of Parliament at the end of one year to its reopening at the beginning of the following year, or in case of suspension or dissolution of Parliament). The National Committee consists of the President of Parliament and four further MPs; the two election districts must be taken into account equally. The National Committee cannot enter into permanent obligations for the country.