LexBlog (LexBlog Switzerland)

The IPKat has received and is pleased to host this guest contribution from Katfriend Federica Pezza, who explores the legal framework governing Swiss origin claims in Switzerland and the EU. Ceci n’est pas du Gruyère: Swiss origin claims and how to deal with them by Federica Pezza Switzerland means luxury watches, chocolate and cows, fondue...

A Year of Climate Rulings Handing down no less than five climate rulings in 2025, the European Court of Human Rights (“the ECtHR”) has been busy deciding the backlog of cases it had adjourned in 2023, while it dealt with three other climate cases pending before the Grand Chamber at that time (Verein KlimaSeniorinnen Schweiz...

The IPKat has received and is pleased to host this guest contribution from Dr. Michael A. Kock (Dr.rer.nat., Dr. jur European Patent Attorney, Swiss Patent Attorney; dr.kock consulting, Basel, Switzerland; Senior Vice President and Innovation Catalyst, Inari). He looks more closely at the Inari v. Corteva case in the United States to clarify the significance of...

Pérez-Llorca has advised Impag Group on the acquisition of Spanish company Comindex. With this transaction, Impag Group continues its strategy of growth and targeted expansion across Europe. The transaction was signed in December 2025, and is expected to close in the first quarter of 2026, subject to customary closing conditions. Impag Group, headquartered in Zurich...

Davos, Switzerland: QuantumFAI Conference The panel on “Blockchain AI for Trusted Identity, Data Integrity, and Smarter Finance” provided a compelling look into the practical convergence of two of the most transformative technologies of our time. Moderated by Guido Schmitz-Krummacher, the discussion featured insights from Sandy Carter of Unstoppable, futurist Joseph Raczynski, Panos Skliamis of...

Davos, Switzerland: Axios House Of all the strategic moves in the tech world, Meta’s appointment of Dina Powell McCormack as President and Vice Chairman is one of the most telling. From a technologist’s perspective, her session at Davos felt less like a product roadmap and more like the unveiling of a new, and arguably more...

Davos, Switzerland: Axios House With all the pitches one expects to hear amidst the rarefied air of Davos, a business plan from Jason Bourne probably isn’t one of them. Yet, there on stage was Matt Damon, alongside his co-founder Gary White, not to promote a film, but to deconstruct a global crisis with the precision...

Davos, Switzerland: Session from The Washington Post House For the past few years, the narrative around artificial intelligence has been one of ethereal magic. Models spun text from prompts, conjured images from imagination, and lived inside our browsers. But as the dust settles at the 2026 World Economic Forum, a new, more grounded conversation has...

Davos, Switzerland: Monaco Day, during the World Economic Forum You expect certain things from a talk by Anthony Scaramucci. You expect unfiltered opinions, sharp-witted analysis, and maybe a few headline-grabbing quotes about his eleven days in the Trump White House. What you might not expect is a masterclass on the systemic failures of globalization, the...

We recently blogged about President Trump’s Truth Social post in which he announced his intent to impose a 10% per annum interest rate cap on credit cards for one year beginning on January 20, 2026, the one-year anniversary of his second term of office. On January 21, during his speech delivered at the World Economic...

I am absolutely thrilled to announce that I will be putting boots on the snowy ground in Switzerland next week for Davos Innovation Week. It is a privilege to join global leaders and forward-thinkers in such an inspiring setting to tackle the biggest technological challenges of our era. On January 19, 2026, I will be...

Call for applications for the Law & Marxism Spring School on “Race, Resources and Redistribution” in Geneva, Switzerland, 8-10 April 2026 Following the success in the first and second editions, this three-day focused workshop aimed at Marxist scholar-activists will challenge you to reflect on and develop your Marxist legal research and organising within and beyond...

On 5 January 2026, Switzerland imposed an immediate freeze on any assets held in Switzerland by former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and the politically exposed persons (PEP) associated with him (see the press release here). This follows Nicolás Maduro’s capture by US forces. Members of the current Venezuelan government are not affected by this asset freeze....

[Special thanks to Joel C. Dobris (Professor of Law, UC Davis School of Law) for bringing this article to my attention.] The irony was almost perfect: super-rich people who fled from one country for Switzerland due to tax, threatened to leave Switzerland due to tax. “I think many will move,” said Kjartan Aas, a Norwegian millionaire...

