Czech Constitutional Court rejects Liechtenstein claim over confiscated estates

The Czech Constitutional Court has rejected a complaint by the Princely House of Liechtenstein over former family estates in the Břeclav region, including the Lednice and Valtice chateaux.

The Prince of Liechtenstein Foundation sought the return of property now held by the state, but its claims were dismissed by courts in Břeclav, Brno, and the Supreme Court.

In 2018, the foundation filed lawsuits in 26 Czech district courts, arguing that Prince Franz Joseph II — the last holder of the assets — was a neutral Liechtenstein national, not German, and thus his property should not have been seized under the post-war Beneš Decrees.

Czechoslovak authorities, however, had classified the prince as having declared German nationality in the 1930s.

The Constitutional Court said the foundation’s arguments merely repeated earlier claims and did not justify a different ruling.