diff --git a/dataformat-xml/src/main/java/org/eclipse/digitaltwin/aas4j/v3/dataformat/xml/internal/deserialization/DataElementsDeserializer.java b/dataformat-xml/src/main/java/org/eclipse/digitaltwin/aas4j/v3/dataformat/xml/internal/deserialization/DataElementsDeserializer.java
index c2fd58d4..4c259b45 100644
--- a/dataformat-xml/src/main/java/org/eclipse/digitaltwin/aas4j/v3/dataformat/xml/internal/deserialization/DataElementsDeserializer.java
+++ b/dataformat-xml/src/main/java/org/eclipse/digitaltwin/aas4j/v3/dataformat/xml/internal/deserialization/DataElementsDeserializer.java
@@ -28,7 +28,6 @@
 
 import java.io.IOException;
 import java.util.ArrayList;
-import java.util.Collections;
 import java.util.Iterator;
 import java.util.List;
 
@@ -47,7 +46,7 @@ public DataElementsDeserializer() {
     public List<DataElement> deserialize(JsonParser parser, DeserializationContext ctxt) throws IOException, JsonProcessingException {
         TreeNode treeNode = DeserializationHelper.getRootTreeNode(parser);
         if (treeNode instanceof TextNode) {
-            return Collections.emptyList();
+            return new ArrayList<>();
         }
 
         ObjectNode node = (ObjectNode) treeNode;
diff --git a/dataformat-xml/src/main/java/org/eclipse/digitaltwin/aas4j/v3/dataformat/xml/internal/deserialization/NoEntryWrapperListDeserializer.java b/dataformat-xml/src/main/java/org/eclipse/digitaltwin/aas4j/v3/dataformat/xml/internal/deserialization/NoEntryWrapperListDeserializer.java
index 81cfb79e..550a2fe3 100644
--- a/dataformat-xml/src/main/java/org/eclipse/digitaltwin/aas4j/v3/dataformat/xml/internal/deserialization/NoEntryWrapperListDeserializer.java
+++ b/dataformat-xml/src/main/java/org/eclipse/digitaltwin/aas4j/v3/dataformat/xml/internal/deserialization/NoEntryWrapperListDeserializer.java
@@ -17,7 +17,6 @@
 
 import java.io.IOException;
 import java.util.ArrayList;
-import java.util.Collections;
 import java.util.List;
 
 import org.slf4j.Logger;
@@ -30,6 +29,7 @@
 import com.fasterxml.jackson.databind.JsonNode;
 import com.fasterxml.jackson.databind.node.ArrayNode;
 import com.fasterxml.jackson.databind.node.ObjectNode;
+import com.google.common.collect.Lists;
 
 /**
  * Custom deserializer for lists without individual list entry wrappers for parametrized classes.
@@ -57,7 +57,7 @@ public List<T> deserialize(JsonParser parser, DeserializationContext ctxt) throw
                 return createEntriesFromArrayNode((ArrayNode) langStringNode, parser);
             }
         } catch (ClassCastException e) {
-            logger.info("Found empty list items (e.g., '<preferredName />' of dataSpecificationIec61360) in XML. This is most likely an error.");
+            logger.info("Found empty list item (e.g., '<preferredName />' of dataSpecificationIec61360) in XML. This is most likely an error.");
             return new ArrayList<T>();
         }
     }
@@ -73,6 +73,6 @@ private List<T> createEntriesFromArrayNode(ArrayNode langStringsNode, JsonParser
 
