All federal statutes and ordinances are published chronologically in the Official Record of Federal Law (in German, French and Italian) and by subject matter in the Systematic Record of Federal Law (in German, French, Italian and Rumantsch). The Confederation is progressively publishing online a compilation of unofficial English translations of its most important laws (see below). The Federal Council publishes in the Federal Journal its dispatches of new bills to the Federal Parliament, and the laws and decisions submitted to referendum (in German, French and Italian).
Each canton publishes its statutes in its own official cantonal collection (Geneva Systematic Collection of Law and Geneva Offical Gazette both in French only;Zurich Systematic Collection of Law and Zurich Offical Gazette, both in German only).
On this page, unless indicated otherwise, the links are to English language pages, from were more resources in German, French and Italian may be accessed.
Civil Code (CC): German, French, Italian, unofficial English translation
Code of Obligations (CO): German, French, Italian, unofficial English translation
Code of Civil Procedure (CCP): German, French, Italian, unofficial English translation
Private International Law Act (PILA): German, French, Italian, unofficial English translation
Guidelines on mutual assistance in civil matters: German, French, Italian, unofficial English translation
Debt Collection and Bankruptcy Act (DCB): German, French, Italian
Penal Code (PC): German, French, Italian, unofficial English translation
Code of Penal Procedure (CPP): German, French, Italian, unofficial English translation
Federal Act on International Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters (IMAC): German, French, Italian, unofficial English translation
Federal Act on the Sharing of Forfeited Assets: German, French, Italian
Laws, treaties, ordinances and guidelines on mutual assistance in penal matters on the Federal Office of Justice's page: German, French, Italian, unofficial English translations
Federal Law on the Prevention of Money Laundering in the Financial Sector (LML): German, French, Italian, unofficial English translation
Financial Market Supervision Act (FINMA): German, French, Italian, unofficial English translation
Banking Act (BA): German, French, Italian, unofficial English translation
Other unofficial English translations of laws pertaining to regulation of the financial market can be found on the legislation page of the Financial Markets Regulatory Authority (FINMA).
Embargo Act (EmbA): German, French, Italian, unofficial English translation
Federal Supreme Court (research of cases in German, French and Italian only)
Federal Criminal Court (research of cases in German, French and Italian only)
Office of the Attorney General
Federal Office of Police (fedpol)
Money Laundering Reporting Office Switzerland (MROS)
Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA)
Zurich Judicial Power (in German only)
Geneva Judicial Power (in French only)
Law Faculty of the University of Geneva (mostly in French) and its Centre for Banking and Financial Law
Law Faculty of the University of Zurich (mostly in German)
Illicit assets of politically exposed persons (PEPs) page of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, with a link to the Restitution of Illicit Assets Act (RIAA) (unofficial English translation).
Research by company in the Federal Register of Commerce
Research by director's name on Money House (free registration necessary)
Corruption page of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs.
For full resources, please refer to the French version of this page.
See also our contribution on Switzerland to the The Anti-Bribery and Anti-Corruption Review, 8th ed., Law Business Research, London, 2019.
English is not an official language of the Swiss Confederation. This translation, from the Swiss Government website, is provided for information purposes only and has no legal force.
1. Bribery of Swiss public officials
Art. 322ter Bribery
Any person who offers, promises or gives a member of a judicial or other authority, a public official, an officially-appointed expert, translator or interpreter, an arbitrator, or a member of the armed forces an undue advantage, or offers, promises or gives such an advantage to a third party in order to cause the public official to carry out or to fail to carry out an act in connection with his official activity which is contrary to his duty or dependent on his discretion,
is liable to a custodial sentence not exceeding five years or to a monetary penalty.
Art. 322quater Acceptance of bribes
Any person who as a member of a judicial or other authority, as a public official, officially-appointed expert, translator or interpreter, or as an arbitrator demands, secures the promise of or accepts an undue advantage for that person or for a third party in order that he carries out or fails to carry out an act in connection with his official activity which is contrary to his duty or dependent on his discretion,
is liable to a custodial sentence not exceeding five years or to a monetary penalty.
Art. 322quinquies Granting an advantage
Any person who offers, promises or gives a member of a judicial or other authority, a public official, an officially-appointed expert, translator or interpreter, an arbitrator or a member of the armed forces an undue advantage for that person or for a third party in order that the person carries out his official duties is liable to a custodial sentence not exceeding three years or to a monetary penalty.
