Leitartikel

Förderung der ökologischen und sozialen Verantwortung durch den Bund im öffentlichen Beschaffungswesen und in der Privatwirtschaft

The Federal government has committed itself to setting a good example in the Sustainable Development Strategy 2016–2019 and in the 2030 Agenda. Sustainable development is a constitutional mandate that must also be taken into consideration in public procurement procedures. The pressure from parliamentarians seems to be bearing fruit and accordingly, as part of the total revision of the Swiss…

Entreprises et droits humains – La directive européenne sur la publication d’informations non financières, un modèle à suivre en droit suisse?

Since 2014, a European Union directive requires large companies to publish non-financial information relating to human rights and other issues such as social and environmental challenges. Taking up a…

Auf dem Weg zu einer digitalen Wettbewerbsordnung – Reaktionen des deutschen Gesetzgebers

Germany changed the Act against Restraints of Competition in 2017, partly in order to give a regulatory answer to the changes of the digital economy. The legislator answered to multi-sided markets with network effects, data-driven business models and the rise of «super platforms». Reforms related to the definition of market and the criteria for market power. A new merger threshold was introduced…

Algorithmen als Anlass für einen neuen Absprachebegriff?

Traditionally, cartels are concluded between natural persons whose behaviour then is imputed to the firms they are acting for. How shall we assess restrictions of competition emanating not from humans, but from algorithms? Long-established definitions of agreements as «concurrence of wills» or «meeting of the minds» do not fit well to the output of machines. Therefore, competition law is…

Pouvoir de marché dans le secteur numérique: l’accès à de larges quantités de données est-il suffisant?

In the digital sector, access to large sets of data may provide strategic advantages and thus raises the question as to whether it may be the source of market power within the meaning of competition law. In light of recent case law, we argue that access to big data may confer such power only when particular conditions are met. The data at stake should notably be correlated to specific users. In…

Seuils d’intervention ou examen ex post pour le contrôle des concentrations dans les marchés digitalisés?

Digital markets are open in principle. But network effects may rapidly favour the first successful entrant and establish high entry barriers for followers. In addition, the exchanges are often valued in data access rather than in traditional money terms. These characteristics challenge our merger control regimes. Mandatory notification systems are particularly vulnerable since merger projects in…

La digitalisation du point de vue des consommatrices et consommateurs

Digitalization from the consumer’s point of view can take several forms. Sharing economy, social networks, e-commerce: the digital world for consumers is a vast planet whose various aspects have to be understandable. And consumers cannot be summarized in only one category. This rapid development implies that our legislation must be adapted without hindering the ­dynamism of these markets…

Digitalisierung wettbewerbsrechtlicher Verfahren?

Competition Law proceedings regularly last very long and only limitedly take into account new possibilities for the use of information technology. On the other hand, online procedures have already become more widespread in private dispute resolution and RegTech is being promoted as a new instrument for the exchange of information in the financial market sector. Although it is not possible to…

FINMA’s Enforcement in Court

This article presents an empirical and qualitative analy­sis of the judicial review of the Swiss Financial Markets Supervisory Authority’s (FINMA) enforcement of financial market laws by the Federal Administrative Court and the Federal Supreme Court. It is part of a broader research project on global enforcement against financial institutions and their managers and employees. Based on an overview…

Enquêtes internes et secret professionnel de l’avocat

The Federal Court recently rendered two decisions on the issue of the protection of the lawyer’s professional secrecy within the context of internal inquiries. These decisions represent an important step, since there were contradictory opinions in legal writings on the issue of whether lawyers’ participation in internal inquiries should be regarded as a typical activity, and consequently covered…