Questions tagged [switzerland]

Questions concerning the laws, criminal justice system, civil court procedures and related topics specific to the contrary of Switzerland and its cantons.

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72 views

In Switzerland, is it legal to make an employee liable for damage, loss, or theft of company property?

My Swiss workplace issued me a laptop. They also issued me a paper detailing the price in Swiss francs of the laptop, apparently with the expectation that I'd pay that amount if anything happened to ...
-3 votes
2 answers
108 views

Does running your own limited liability company constitute employment? [closed]

What exactly is "employment"? Does running my own limited liability company (GmbH or similar) constitute "employment"? I am asking this because my (Swiss) employment contract (...
1 vote
1 answer
116 views

Do Swiss banks have the right to demand seeing a visa for a foreign country?

A friend who is a Swiss citizen and resident of Switzerland has a checking account with a Swiss bank. Because of a stay in the US, he was asked to file a "Status Declaration Form for Individuals&...
10 votes
2 answers
2k views

Property ownership of liquidated company

Around a decade ago the company I was working for launched a new startup. It was owned by my company and I was tasked to work as a consultant helping them set up their IT infrastructure 50% of my time....
3 votes
1 answer
104 views

difference between work and contractual obligations

In an employment contract, what is the difference between "the course of work" and "performance of contractual obligations"? For example, in the Swiss Code of Obligations: Art. ...
1 vote
1 answer
179 views

Are unmatched asterisks allowed in ads?

I received a flyer which advertises a "free" service trial. The word "free" appears three times overall and each time it has an asterisk, but neither on the front nor on the back ...
1 vote
1 answer
259 views

Does creating an unpaid event poster for a commercial event constitute commercial use?

Licenses of artworks or stock photos often state that they are free for non-commercial use. Assume I create a poster for an event. I do not sell the poster, but the event is commercial (has an entry ...
3 votes
1 answer
86 views

Are coworking companies bound by legal precedent not to use the intellectual property nor trade secrets of its customers?

The companies which operate coworking facilities are in a position to learn a lot about a person's business. Every facility I've seen is blanketed with cameras, potentially including microphones, the ...
42 votes
5 answers
17k views

A Swiss watch company seized my watch, saying it was stolen. I bought it 10 years ago. Is that legal?

I have a watch from Blancpain that I bought in 2014 from an individual in Poland (I have a written contract). I've sent the watch to Blancpain in Switzerland for periodic inspection and they seized it,...
1 vote
1 answer
113 views

What happens with seized money?

Daniel the drug dealer was caught with 20.000€ of illegaly earned money while crossing the border into Switzerland. The money was covered in traces of all kinds of drugs, so the court did not believe ...
17 votes
7 answers
8k views

What can a lawyer do if the client wants to be acquitted of everything despite serious evidence?

Alex the accused has been charged with a series of crimes. The list of charges is long (beating up his wife, speeding while drunk, trafficking...) and for most crimes, the evidence presented by the ...
0 votes
1 answer
54 views

Do Swiss banks allow investigation of foreign embezzlement claims?

There is reason to suspect someone who took a 91 year old French lady twice to Switzerland of embezzlement. The year after, she spent 50,000 on a veranda. The old lady is thought to have had shares ...
8 votes
1 answer
112 views

Freedom of the press regarding secret government information?

There's quite a scandal going on in Switzerland about secret government information that was leaked to the press during the pandemic. Some government employees apparently have mailed information about ...
4 votes
1 answer
157 views

Change name and gender in Switzerland as a non-Swiss citizen

So I live in Switzerland, but have British and Italian dual citizenship. I want to change my name and gender legally everywhere or at the very least on official documents here in Switzerland. I may be ...
1 vote
1 answer
125 views

How much social media control can your employer exert over you?

Can a swiss employer force the employee to change the display picture and full name of your personal linkedin profile?
1 vote
1 answer
84 views

Means of contract termination (Switzerland)

The Swiss company Yallo (telecommunication) does not accept written contract terminations (see here). Is this legal according to Swiss contract law? Since I'm a layman I could only find this article ...
4 votes
2 answers
375 views

Can a judge consider recent events in an older case?