Art. 322sexies Acceptance of an advantage
Any person who as a member of a judicial or other authority, as a public official, officially-appointed expert, translator or interpreter, or as an arbitrator, demands, secures the promise of, or accepts an undue advantage for himself or for a third party in order that he carries out his official duties is liable to a custodial sentence not exceeding three years or to a monetary penalty.
2. Bribery of foreign public officials
Art. 322septies 2. Bribery of foreign public officials
Any person who offers, promises or gives a member of a judicial or other authority, a public official, an officially-appointed expert, translator or interpreter, an arbitrator, or a member of the armed forces who is acting for a foreign state or international organisation an undue advantage, or gives such an advantage to a third party, in order that the person carries out or fails to carry out an act in connection with his official activities which is contrary to his duties or dependent on his discretion,
any person who as a member of a judicial or other authority, a public official, an officially-appointed expert, translator or interpreter, an arbitrator, or a member of the armed forces of a foreign state or of an international organisation demands, secures the promise of, or accepts an undue advantage for himself or for a third party in order that he carries out or fails to carry out an act in connection with his official activity which is contrary to his duty or dependent on his discretion
is liable to a custodial sentence not exceeding five years or to a monetary penalty.
3. Bribery of private individuals
Art. 322octies Bribery
1 Any person who offers, promises or gives an employer, company member, agent or any other auxiliary to a third party in the private sector an undue advantage for that person or a third party in order that the person carries out or fails to carry out an act in connection with his official activities which is contrary to his duties or dependent on his discretion is liable to a custodial sentence not exceeding three years or to a monetary penalty.
2 In minor cases, the offence is only prosecuted on complaint.
Art. 322novies Accepting bribes
1 Any person who as an employer, company member, agent or any other auxiliary to a third party in the private demands, secures the promise of, or accepts an undue advantage for himself or for a third party in order that the person carries out or fails to carry out an act in connection with his official activities which is contrary to his duties or dependent on his discretion is liable to a custodial sentence not exceeding three years or to a monetary penalty.
2 In minor cases, the offence is only prosecuted on complaint.
4. General provisions
Art. 322decies 4. General provisions
1 The following are not undue advantages:
a. advantages permitted under public employment law or contractually approved by a third party;
b. negligible advantages that are common social practice.
2 Private individuals who fulfil official duties are subject to the same provisions as public officials.
Definitions
Article 110 Definitions
3 Public officials are the officials and employees of a public administrative authority or of an authority for the administration of justice as well as persons who hold office temporarily or are employed temporarily by a public administrative authority or by an authority for the administration of justice or who carry out official functions temporarily.
Title Seven: Corporate Criminal Liability
Art. 102 Liability under criminal law
1 If a felony or misdemeanour is committed in an undertaking in the exercise of commercial activities in accordance with the objects of the undertaking and if it is not possible to attribute this act to any specific natural person due to the inadequate organisation of the undertaking, then the felony or misdemeanour is attributed to the undertaking. In such cases, the undertaking is liable to a fine not exceeding 5 million francs.
2 If the offence committed falls under Articles 260ter, 260quinquies, 305bis, 322ter, 322quinquies, 322septies paragraph 1 or 322octies, the undertaking is penalised irrespective of the criminal liability of any natural persons, provided the undertaking has failed to take all the reasonable organisational measures that are required in order to prevent such an offence.
3 The court assesses the fine in particular in accordance with the seriousness of the offence, the seriousness of the organisational inadequacies and of the loss or damage caused, and based on the economic ability of the undertaking to pay the fine.
4 Undertakings within the meaning of this title are:
a. any legal entity under private law;
b. any legal entity under public law with exception of local authorities;
c. companies;
d. sole proprietorships.
Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Corruption page
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Bribery and corruption page
Organization of American States (OAS) Anti-Corruption Portal
United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC): Corruption page
UNODC and World Bank: Stolen Assets Recovery Initiative (StAR) page ; StAR Publications page
International Bar Association Anti Corruption Committee
International Center for Asset Recovery (ICAR)
International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) Anti-Corruption Commission FraudNet
The Egmont Group of Financial Intelligence Units (FIUs) allows FIUs to cooperate, especially in the areas of information exchange, training and the sharing of expertise in the fight and prevention of money laundering.
The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) is an inter-governmental body whose purpose is the development and promotion of national and international policies to combat money laundering and terrorist financing.
IMoLIN is an Internet-based network assisting governments, organizations and individuals in the fight against money laundering and the financing of terrorism, which includes a database on legislation and regulations throughout the world, an electronic library, and a calendar of events in the anti-money laundering / countering the financing of terrorism fields.
Based in Lyon, France, the International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL) enables police around the world to work together.