[Special thanks to Joel C. Dobris (Professor of Law, UC Davis School of Law) for bringing this article to my attention.] Switzerland on Sunday overwhelmingly rejected a proposed 50% tax on inherited fortunes of 50 million Swiss francs ($62 million) or more, with 78% of votes against the plan, an outcome that even exceeded the two‑thirds...

There is a low rate of bacterial contamination in frozen berries, according to a study in Switzerland. However, researchers warned that such products may pose a risk if they are consumed without a heating step and not immediately after thawing. From November 2024 to January 2025, 100 frozen berry samples from eight retailers in Zurich...

Credit Suisse AT1 bondholders engaged the firm to initiate an investor state treaty arbitration

On 21 July 2025, the OTC Derivatives Risk Mitigation and Central Counterparties (Equivalence) (Switzerland) Regulations 2025 were laid before Parliament. An explanatory memorandum has also been published. These Regulations come into force on 1 January 2026 and set out HM Treasury’s determinations that Switzerland’s regulatory and supervisory regimes for risk mitigation for over-the-counter...

On 21 July 2025, a draft of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2023 (Mutual Recognition Agreement) (Switzerland) Regulations 2025 were published together with a draft explanatory memorandum. When finalised these Regulations will come into force on 1 January 2026 and make changes to UK legislation to implement the UK’s commitments in the Agreement between...

Reports of most major pathogens increased in Switzerland in 2024 and the country continued to battle a serious Listeria outbreak. The Federal Food Safety and Veterinary Office (FSVO) reported that Campylobacter, Salmonella and E. coli infections went up but Listeria cases declined. Campylobacteriosis remained the top recorded infection in humans. A total of 8,280 laboratory-confirmed...

Switzerland is facing backlash from lawyers and bankers over a proposed 50% federal inheritance tax on gifts and estates worth more than Sfr5o million ($61 million), which will go to a nationwide referendum in November. The initiative, launched by the…

Testing by scientists has found Salmonella in imported chicken meat in Switzerland. Researchers investigated Salmonella prevalence in 200 chicken samples from Swiss retail stores. Six imported samples tested positive and the isolates were all Salmonella Infantis. Between May and July 2024, chicken meat samples were randomly collected from nine stores in Switzerland. This included chilled...

Over the past few weeks, two important developments have taken place that affect news (and, more broadly, content) markets. Both these developments concern Google. First, Google published the result of an experiment it had conducted to assess whether news content is valuable to its properties. Second, Google announced that it would start providing its AI...

Is the EU AI Act a Jenga piece that can easily be removed from the regulatory tower? Here are some key points from the “AI Regulation – a critical comment” workshop at the Alpine Privacy Days Conference, courtesy of Florent Thouvenin, Professor of Information and Communications Law, The Faculty of Law of the University of...

Non-pathogenic Listeria, Bacillus cereus, and Staphylococcus aureus have been detected in plant-based products tested in Switzerland. The study, published in the Journal of Food Protection, assessed the microbiological quality and occurrence of some foodborne pathogens in plant-based meat alternatives from Swiss retailers. Plant-based meat alternative products have a high water activity, high...

Switzerland’s upcoming amendments to its Civil Procedure Code (CPC), effective January 1, 2025, mark a strategic move to enhance the nation’s standing as a premier center for international dispute resolution. Tailored for today’s complex, cross-border business landscape, these reforms aim to make Swiss courts more accessible, reduce cost barriers, and reinforce corporate protections. Here’s a...

A survey in Switzerland has found that higher living costs have had a negative impact on the food safety behavior of consumers, according to a recently released report. The general cost of living and especially energy prices have risen sharply since April 2022. More than 1,200 people in Switzerland were surveyed in February 2024 about...

A major Listeria outbreak in Switzerland has sickened more than 30 since 2022 and seven people have died. The first case was reported in April 2022, and the outbreak peak occurred in 2023. The last sick person became ill in June 2024.  An article in the Emerging Infectious Diseases journal revealed that the median age...

In the following guest post, Daniele Favalli and Alessio Zolpi take a look at the availability of D&O insurance in connection with criminal proceedings in Switzerland. Daniele is an attorney admitted to the Zurich bar. He is a partner and co-head of the Dispute Resolution Team of the Zurich-based law firm VISCHER. Alessio is an...

The Swiss Federal Council has added the U.S. to the list of countries with an adequate level of data protection. Effective September 15, 2024, U.S. organizations that certify to the Swiss–U.S. Data Privacy Framework (DPF) can commence receiving transfers of personal data from Switzerland without implementing additional safeguards. While U.S. organizations were permitted to certify...