Bob likes fast cars. Two months ago, he was unfortunately caught for excessive speeding. Both his car and his driving license were confiscated immediately. By law (SVG Art 16c, Abs 2 a_bis and Art 90) ...
1 vote
2 answers
271 views

Is it considered harassment if a neighbor threatens with legal actions on whatever I do on my property

I hope this question is appropriate here. I moved into a house in a nice neighborhood a few months ago. I get along with most neighbors very well, but there is the one troublemaker like in every ...
1 vote
1 answer
107 views

Can a copyright holder sue someone in Switzerland for downloading their copyrighted works?

I recently learned that Switzerland decriminalized downloading most/some copyrighted works – for "private use". But that only seems to cover criminal penalties. Does that same act/law, or ...
1 vote
2 answers
93 views

Total cost of theft (or other property crime)?

Suppose Bob earns his living by stealing from a specific supermarket store. Now one day, he is caught and the police can prove he stole stuff for a total value of CHF 10000. Now several things will ...
3 votes
0 answers
129 views

German Strafbefehl for Swiss Resident

M F Whitaker asked [a question] (appealing a penalty notice) which has since been closed because it asked for legal advice in a specific case. I believe that there are two questions of general ...
2 votes
2 answers
1k views

How to avoid unwarranted bills as a victim of online order fraud (with zalando)

What has happened A unknown party has ordered multiple items from zalando.ch (a clothing retailer), while using my address as the delivery address. Note: I have no account there, and never ordered, so ...
1 vote
2 answers
156 views

How do the safety cameras for documenting road events agree with recent privacy laws?

It is quite common to hear about small cameras that some cyclists and also car drivers use to record the surrounding traffic. In case of a road accident or otherwise very blatant violation of the road ...
2 votes
1 answer
91 views

When can employer on hourly basis cancel work at the latest?

I'm trying to find out if a new policy implemented by my employer is legal. I'm employed on an hourly basis, no minimum amount of work, with shift plans made yearly. Now they started cancelling some ...
3 votes
3 answers
632 views

"Discrimination" due to COVID-19 Certificate requirements

Many European countries issue COVID-19 Certificates (with varying names), that indicate whether a person is vaccinated, has recovered or has been tested. Access to some locations (restaurants, cinemas,...
6 votes
2 answers
264 views

Can a natural person issue stock in a private project they’re working on?

I’m trying to find out about the legality of issuing stock in some project you’re working on if you’re just a natural person, by which I mean that you haven’t knowingly founded any sort of ...
2 votes
1 answer
119 views

Licensing self-written software and trademark to the company which I own

I wrote software (as a hobby) a while ago and also registered a trademark for it. I thought about trying to commercialize the software, and realized that in order to limit my risks it makes sense to ...
12 votes
3 answers
2k views

Legal protections for an expired email domain

Recently, there was a question on Information Security which asked what could be done to protect the confidentiality of his contacts in the case that his custom email domain expires and someone else ...
-2 votes
1 answer
82 views

Website project canceled. Do I need to Restore old page? [closed]

A person contacted me to create a website for him for a fixed price. I verbally agreed. After the client always asked for more functionality, I decided to define the scope in a written contract, also ...
2 votes
2 answers
94 views

Does the receiver need to report invalid customs declaration on international shipment

Lets assume the following very likely scenario that definitely happens more than often: I have ordered a product from outside the country that - including shipping - exceeds the amount where you dont ...
1 vote
3 answers
312 views

Is this (seeming ageism) legal in Switzerland?

I am a freelance software developer. I have just received an email describing a possible position in Switzerland. Among the requirements, all others for technical knowledge & skills, was this: ...
1 vote
0 answers
22 views

In Switzerland, is accident insurance legally required to have medical care vetted by a third-party doctor?

I work in Switzerland, so I'm legally required to have accident insurance. I had a bicycle accident about three months ago and sustained a few injuries, including an ongoing rotator cuff problem for ...
1 vote
1 answer
115 views

Tariffs for ordering goods from switzerland to Germany

I am a passionate Magic: The Gathering player and as is commonly known some of the older cards can have values of 100€ of euros. I am thinking about ordering such a card from switzerland for the price ...
2 votes
0 answers
153 views

Is there an equivalent of small claims court in Switzerland (Basel canton)?

