Leitartikel

Haftung für automatisierte Entscheidungen – Herausforderungen in der Praxis

It is now technically possible for decisions to be made by autonomous means without any human involvement. The ability of automated decision making systems to act increasingly autonomously poses new challenges to the current legal framework. For example, in addition to contractual and non-contractual liability bases, proposals are being made for liability under the Swiss Product Liability Act or…

Credit Scoring, AML Software & Risk Profiling: Automatisierte Entscheidungen im Rahmen von Finanzdienstleistungen

Techniques of automated decision making, including profiling are, no doubt, also of interest to financial service providers. This essay describes three such applications (credit scoring, transaction monitoring for AML purposes, risk profiling for investors) and discusses their possible compliance with the requirements under the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation, as well as the proposed new…

Mise sous scellés et infractions financières: développements récents

The sealing of evidence is a procedural tool of great relevance, notably in the context of economic offences. The case law on this measure is important and sometimes uncertain. This is especially true in administrative criminal law: the practical importance of this area of law has been steadily increasing these past years while its procedural provisions appear to be outdated. This paper deals…

Schutzzweck der Inhaltskontrolle von allgemeinen Geschäftsbedingungen

This article examines the reason for and justification of controlling the content of general terms and conditions by the legislator and the courts. Based on various individual and institutional protection concepts, it analyzes what the purpose of such content control can and actually should be. This contribution uses a legal theo­ry and law and economics research approach. The results of the…

LEFin-LSFin: des assujettis face aux nouveaux organes et organismes

The regulations governing financial institutions and services are bringing new actors – such as portfolio managers and trustees – within the scope of FINMA su­pervision, supported by a reformed self-regulatory framework. It is worth comparing the latter with the set of rules and organizational measures adopted for the registration of client advisors and the control of prospectuses for securities…

La fin des rapports de travail du banquier : concurrence et bonus

The end of the banker’s working relationship is sometimes conflicting. The sticking points generally concern non-competition clauses and the payment of bonuses. The purpose of this article is to set out the rules applicable in this area in a way that both presents the legal principles and promotes practical solutions. In particular, the possibility of imposing a non-competition clause on the…

Pièges fiscaux du contrat de prêt

This contribution deals with the tax « traps » of the loan agreement. Loans are usually quite simple from a tax standpoint since they are neutral. Yet, the author examines three specific instances where things do not turn out so well. The first of which is the cancellation of ­indebtedness, which may result in taxable income ­(Article 16 par. 1 or Article 18 par. 1 Direct Federal Tax Law)…

Les données bancaires pseudonymisées – Du secret bancaire à la protection des données

Law strictly restricts the transfer of personal data and data protected by banking secrecy, especially outside of Switzerland. Personal data is defined as all information relating to an identified or identifiable person. Similarly, legal scholarship and case law hold that banking secrecy protects only client identifying data. The ability to identify the relevant person is thus core to both data…

Les frais de procédure et d’investigation sous pression

There has been a sharp increase in appeals relating to FINMA’s investigation and litigation costs. This article takes up recent case law and examines in detail all the legal questions that have been submitted to the federal judges over the past twelve months. The current FINMA’s practice of charging procedural costs to individuals and legal entities irrespective of whether or not they are subject…

Corporate Purpose and Board of Directors: Means and Ends of Corporate Governance

(Enlightened) shareholder value is a widespread opinion among legal scholars and lawmakers in Switzerland. In other countries, we observe today a clear shift in favor of stakeholder governance. In this article, we advocate that shareholders are one among several constituencies that make possible the achievement of corporate purpose. Hence, corporate law and practice should promote corporate…