     private List<T> createEntriesFromObjectNode(JsonNode langStringNode, JsonParser parser) throws IOException {
         T entry = nodeDeserializer.readValue(langStringNode, parser);
-        return Collections.singletonList(entry);
+        return Lists.newArrayList(entry);
     }
 }
diff --git a/dataformat-xml/src/main/java/org/eclipse/digitaltwin/aas4j/v3/dataformat/xml/internal/deserialization/OperationVariableDeserializer.java b/dataformat-xml/src/main/java/org/eclipse/digitaltwin/aas4j/v3/dataformat/xml/internal/deserialization/OperationVariableDeserializer.java
index d2c970aa..a67fbd3f 100644
--- a/dataformat-xml/src/main/java/org/eclipse/digitaltwin/aas4j/v3/dataformat/xml/internal/deserialization/OperationVariableDeserializer.java
+++ b/dataformat-xml/src/main/java/org/eclipse/digitaltwin/aas4j/v3/dataformat/xml/internal/deserialization/OperationVariableDeserializer.java
@@ -16,6 +16,14 @@
  */
 package org.eclipse.digitaltwin.aas4j.v3.dataformat.xml.internal.deserialization;
 
+import java.io.IOException;
+import java.util.ArrayList;
+import java.util.List;
+
+import org.eclipse.digitaltwin.aas4j.v3.model.OperationVariable;
+import org.slf4j.Logger;
+import org.slf4j.LoggerFactory;
+
 import com.fasterxml.jackson.core.JsonParser;
 import com.fasterxml.jackson.core.JsonProcessingException;
 import com.fasterxml.jackson.databind.DeserializationContext;
@@ -23,30 +31,31 @@
 import com.fasterxml.jackson.databind.JsonNode;
 import com.fasterxml.jackson.databind.node.ArrayNode;
 import com.fasterxml.jackson.databind.node.ObjectNode;
-import org.eclipse.digitaltwin.aas4j.v3.model.OperationVariable;
-
-import java.io.IOException;
-import java.util.Collections;
-import java.util.List;
+import com.google.common.collect.Lists;
 
 
 public class OperationVariableDeserializer extends JsonDeserializer<List<OperationVariable>> {
+    private static Logger logger = LoggerFactory.getLogger(OperationVariableDeserializer.class);
 
     @Override
     public List<OperationVariable> deserialize(JsonParser parser, DeserializationContext ctxt) throws IOException, JsonProcessingException {
-        ObjectNode node = DeserializationHelper.getRootObjectNode(parser);
+        try {
+            ObjectNode node = DeserializationHelper.getRootObjectNode(parser);
 
-        if (!node.has("operationVariable")) {
-            return Collections.emptyList();
+            if (!node.has("operationVariable")) {
+                return new ArrayList<>();
+            }
+            JsonNode operationVariableNode = node.get("operationVariable");
+            if (operationVariableNode.isArray()) {
+                return createOperationVariablesFromArrayNode(parser, node);
+            } else {
+                OperationVariable operationVariable = DeserializationHelper.createInstanceFromNode(parser, operationVariableNode, OperationVariable.class);
+                return Lists.newArrayList(operationVariable);
+            }
+        } catch (ClassCastException e) {
+            logger.info("Found empty list item in Operation (e.g., '<outputVariables />') in XML. This is most likely an error.");
+            return new ArrayList<>();
         }
-        JsonNode operationVariableNode = node.get("operationVariable");
-        if (operationVariableNode.isArray()) {
-            return createOperationVariablesFromArrayNode(parser, node);
-        } else {
-            OperationVariable operationVariable = DeserializationHelper.createInstanceFromNode(parser, operationVariableNode, OperationVariable.class);
-            return Collections.singletonList(operationVariable);
-        }
-
     }
 
 
diff --git a/dataformat-xml/src/main/java/org/eclipse/digitaltwin/aas4j/v3/dataformat/xml/internal/deserialization/QualifierDeserializer.java b/dataformat-xml/src/main/java/org/eclipse/digitaltwin/aas4j/v3/dataformat/xml/internal/deserialization/QualifierDeserializer.java
index cb6d251e..5f9cffa9 100644
--- a/dataformat-xml/src/main/java/org/eclipse/digitaltwin/aas4j/v3/dataformat/xml/internal/deserialization/QualifierDeserializer.java
+++ b/dataformat-xml/src/main/java/org/eclipse/digitaltwin/aas4j/v3/dataformat/xml/internal/deserialization/QualifierDeserializer.java
@@ -41,6 +41,14 @@
  */
 package org.eclipse.digitaltwin.aas4j.v3.dataformat.xml.internal.deserialization;
 
