JD Supra (JD Supra Switzerland)

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).

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!).

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...

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.

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...

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 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

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…

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...

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....

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....

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 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

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.

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 Obligations (“CO”). Most often, the legal provisions are modified by general terms and conditions (“GTC”),...

• 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 7 days to 60 days, (ii) the introduction of a regulatory “sandbox regime” and (iii) the introduction of a...

• On 17 January 2019, sufficient signatures were filed requesting a referendum on the Federal Act on Tax Reform and AHV Financing (TRAF). • The public vote will be held on 19 May 2019. • If TRAF is accepted by the public vote, the entry into force is still planned for 1 January 2020. • Some cantons are implementing or have already implemented the revised cantonal tax laws in parallel...

• Following the 2008 crisis, Switzerland launched a legislative project to create uniform competitive conditions for financial intermediaries and improve client protection. • Swiss Parliament adopted the FinIA on 15 June 2018. • The FinIA is part of the new financial market architecture and sets the authorization conditions and organisational requirements for financial institutions for...

• Following the 2008 crisis, Switzerland launched a legislative project to create uniform competitive conditions for financial intermediaries and improve client protection. • Swiss Parliament adopted the FinSA on 15 June 2018. • The FinSA is part of the new financial market architecture and contains rules for offering financial services and distributing financial instruments. • On 24...

• Since 2015, acquirers of Swiss non-listed bearer shares must report their name and address to the company within one month of the acquisition. The ultimate beneficial owner of an interest of 25 per cent or more has to be reported. The company has the obligation to keep a register of bearer shareholders and of the beneficial owners. • According to the Global Forum on Transparency and...

• Under Swiss law, Swiss employers must levy an employment withholding tax on the salary received by foreign nationals who do not hold a permanent residence permit. • Only taxpayers whose salary exceeds a certain amount can file a subsequent ordinary tax return and therefore claim tax deductions through a subsequent tax return as do Swiss tax residents. • Under certain circumstances, the...

New Whistleblower Law Proposed - Proposed Bill or Initiative - A new bill proposing a statutory framework for whistleblowers was presented to Parliament. If adopted, employees will have the duty to inform employers about irregularities coming to their knowledge (whereby anonymous reporting should be feasible).

• Switzerland’s privileged taxation of companies is no longer in line with international standards. • In 2017, the first attempt to abolish the internationally criticized regime was clearly rejected by Swiss voters. • On 28 September 2018, the new legislative proposal, TRAF, was accepted by the Swiss Parliament. • The act, subject to an optional referendum, could enter into force on 1 January 2

• The Swiss Federal Tax Administration published a new circular letter on lump-sum taxation. • The circular sets out a minimum taxable income of CHF 400,000 even if the living expenses are lower. • The stricter rules will be applied to everyone from 1 January 2021.

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.

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 provide such helpful clarity for ICO participants, who are typically left to work out for...

In guidelines published on February 16, the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (“FINMA“) sets out how it intends to apply financial market legislation in handling enquiries from initial coin offering (ICO) organizers. The guidelines also define the information FINMA requires to deal with such enquiries and the principles upon which it will base its responses, creating clarity for market

The Internal Revenue Service can come knocking on doors of U.S. citizens living in many foreign countries to collect taxes. Caught off guard with this unexpected obligation, many who don’t know they are U.S. citizens seek legal help. James Scears, now a GableGotwals associate attorney, handled those situations while part of a multinational law firm and private wealth management group in...

Proposals are being considered to amend the Swiss constitution to require mandatory human rights due diligence for companies based in Switzerland. This post considers the contents of the amendment, its progress and what Swiss businesses can learn from the experience of their French counterparts in preparing for the “hardening” of the UN Guiding Principles.

In a 17 October 2017 decision with significant implications for arbitration agreements between international parties, the Swiss Supreme Court held that the parties had validly waived their right to challenge an international arbitral tribunal’s award in their arbitration agreement.