switzerland

Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA): International Law

International law section of the Swiss foreign ministry’s website, covering topics such as privileges and immunities, neutrality, international humanitarian law and international agreements. Official reports and manuals are provided, together with links to relevant Swiss legislation and international conventions. The International Agreements page has a database of treaties involving Switzerland and provides information about the treaties for which the Swiss government is the depositary. The site is in French, German, Italian and most – but not all - of it is also available in English.

Schweizerische Eidgenossenschaft

Official site of the Federal Authorities of the Swiss Confederation. Provides background information about the Swiss Confederation, the Federal Council and Federal Administration, with links to the current Constitution and the sites of the individual Swiss Cantons. Includes a free database of Swiss legislation in the official languages. Also has selected laws in English; these translations are for information only. A selection of federal publications is available to download in PDF format. It is possible to subscribe to current news from the Federal Administration.

Swiss Bankers Association

The Swiss Bankers Association is the representative association for financial institutions in Switzerland. Publications include a code of conduct, papers on risk management, and press releases, and are available in PDF. The feature on SPSS discusses Swiss Performance Presentation Standards, which are used to ensure performance reporting by banks in Switzerland. A feature on legislation and self-regulation outlines the legislative and regulatory framework in the Swiss financial services sector.

Federal Data Protection and Information Commissioner (FDPIC)

The website of the Swiss Data Protection Commissioner, in German, French, Italian or English. The English version includes basic information on data protection in Switzerland, an information sheet on unsolicited emails, selected Council of Europe texts, extracts from the Commissioner's annual report, and recent press releases. The full text of the Federal Law on Data Protection of 1992 is included. The German version contains all of these, as well as some recommendations of the Commissioner.

Introduction to the Swiss Legal System: A Guide for Foreign Researchers

A resource guide explaining the legal system in Switzerland with bibliographic details of sources and links to materials available on the internet. The guide was written by Fridolin M.R. Walther who is an attorney-at-law with Gubler Walther Leuch in Bern, Switzerland. This latest version of the guide was published in LLRX.com in September 2003. The guide is in English but includes links to resources in German or French.

World Law: Switzerland

Section of WorldLII's Countries service covering Switzerland. A full range of browse and search features are provided. Browsable link collections include materials relating to the Courts, Government, Legislation, Other Indexes, Parliament and Research Centres with specific subject sections dealing with Financial Intelligence, Intellectual Property, Privacy and Taxation, Revenue and Customs. A series of stored search will automatically query all of the WorldLII catalog or databases.

Schweizerisches Bundesgericht

The main purpose of this website is to give access to the full-text of reports of the Swiss Federal Supreme Court. The Court's main functions are deciding on constitutional law matters in Switzerland, and hearing appeals in federal law matters. The period covered is 1954- to date (with reports back to 1875 linked to on another site) and the reports are available and searchable in French, German and Italian. The interface / presentation are available in these languages also.

Recueil systématique du droit fédéral (Confoederatio Helvetica)

Official compilation of the laws of the Confederation of Switzerland, available in French, German and Italian versions. This collection of texts of Swiss federal law is available free of charge. Texts are available mainly in PDF format, with some HTML. The main listing is alphabetically by title. There are also lists of internal law (constitutional, penal, private, educational and social, defence, transport, health, economy), a list of international agreements, and a list of selected public law texts. The site includes a search engine.

Swiss Institute of Comparative Law

The Swiss Institute of Comparative Law (Institut suisse de droit comparé, or ISDC) was established in Lausanne in 1982. Its primary task is to prepare legal opinions in respect of foreign law for the Federal authorities, courts, lawyers and other individuals. It also produces studies in comparative law, holds colloquia and carries out research projects. The Institute has an extensive law library, whose catalogue is available via the website. A set of legal links for countries from Afghanistan to Zambia is available on the Law Online page, annotated in English.

Arbeitsgemeinschaft für juristisches Bibliotheks- und Dokumentationswesen

The Arbeitsgemeinschaft für juristisches Bibliotheks- und Dokumentationswesen is an association for law libraries and legal documentation centres in German-speaking countries; it also has individual members from the library and information field. Its website provides information about the purpose and activities of the organisation, along with news, publications and links to other law library associations. The site is in German.

Subscribe to switzerland