The Legal 500

Revised Swiss Rules of International Arbitration - July 2012

The Swiss Rules of International Arbitration (“Swiss Rules”) were adopted in 2004 with an aim to replacing the existing arbitration rules of the different Swiss Chambers of Commerce (Basel, Berne, Geneva, Neuchâtel, Ticino, Vaud and Zurich) by one set of rules based on the UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules.

The Swiss Rules of International Arbitration have been revised to increase the speed of arbitrations and the flexibility of arbitral tribunals, while strengthening the institution of administrating the rules.

Preventive Taking of Evidence to Assess Risks and Chances of Litigation

Litigation is not primarily costly due to court and lawyers fees, but first and foremost due to rather uncertain chances of success. 

Speaker: Michael Cartier

International Fiscal Association –India Branch Northern Region Chapter Delhi –11 February 2012

The Revised Swiss Rules of Inter-national Arbitration
As of early 2012, arbitrations initiated in accordance with the Swiss Rules of International Arbitration will be subject to a revised version of these rules, which makes the choice of the Swiss Rules even more attractive for contracting parties.

On 1 January 2011, the Swiss Code of Civil Procedure (CPC) and the revised Lugano Convention (LC) entered into force. As a result civil procedure before cantonal courts throughout Switzerland is now governed by the  CPC.

Overview of its innovations and its impact on legal practice

The Swissair case and one of its consequences

The members of the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (hereinafter CBD) recently adopted an international instrument on access to genetic resources and the fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from their utilization.

On 1 January 2011, a legislative “big bang” will fundamentally change the landscape of civil procedure in Switzerland: The new Swiss Code of Civil Procedure will replace the current system of 26 different cantonal codes, and the revised Lugano Convention will align Switzerland with the EU system of jurisdiction and enforcement of judgements throughout Europe.

The unified Swiss Code of Civil Procedure (“SCCP”) will enter into force on 1 January 2011. It will mark one of the most important developments in the Swiss legal order since the unification of the substantive law in civil, commercial, and criminal matters at the beginning of the twentieth century.

This week Swiss defender Alinghi lost to US challenger BMW Oracle in the 33rd America’s Cup. Earlier, it had been decided that the New York courts trounced arbitration as the forum for deciding disputes related to the contest, concluding two years of legal battles. Are the two outcomes linked and should CAS be used to determine disputes in the future? Laurence Burger of Tavernier Tschanz tells the story.

The Commercial Court of the Canton of Zurich has recently confirmed that clauses limiting the voting power of a group of shareholders in the articles of association of Swiss listed companies must be narrowly interpreted by a board of directors. The court held, among other things, that shareholders acting in concert do not fall under such clauses in the absence of specific circumstances, irrespective of whether they may be considered a “group” for purposes of Swiss takeover laws.

On May 25 2009 the Competition Commission fined Felco SA and Landi Schweiz AG – two companies active in the industrial cutting tools sector – for retail price fixing. This is the first case in which penalties have been imposed due to the finding of a vertical agreement setting prices for resale, considered by Article 5 of the Competition Act to be particularly harmful to competition.

On June 8 2009 the Competition Commission initiated an investigation into the roadworks market in the cantons of Zurich and Aargau. The subjects of the investigation are undertakings that are active in the roadworks and civil engineering sectors. Following a complaint, the commission discovered evidence which pointed to market sharing in the way that tenders (including tender prices) for roadworks contracts are submitted and suggested that roadworks contracts were being awarded on a rotational basis. The commission has conducted dawn raids as part of the evidence-gathering process.

On July 6 2009 the Competition Commission fined eight undertakings Sfr1.24 million for collusive tendering in relation to private and public tenders for electrical equipment in construction projects.

Under certain legal systems, extraordinary means of judicial review of international arbitration awards are deprived of any suspensive effect. This is the case under Swiss law, where annulment proceedings are granted suspensive effect only upon a party's request and under extremely restricted conditions. In contrast, in other jurisdictions certain extraordinary means of judicial review can have a mandatory suspensive effect, giving rise to speculation as to the immediate enforceability of awards issued in those jurisdictions.

A recent dispute referred to arbitration pertained to a settlement agreement executed on March 29 2006 between Vivendi SA and other telecommunications entities in Switzerland and Poland on one side, and Deutsche Telekom AG, T-Mobile, Elektrim SA and other telecom entities in Switzerland, Poland and Germany on the other.(1) The settlement agreement provided for arbitration pursuant to the International Chamber of Commerce Rules of Arbitration, with the seat of arbitration in Geneva. The Supreme Court's summary report does not specify which law governed the merits of the case.

A recent case before the Swiss courts considered whether the piercing of the corporate veil can be considered (i) grounds for extending arbitration agreements to nonsignatories, or (ii) grounds for disregarding such arbitration agreements.(1)

Swiss securities law currently in force has not been amended since 1936 and must be considered out-dated in view of the today prevailing situation with regard to custody and administration of securities. The new Book-Entry Securities Act (BESA) is expected to enter into force as of January 1, 2010. It creates an up-to-date regulation of intermediate custody of securities. In particular, the BESA introduces the book-entry security as a new legal instrument. Simultaneously, the Swiss Code of Obligations (CO) will be amended with provisons concerning collective custody, global certificates and dematerialized securities, giving these concepts developed by legal practice an explicit statutory basis (new articles 973a-c CO).

This article explores issues and considerations that may arise in connection with a challenge to the enforcement of an arbitral award under the New York Convention.

This article looks at difficulties arising from recognition and enforcement of class action judgements or class action arbitration awards in countries other than their origin, which is most likely the U.S. or another "common law" country.

In recent years, Swiss corporations increasingly have been confronted with pre-trial discovery in connection with litigation in courts in the United States and other common law countries: Parties in U.S. litigation may ask a person who is not a party to the dispute to provide evidence concerning one of its clients. A recent decision of the Swiss Federal Supreme Court highlights the possibilities and limits for cross-border pre-trial discovery procedures in Switzerland.

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