+import java.io.IOException;
+import java.util.ArrayList;
+import java.util.List;
+
+import org.eclipse.digitaltwin.aas4j.v3.model.Qualifier;
+import org.slf4j.Logger;
+import org.slf4j.LoggerFactory;
+
 import com.fasterxml.jackson.core.JsonParser;
 import com.fasterxml.jackson.core.JsonProcessingException;
 import com.fasterxml.jackson.databind.DeserializationContext;
@@ -48,28 +56,31 @@
 import com.fasterxml.jackson.databind.JsonNode;
 import com.fasterxml.jackson.databind.node.ArrayNode;
 import com.fasterxml.jackson.databind.node.ObjectNode;
-import org.eclipse.digitaltwin.aas4j.v3.model.Qualifier;
-
-import java.io.IOException;
-import java.util.Collections;
-import java.util.List;
-
+import com.google.common.collect.Lists;
 
 public class QualifierDeserializer extends JsonDeserializer<List<Qualifier>> {
 
+    private static Logger logger = LoggerFactory.getLogger(QualifierDeserializer.class);
+
     @Override
     public List<Qualifier> deserialize(JsonParser parser, DeserializationContext ctxt) throws IOException, JsonProcessingException {
-        ObjectNode node = DeserializationHelper.getRootObjectNode(parser);
+        try {
+            ObjectNode node = DeserializationHelper.getRootObjectNode(parser);
 
-        if (!node.has("qualifier")) {
-            return Collections.emptyList();
-        }
-        JsonNode qualifierNode = node.get("qualifier");
-        if (qualifierNode.isArray()) {
-            return createConstraintsFromArrayNode(parser, node);
-        } else {
-            Qualifier qualifier = DeserializationHelper.createInstanceFromNode(parser, qualifierNode, Qualifier.class);
-            return Collections.singletonList(qualifier);
+            if (!node.has("qualifier")) {
+                return new ArrayList<>();
+            }
+            JsonNode qualifierNode = node.get("qualifier");
+            if (qualifierNode.isArray()) {
+                return createConstraintsFromArrayNode(parser, node);
+            } else {
+                Qualifier qualifier = DeserializationHelper.createInstanceFromNode(parser, qualifierNode,
+                        Qualifier.class);
+                return Lists.newArrayList(qualifier);
+            }
+        } catch (ClassCastException e) {
+            logger.info("Found empty list item of qualifiers ('<qualifiers />') in XML. This is most likely an error.");
+            return new ArrayList<Qualifier>();
         }
 
     }
diff --git a/dataformat-xml/src/main/java/org/eclipse/digitaltwin/aas4j/v3/dataformat/xml/internal/deserialization/ReferencesDeserializer.java b/dataformat-xml/src/main/java/org/eclipse/digitaltwin/aas4j/v3/dataformat/xml/internal/deserialization/ReferencesDeserializer.java
index 7c927e01..df02b914 100644
--- a/dataformat-xml/src/main/java/org/eclipse/digitaltwin/aas4j/v3/dataformat/xml/internal/deserialization/ReferencesDeserializer.java
+++ b/dataformat-xml/src/main/java/org/eclipse/digitaltwin/aas4j/v3/dataformat/xml/internal/deserialization/ReferencesDeserializer.java
@@ -15,6 +15,12 @@
  */
 package org.eclipse.digitaltwin.aas4j.v3.dataformat.xml.internal.deserialization;
 
