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Latest documents

• Geneva Insights - April 2024

  The World Trade Organization (WTO) Committee of Participants on the Expansion of Trade in Information Technology Products (ITA Committee) meets on April 11. The committee holds regular meetings twice a year to review developments relating to implementation of the Information Technology Agreement (ITA).

• 2021 Venture Capital Guide - Switzerland

  World Law Group member firms recently collaborated on a Global Venture Capital Guide that covers more than 30 jurisdictions on investment approval processes, typical investment sectors and investment structures on Venture Capital deals (and more!).

• After Switzerland rejects strong corporate ethics controls, new proposal likely

  ethikos 35, no. 1 (January 2021) - A vote that would have banned the national bank from investing in defense industries and would have also stiffen the penalties against Swiss corporations violating human rights and causing environmental harm was rejected. A counterproposal is now being considered. Under the counterproposal, companies are encouraged to respect human rights and environmental standards not only in Switzerland but all over the world, but it “stops short of allowing them to be sued for liability.”

• Switzerland's new regulatory landscape

  Numerous legal developments are currently impacting the Swiss financial market place. The new regime is intended to align Switzerland with the rest of Europe, as well as keeping up with new technologies and boosting the attractiveness of Switzerland as a stable and innovative financial and asset management centre.

• 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....

Featured documents

• Swiss Parliament Votes to Delay Enforcement of FATCA IGA By Six Months

  Bloomberg BNA reports that Switzerland's parliament approved a six-month delay to enforce a bilateral Swiss-U.S. agreement on implementation of the U.S. Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act. The two chambers of the Swiss parliament agreed to change the implementation date from Jan. 1, 2014, to July 1,...

• New Swiss Disclosure Annex for Non-Swiss Funds

  The Swiss Funds and Asset Management Association (SFAMA) has published a model annex setting out prescribed form disclosure statements to be included in the offering documents and other marketing materials of non-Swiss funds distributed in Switzerland. The SFAMA model annex provides additional...

• Swiss Regulator Publishes ICO Guidelines

  The Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) has published a set of guidelines, setting out how it intends to apply its financial markets legislation in the context of initial coin offerings (ICOs). Despite the growing trend for ICOs globally, FINMA is the first national regulator to ...

• 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...

• Federal Court Sends Conditional Registrations of Nanosilver Pesticides Back to EPA

  Swiss company HeiQ Materials proposed to use new pesticides AGS-20 and AGS-20 (U) on manufactured textiles such as clothing, blankets, and carpet. Nanosilver is used in the pesticides to suppress microbes that cause odors and stains. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) granted...

• Switzerland Is the First Country to Lift Some Sanctions on Iran

  Certain US sanctions on Iran may be lifted mid to late 2016 or even later. On August 13, Switzerland became the first country to formally lift certain sanctions on Iran, following the announcement of the Iran nuclear deal this past July. Switzerland is not a party to the Iran nuclear deal....

• BHR News Flash: Swiss proposal to impose human rights due diligence requirements reaches the next stage of the legislative process

  In December 2017, our blog post discussed how a coalition of Swiss civil society organisations launched the Responsible Business Initiative (“RBI”), i.e. a proposal to amend the Swiss constitution to require mandatory human rights due diligence for companies based in Switzerland....

• 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......

• Swiss Investment Adviser to Plead Guilty to Helping Americans Evade Taxes

  Multiple outlets are reporting that on February 26, 2014, Martin Lack, a Swiss investment adviser and former UBS banker, will plead guilty in the Southern District of Florida to one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States by helping his U.S. customers evade their income taxes. This comes...

• Swiss Solvency 2 equivalence published in OJEU

  The Delegated Decision on the equivalence of the Swiss solvency and prudential regime for insurance and reinsurance undertakings has been published in the OJEU. ...