OR 2020: Braucht die Schweiz ein neues Vertragsrecht? – Eine Einführung^*

In spring 2013, the draft for a new General Part of the Swiss Code of Obligations was published under the title “Schweizer Obligationenrecht 2020” (OR 2020; in French “Code des obligations suisse 2020” [CO 2020]). The OR 2020 draft contains model rules for a new General Part of the existing Swiss Code of Obligations in German, French, Italian and English, as well as explanatory notes on each model rule (either in German or French).

The OR 2020 draft is the result of an almost six years long collaboration of 23 academics from all nine Swiss law faculties with expertise in private law, contract law, European and international law. The draft is an initiative of Swiss academics and was funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNF).

The main aim of the drafters was to maintain established principles and rules, and to integrate new ideas. The core of the General Part of the existing Swiss Code of Obligations is more than a hundred years old. Throughout this time, it has…