Every new year brings new laws and changes in the existing laws.
Following, is a selection of some of the most important changes in
Swiss law for 2020:
1. Revision of the statute of limitations
As of 1 January 2020, various provisions of the statute of
limitations were amended. Statute of limitations means that claims
cannot be enforced indefinitely. After a certain time, a debtor of
a claim can refuse to pay—i.e. they can just assert the
statute of limitations. The point at which a claim becomes
time-barred depends on the type of claim. Claims arising from
contract generally become statute-barred after 10 years.
A limitation period can be suspended for a certain time period. Or,
a limitation period can be interrupted by a specific legal action
after which a new limitation period of the same length begins.
