The Swiss Debt Enforcement and Bankruptcy Act (DEBA) allows the initiation of debt enforcement proceedings before a court becomes involved. A creditor can request the competent debt enforcement office (normally at the domicile of the debtor) to issue a payment order to the debtor. The office serves that payment order without verifying the existence and enforceability of the purported claim; however, the debtor may declare its objection, within 10 days, to the debt enforcement office.
On 1 January 2019, certain changes to Swiss debt enforcement and bankruptcy law will enter into force. The revised law aims to offer better protection for debtors against unjustified debt enforcement steps and to facilitate the recognition of foreign bankruptcy proceedings.
Restriction on disclosure in debt enforcement register
The attachment of a debtor's assets is a very convenient tool for securing the recovery of an outstanding claim. Besides conventional assets, such as bank accounts or real estate, the creditor may also consider attaching more exotic items owned by the debtor: luxury cars, artworks or, why not, a private jet. We set out below the key requirements and certain practical aspects to consider when seeking the attachment of an aircraft located in Switzerland.
The requirements for attaching an aircraft: two different routes
The worst economic disaster since the great depression of 1929 took American and European banks by storm in 2008. The US, European countries and Russia, among others, had to step in to save some of their banks from bankruptcy. Even certain German banks, symbols of the country's strength and prosperity, were on the verge of collapsing. Against this backdrop, the purpose of this briefing is to provide a highlevel summary of the mechanisms in place to cope with the bankruptcy of a foreign bank in Switzerland.
The Swiss Federal Council presented to parliament its dispatch for a reform of Swiss corporate law. The draft Act amending the Swiss Code of Obligations (Draft Act) seeks to modernize corporate governance by strengthening shareholder rights and promoting gender equality on corporate boards and senior management. It also replaces the provisions of the (interim) Ordinance on Excessive Compensation (Minder-Ordinance) by a federal act of parliament with only a few changes.
Several new Swiss laws and amendments have entered into force as of January 1 2014. For firms doing business in Switzerland, changes in executive compensation regulation, in reorganisation proceedings and in respect to redundancy plans are among the most important ones.
The Minder initiative
In Switzerland, the preceding year was char- acterised by animated discussion on executive compensation which resulted in two mile- stone decisions on national constitutional ref-
GesKR 4 2014 536Entscheidbesprechungen déloyale et de faux dans les titres, ainsi que des griefs d’abus de confiance, banqueroute frauduleuse, diminution effective de l’actif au préjudice des créanciers et gestion fautive. Le Tribunal pénal de Zoug n’est, par ailleurs, pas entré en matière sur les prétentions civiles émises par les créanciers cessionnaires. A., de même que les créanciers cessionnaires ont interjeté recours contre le jugement de première instance auprès du Tribunal cantonal (Obergericht) de Zoug.
In early 2024, Switzerland's GDP continued a moderate growth, mostly due to the service economy. Most conjunctural indicators have stabilised in recent months.The Swiss federal government's Expert Group on Economic Forecasts therefore expects, in its latest forecast, growth for the Swiss economy in 2024 to be similar to 2023; i.e., a GDP growth rate of 1.2%, which is still significantly under average.