I'm in Switzerland, and I'm involved in a dispute over about 300 Swiss francs. I can anticipate needing to take it to court. In the US, there exists "small claims court" where, instead of ...
1 vote
1 answer
101 views

Can the "Promise of leaving country after studies", part of a student permit request be used to refuse a marriage?

This question concerns Switzerland, but I suppose this can apply to many countries with similar rules. When a foreigner (non-CH or EU citizen) applies for a student (B) permit, this person has to ...
11 votes
2 answers
1k views

Is it illegal in Switzerland to download scientific books from sci-hub?

In a thread on Academia.se, we are discussing the legality of using Sci-hub in Switzerland; for instance, for a university student to download articles used to write their thesis. This document ...
0 votes
0 answers
33 views

Bring non-EU parent in Switzerland after becoming Swiss citizen

I tried to find information about this, but without success. Let's say that a non-EU national becomes a Swiss citizen by living in Switzerland for a certain amount of time and by satisfying all of the ...
2 votes
1 answer
92 views

Facilitated Swiss citizenship for Non-Eu citizens

I'm curious about the facilitated Swiss citizenship process for a Non-EU citizen, but without being in registered partnership nor marriage with a Swiss citizen. As a side-note, the job that person ...
1 vote
1 answer
172 views

Do VPN providers really operate under single jurisdiction, even though their servers are located in many different countries?

For example, ProtonVPN claims in many places (e.g. Transparency Report, Terms and Conditions, Privacy Policy) that their service operates "under Swiss law", which, among other things (based on their ...
6 votes
1 answer
34k views

Why do legal documents often have a place next to the date?

I am talking about Switzerland. So why is there often a line for the place next to the date? Is it for some historic reason, to be easier to archive or is it to prevent fraud? Does anybody know more ...
1 vote
2 answers
132 views

How to protect my idea in another country?

I have an idea about possible creation of a product that in my opinion would be on demand among smartphone users. I have found a potential company In Switzerland and I think about offering them my ...
-1 votes
1 answer
140 views

Fake company. What charges to raise in Swiss law?

Which are in Switzerland the possible charges against a self-employed person that never declared his professional activity but uses a company name to be invoiced and has a company website? The ...
1 vote
1 answer
62 views

Can a country exit the TRIPS Agreement without exiting the WTO?

Is it possible for a country to exit the TRIPS Agreement without exiting the WTO? My question is basically whether or not the TRIPS Agreement is an essential part of the WTO or basically ...
1 vote
1 answer
393 views

Copy of ID card: blacken / hide fields that are not relevant (Switzerland)

In recent c't there is an article about GDPR (Sorry for the German). In Switzerland there is so far no GDPR, but we have a similar mechanism called Auskunftsrecht. In article there is written that ...
0 votes
2 answers
145 views

Cyclist contacts overtaking car - who is at fault?

Say a car narrowly overtakes a cyclist who at that moment starts to signal that they want to turn by extending their arm outwards toward the car. The car left so little room that the cyclist ...
1 vote
1 answer
654 views

"No logs" in Switzerland and Internet crime

ProtonVPN says that their servers are in Switzerland and that: Under Swiss law, we are not obligated to save any user connection logs, nor can we be forced to perform targeted logging on specific ...
2 votes
1 answer
136 views

Swiss naturalization

My crude understanding has been that one can become a citizen of Switzerland only by becoming a citizen of one of the cantons, and one can become a citizen of a canton only by becoming a citizen of a ...
0 votes
1 answer
88 views

Can I legally publish a compilation of copyrighted material without licence? How?

I have bought a book A which contains much content, and a second book B which relies on some of that content. I took the time to compile only the content from A that is relevant for use with B into a ...
1 vote
0 answers
95 views

How can a country reclaim money held in Swiss bank(s)?

Suppose, a 3rd world country X had a corrupt/autocratic government in the 90's. Politicians embezzled a lot of public money and deposited them in various banks in Switzerland. In the 2010's, that ...
2 votes
2 answers
377 views

Is this a pyramid scheme? If so, how do I stop it?

A dear, yet very naive friend of mine has fallen into the hands of what I think to be a pyramid company (operating from switzerland). I've talked with this friend of mine for a while yet she is ...