The mandate of the Vienna-based United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) is to assist Member States in their struggle against illicit drugs, crime and terrorism, through technical cooperation, research and analytical work, and normative work.
The Stolen Asset Recovery Initiative (StAR) is a partnership between the World Bank and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) that supports international efforts to end safe havens for corrupt funds. StAR works with developing countries and financial centers to prevent the laundering of the proceeds of corruption and to facilitate more systematic and timely return of stolen assets.
The ACFE is the world's largest anti-fraud organization and premier provider of anti-fraud training and education.
Based in London and Washington DC, Global Witness is an international NGO established in 1993 that works to break the links between natural resource exploitation, conflict, poverty, corruption, and human rights abuses worldwide.
ICC FraudNet is the leading network of fraud and asset recovery lawyers operating under the auspices of the International Chamber of Commerce since 2004, present in more than 70 jurisdictions.
The International Association for Asset Recovery (IAAR) is an international membership organization for private sector and government asset recovery professionals, which offers educational programs, information exchanges, and networking opportunities. IAAR has developed a professional certification in asset recovery, the CSAR (Certified Specialist in Asset Recovery) credential.
The International Association of Prosecutors (IAP) includes about 200’000 prosecutors from over 120 states.
ICAR is an NGO based in Basel which specializes in training and assisting developing countries on the practical work of tracing, confiscating and repatriating the proceeds of corruption, money laundering, and related crimes.
The ICC Anti-Corruption Commission encourages self-regulation by enterprises in confronting issues of extortion and bribery and provides business input into international initiatives to fight corruption.
OffshoreAlert specializes in reporting about Offshore Financial Centers, with an emphasis on fraud investigations, and also holds an annual conference about OFCs, focusing on products and services, tax and political issues, compliance, money laundering, fraud, asset recovery and investigations.
SHERPA is a Paris-based non-profit organization dedicated to protecting and defending victims of economic crimes.
The Berlin-based Transparency International (TI) is a non-governmental organization that fights and monitors international corruption. It notably publishes each year a Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI).
London-based Thompson Reuter’s World Check maintains a database of Politically Exposed Persons (PEPs) and heightened risk individuals and organisations for money laundering prevention purposes.
(for Swiss law resources, see our Switzerland resources page)
British and Irish case law & legislation, European Union case law, Law Commission reports, and other law-related British and Irish material.
CanLII is a non-profit organization managed by the Federation of Law Societies of Canada. CanLII's goal is to make Canadian law accessible for free on the Internet.
Public Access to Court Electronic Records (PACER) is an electronic public access service that allows users to obtain case and docket information online from federal appellate, district, and bankruptcy courts in the United States of America.
A research and electronic publishing activity of the Cornell Law School. Popular collections include: the U.S. Code, Supreme Court opinions, and "Law about...".
Free, independent and non-profit access to worldwide law. This site contains links to numerous free searchable legal databases from around the world.
On 16 March 2018, the Swiss Parliament adopted an amendment to the provisions of the Federal Act on Private International Law (PILA) on cross-border insolvency that should allow Switzerland to provide broader, faster and better international cooperation to foreign insolvency office holders.
These provisions entered into force on 1 January 2019 (publication in the Official Record of Federal Law of 2 October 2018 in German, French and Italian). An unofficial English translation prepared by MBK may be found here.
The debates before the Swiss Parliament: in German, French and Italian.
24 May 2017 dispatch of the Federal Council to Parliament: in German, French and Italian.
The webpage of the Federal Department of Justice and Police dedicated to the project of new cross-border insolvency provisions, together with reports of consultation of interested parties may be found in German, French and Italian.
Antonia Mottironi, New Swiss Cross-Border Insolvency Bill : First Experience One Year On, Asset Recovery Magazine, Issue 4 – The Europe Issue, KNect365 Law, Londres, 2020
Yves Klein, Antonia Mottironi, Suíça: como as novas regras de homologação de falências estrangeiras beneficiarão os credores Brasileiros (Switzerland: how new cross-border insolvency rules will benefit Brazilian creditors), A Insolvência, IBAJUD - Instituto Brasileiro de Administração Judicial, São Paulo, November 2018
Yves Klein, Claire Daams, Antonia Mottironi, Switzerland: Improving Cooperation To Recover Assets In Cross-Border Insolvency Cases, Legal Era, Mumbai, April 2018
Yves Klein, Antonia Mottironi, Switzerland - A new hope? The Swiss Government adopts its Dispatch to the Parliament on an amendment to the provisions governing recognition of foreign insolvencies, Lexology, 22 June 2017