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Succession to the Liechtensteiner throne is governed by the house laws of the Princely Family of Liechtenstein, which stipulate agnatic primogeniture. In 2004 the head of state, Hans-Adam II, publicly responded to criticism from the UN which had voiced its discrimination concerns about the exclusion of women from the line of succession, stating that the rule was older than the state itself.
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Succession rules
In 1606, the first prince of Liechtenstein, Karl I, and his younger brothers, Maximilian and Gundakar, signed Family Covenant, agreeing that the headship of the family should pass according to agnatic primogeniture to the heir of the most senior line. The family continued to be governed by various statutes until 1993, when it was decided that some of the provisions were outdated and that they should be amended. The statute was repealed on 26 October, and the new house law was published on 6 December. According to the house law, the right to succeed to the throne of Liechtenstein is reserved for male patrilineal descendants of Prince Johann I Joseph born to married parents, excluding issue born of marriage to which the sovereign did not consent. Should there be no more eligible male patrilineal descendants left, the sovereign has the right to adopt an heir presumptive. It is explicitly stated that if a member of the princely family adopts a prince who is in the line of succession, the adoptee's place in the line will not be altered. There is no scenario under which a woman could succeed to the throne of Liechtenstein. The house law also provides for a possibility of renunciation of succession rights.
Discrimination concerns
In 2004, the United Nations questioned the compatibility of agnatic primogeniture, which prevents women from becoming head of state of Liechtenstein, with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and later raised concern about it. In response to the United Nations' demands for gender equality in 2007, Prince Hans-Adam II explained that the succession law is older than the Principality of Liechtenstein itself and that it is a family tradition that does not affect the country's citizens; the Constitution of Liechtenstein stipulates that succession to the throne is a private family matter.