JD Supra Switzerland

Law Firm

Latest documents

• Impact of Swiss Privacy Shield Inadequacy Decision

  In a much anticipated ruling, this month the Swiss Data Protection Authority concluded that the EU-US Swiss Privacy Shield was no longer an adequate method for transferring personal information from Switzerland to the US. In reaching this decision, the Swiss data protection authority agreed with the recent, similar, EU decision of inadequacy. Like the EU, Switzerland anticipates those transferring personal information from Switzerland to the US to rely on standard contractual clauses. However like the EU, Switzerland cautions that companies should assess “on a case-by-case basis” whether the recipient provides sufficient protection...

• Switzerland cancels Privacy Shield

  Report on Supply Chain Compliance 3, no. 18 (September 17, 2020) -
 
 Following the European Court of Justice’s decision to strike down the EU-US Privacy Shield mechanism for data transfer, the Swiss Federal Data Protection and Information Commissioner reviewed the decision and came to the same conclusion....

• Swiss Regulator Determines Swiss-US Privacy Shield Is Inadequate

  Swiss companies are advised to take additional measures when transferring personal data from Switzerland to the US.
 
 On 8 September 2020, the Swiss data protection authority, Adrian Lobsiger (the Federal Data Protection and Information Commissioner, FDPIC), concluded in his annual review that the Swiss-US Privacy Shield does not provide an adequate level of protection for personal data transfer from Switzerland to the US pursuant to the Swiss Federal Act on Data Protection (FADP).

• Swiss Privacy Authority Considers Swiss–U.S. Privacy Shield No Longer Valid

  On September 8, 2020, the Swiss Federal Data Protection and Information Commissioner (FDPIC) announced that it no longer considers the Swiss-U.S. Privacy Shield (Swiss Shield) to provide adequate protections for transfers of Swiss personal data to the U.S. This development was anticipated following the invalidation of the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield by the Court of Justice…

• Swiss Immigration Update - Quarantine for Travelers Entering from Certain Countries and Masks Compulsory in Public Transport

  While Switzerland started to ease pandemic related requirements and opened its borders, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the country is slowly rising again. In response,  Swiss authorities announced the following restrictions in effect as of July 6, 2020...

• COVID-19: Swiss Government Financial Assistance Measures -COVID-19 – The Swiss government’s measures to support the Swiss economy

  Since mid-March 2020, the Swiss government has enacted a number of measures to mitigate the effects of the coronavirus (“COVID-19”) on the Swiss economy.
 
 The most important measure was announced on 20 March 2020 to help SMEs survive the short-term effects of COVID-19 by providing cash flow assistance....

• CAS Sun Yang v Wada

  In an award released on 28 February 2020, the Court of Arbitration for Sport ("CAS") upheld the appeal filed by the World Anti-Doping Agency ("WADA") against the Chinese swimmer Sun Yang and the Fédération Internationale de Natation ("FINA"), imposing on the Olympic champion an eight-year competition ban and effectively terminating his career....

• 100,000 DNSSEC domain names for .CH

  SWITCH, the Registry responsible for running the .CH country code Top Level Domain (ccTLD), recently announced that in late December 2019 some 100,000 .CH domain names had been registered using Domain Name System Security Extension (DNSSEC). 

• Switzerland – New Gender Pay Gap Requirements

  Switzerland has joined the growing list of jurisdictions to introduce legislation to address the gender pay gap.
 
 Effective July 1, 2020, employers with 100 or more employees (including part-time and hourly employees) will be required to conduct an internal gender pay gap analysis every four years until June 30, 2032. Affected employers will be required to complete their first internal analysis by June 30, 2021.

• Littler Global Guide - Switzerland - Q2 2019

  Employers Must Cover Work Space Expenses for Home Office Work -
 
 Precedential Decision by Judiciary or Regulatory Agency -
 
 On April 23, 2019, the Federal Supreme Court of Switzerland held that employers must pay for rental costs for private rooms in which an employee works during home office if telework is mandated and/or the employer does not provide a workplace for the employee.

Featured documents

• HSBC Next Tax Haven Bank Under Attack?

  According to press reports a former employee of HSBC Private Bank in Geneva, Switzerland stole computerized account data on 80,000 accounts and delivered the information to French authorities. There is no indication how many of the accounts are held by U.S. residents, but the published reports...

• Private antitrust enforcement in Switzerland

  There is a wide range of remedies under Swiss competition law for business litigants. Inventive remedies include compelled access to what American antitrust lawyers would call an “essential facility.” But recent proposed legislation that would have provided consumers with standing to enforce...

• Switzerland Intends to Require Notification of Fibrous Nanomaterials Placed on the Market

  On September 29, 2017, Switzerland notified the European Commission (EC) of a draft amendment to the Ordinance on Protection against Dangerous Substances and Preparations. The notification states that the Ordinance on Protection against Dangerous Substances and Preparations regulates the risk...

• Switzerland: New FinTech Regulation

  • On 2 November 2016, the Swiss Federal Council announced that it planned to reduce barriers to market entry for FinTech companies.
 
 • The program of the Swiss Federal Council comprised three pillars consisting of (i) the extension of the maximum holding period of third party monies from...

• Swiss Will Not Cooperate if Data Stolen

  Switzerland announced that it will NOT PROVIDE Assistance based upon stolen data. The Swiss Federal Council has submitted a new Tax Administrative Assistance Act for consultation. The Act spells out how and when it will cooperate with requests for information on account holders. It was made clear...

• Depositions in Switzerland

  Arguably one of the most beautiful countries in Europe is the Swiss Confederation, or Switzerland. With its gorgeous lakes, breath-taking mountain peaks, and lush valleys, Switzerland is a top tourist spot. Switzerland is a land-locked country that is nestled in central Europe. It shares its...

• Swissmedic updates requirements concerning the Fast-Track Authorisation Procedure

  On 1 October 2017, the Swiss Agency for therapeutic products (“Swissmedic”) updated its guidance document concerning the Fast-Track authorisation procedure (“FTP”). The modified guidance document replaced the formerly Information sheet on the FTP....

• Meritas Guide To Defective Products Litigation in EMEA - Switzerland

  1. What claims may be brought for liability for defective products? Is liability based on fault/ negligence, or strict liability, or both?
 
 Defective product claims can in the first place be brought in accordance with the sales contract and/or the legal provisions of the Swiss Code of...

• New Swiss law on recovery of “illicit assets” from 1 February 2011

  Switzerland’s Federal Act on the Restitution of Assets of Politically Exposed Persons obtained by Unlawful Means (commonly referred to as the Return of Illicit Assets Act or “RIAA”) was passed by both houses of the Swiss Parliament in October 2010 and will become effective on 1 February 2011. The...

• New Fund Marketing Rules in Switzerland

  Although Switzerland is not a European Union (EU) country, it implemented new fund marketing rules effective as of March 1, 2013, which operate in parallel to the EU’s Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive rules, which now cover fund marketing in EU jurisdictions. Many non-Swiss managers (i...