+import java.io.IOException;
+import java.util.ArrayList;
+import java.util.List;
+
+import org.eclipse.digitaltwin.aas4j.v3.model.Reference;
+
 import com.fasterxml.jackson.core.JsonParser;
 import com.fasterxml.jackson.core.JsonProcessingException;
 import com.fasterxml.jackson.core.TreeNode;
@@ -22,19 +28,14 @@
 import com.fasterxml.jackson.databind.JsonDeserializer;
 import com.fasterxml.jackson.databind.node.ArrayNode;
 import com.fasterxml.jackson.databind.node.ObjectNode;
-import org.eclipse.digitaltwin.aas4j.v3.model.Reference;
-
-import java.io.IOException;
-import java.util.ArrayList;
-import java.util.Collections;
-import java.util.List;
+import com.google.common.collect.Lists;
 
 public class ReferencesDeserializer extends JsonDeserializer<List<Reference>> {
 
     @Override
     public List<Reference> deserialize(JsonParser parser, DeserializationContext ctxt) throws IOException, JsonProcessingException {
         TreeNode treeNode = DeserializationHelper.getRootTreeNode(parser);
-		treeNode = treeNode.get("reference");
+        treeNode = treeNode.get("reference");
         if (treeNode.isArray()) {
             return createReferencesFromArray(parser, (ArrayNode) treeNode);
         } else {
@@ -44,7 +45,7 @@ public List<Reference> deserialize(JsonParser parser, DeserializationContext ctx
 
     private List<Reference> createReferencesFromObjectNode(JsonParser parser, ObjectNode node) throws IOException {
         Reference reference = createReference(parser, node);
-        return Collections.singletonList(reference);
+        return Lists.newArrayList(reference);
     }
 
     private List<Reference> createReferencesFromArray(JsonParser parser, ArrayNode arrayNode) throws IOException {
diff --git a/dataformat-xml/src/main/java/org/eclipse/digitaltwin/aas4j/v3/dataformat/xml/internal/deserialization/SubmodelElementsDeserializer.java b/dataformat-xml/src/main/java/org/eclipse/digitaltwin/aas4j/v3/dataformat/xml/internal/deserialization/SubmodelElementsDeserializer.java
index 0fd407cb..e77e85e9 100644
--- a/dataformat-xml/src/main/java/org/eclipse/digitaltwin/aas4j/v3/dataformat/xml/internal/deserialization/SubmodelElementsDeserializer.java
+++ b/dataformat-xml/src/main/java/org/eclipse/digitaltwin/aas4j/v3/dataformat/xml/internal/deserialization/SubmodelElementsDeserializer.java
@@ -29,7 +29,6 @@
 
 import java.io.IOException;
 import java.util.ArrayList;
-import java.util.Collections;
 import java.util.Iterator;
 import java.util.List;
 
@@ -48,14 +47,14 @@ public SubmodelElementsDeserializer() {
     public List<SubmodelElement> deserialize(JsonParser parser, DeserializationContext ctxt) throws IOException, JsonProcessingException {
         TreeNode treeNode = DeserializationHelper.getRootTreeNode(parser);
         if (treeNode instanceof TextNode) {
-            return Collections.emptyList();
+            return new ArrayList<>();
         } else {
             return createSubmodelElements(parser, ctxt, treeNode);
         }
     }
 
     private List<SubmodelElement> createSubmodelElements(JsonParser parser, DeserializationContext ctxt, TreeNode treeNode) throws IOException, JsonProcessingException {
-		if (treeNode.isArray()) {
+        if (treeNode.isArray()) {
             return getSubmodelElementsFromArrayNode(parser, ctxt, (ArrayNode) treeNode);
         } else {
             return getSubmodelElementsFromObjectNode(parser, ctxt, (JsonNode) treeNode);
@@ -100,7 +99,7 @@ private List<SubmodelElement> getSubmodelElementsFromArrayNode(JsonParser parser
 
     private SubmodelElement getSubmodelElementFromJsonNode(JsonParser parser, DeserializationContext ctxt, JsonNode nodeSubmodelElement) throws IOException, JsonProcessingException {
         JsonParser parserReference = parser.getCodec().getFactory().getCodec().treeAsTokens(nodeSubmodelElement);
-		return deserializer.deserialize(parserReference, ctxt);
+        return deserializer.deserialize(parserReference, ctxt);
     }
 
 }