Suchergebnisse für Konzerne

Neuausrichtung des «Swiss Code of Best Practice for Corporate Governance» auf den Wandel der Zeit

The «Swiss Code of Best Practice for Corporate Governance», which was first published in 2002 and has since been revised several times, has become the most important guideline for good corporate governance in Switzerland and is widely accepted because it shows practical solutions based on expertise and experience. It compensates for its non-binding nature and lack of legal legitimacy, so to speak…

Konzernorganisationsrecht heute

The Swiss law of groups of companies is characterized by a scarcity of statutory rules, judicial pragmatism, and a flexible application of the rules by companies. Unusually, the density of statutory rules in this domain has decreased in recent years. In this article, the author summarizes the current status of the organizational law of groups of companies and takes a closer look at selected…

Relative Marktmacht – gerichtliche Sicht

The amendment 2021 of the Swiss Federal Act on Cartels and other Restraints of Competition provides in the new article 4 section 2^bis a concretizing definition of market power as follows: “An undertaking with relative market power is an undertaking on which other undertakings are dependent for the supply of or demand for goods or services in such a way that there are no adequate and reasonable…

Geschäftsherrenhaftung im Konzernverhältnis?

On November 29, 2020, the Corporate Responsibil­ity-Initiative failed in the referendum by a majority of the cantons. The debate on the Corporate Responsibility Initiative and the indirect counter-proposal of the Swiss Parliament focused on the question of the extent to which Swiss companies should be held liable for the activities of the companies they control in the area of human rights and…

Angebot kollektiver Kapitalanlagen vs. Vertrieb unter altem Recht

The entry into force of the Financial Services Act (FinSA) on 1 January 2020 marked a fundamental reorganization of Swiss financial market supervisory law. The introduction of cross-sectoral rules governing the provision of financial services on a professional basis left its mark on the Collective Investment Schemes Act (CISA) and the Collective Investment Schemes Ordinance (CISO) in particular…

Ruhen der Stimmrechte und positive Beschlussfeststellungsklage

Die A. AG (Gesellschaft, Beklagte, Beschwerdeführerin) ist eine Aktiengesellschaft nach Schweizer Recht. Das Aktienkapital beträgt CHF 150 000 und ist eingeteilt in 150 Namenaktien zu je CHF 1000…

Salärgovernance und neues Aktienrecht

In determining the compensation of directors and top management, the board of directors of public companies is faced with a structural conflict of interest. The aim to mitigate this conflict through an appropriate design of the procedure forms the essence of the say-on-pay rules introduced by the Swiss electorate in a public vote in 2013 and implemented on a transitional basis in the Ordinance…

Die Rolle der FINMA bei Vergütungen in Banken und Versicherungen

Compensation and remuneration schemes in financial institutions always have been, and still are, a hot potato. The past decade has been particularly eventful in terms of both regulation and supervision, not only in Switzerland, but also abroad. Against this backdrop, this article aims to discuss the role of the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority, FINMA, with regard to compensation in…

Moderne Formen der Generalversammlung im revidierten Aktienrecht 2020

The revision in 2020 of the Swiss law on companies limited by shares (Aktiengesellschaft) as created the legal basis for modernizing the annual general meeting (AGM) of shareholders of limited companies, also making it more flexible. Today’s electronic means of communication have opened up new possibilities for how AGMs can be conducted. Especially in large corporations, but also in smaller…

Die Auswirkungen des Covid-19-Solidarbürgschaftsgesetzes auf das Aktienrecht

In spring 2020, the Swiss Federal Council launched, among other things, the Covid-19 credit programme in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. About 20% of all Swiss corporations have subsequently taken out a Covid-19 loan. Initially, the Covid-19 Joint and Several Surety Ordinance («Covid-19-Solidarbürgschaftsverordnung») served as the legal basis of the credit programme. Later the ordinance was…

Feuerproben des neuen Datenschutzgesetzes – Ein «tour d’horizon»

In the area of conflict between diverging individual needs and competing societal interests, a multitude of «trial by fire» awaits the new federal data protection law. One of these is the smartphone, which, as an always-available means of mobile identification and documentation, is well on its way to become an electronic anklet for everyone.

Können Investitionskontrollen für gleich lange Spiesse sorgen?

Amidst global protectionist tendencies and in view of major takeovers by foreign state-controlled companies calls for increased public control of foreign investment have been getting louder around the globe. Most recently, the Swiss parliament approved a motion obliging the Swiss government to prepare a draft bill regarding foreign investment screening. Apart from national security concerns,…

Daten-Governance und Cloud Banking im neuen Datenschutzrechtsumfeld

Banking is a data-sensitive business. With the adoption of the new Data Protection Act the data protection level will also be increased in Switzerland, amongst others in the data security context. Banks, often using cloud services for efficiency reasons, will have to adapt their data governance framework in the near future: Data processing and storing must meet the data protection and data…

CSR-Berichterstattung Ante Portas: Indirekter Gegenvorschlag zur Konzernverantwortungsinitiative

In a popular vote held in November 2020, the controversially debated «Swiss Responsible Business Initiative» was rejected. As a matter of constitutional procedure, the Parliament’s Counterproposal from 2019 will now automatically come into force. Unlike the Initiative, the Counterproposal refrains from introducing a foreign direct liability of Swiss businesses for infringing human rights or…

Konzernverantwortungsinitiative: Was ändert sich bei einem JA?

The highly debated Swiss Responsible Business Initiative will be put to public vote in November 2020. If the electorate supports the position of the Initiative, a provision titled «Responsibility of Businesses» will be introduced into the Swiss Constitution. According to this provision companies seated in Switzerland would be required to respect internationally recognized human rights and…

Editorial

Am 28. August 2019 fand die 11. Tagung «Quo Vadis – Finanzplatz Schweiz?» unter einem neuen leitenden Team, bestehend aus Rolf Sethe und Christoph B. ­Bühler, statt. Sie haben übernommen von Peter…

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…

Was ist «wirtschafts-verträgliches» Aktienrecht?

The last comprehensive overhaul of Swiss corporation law dates from 1991. The revised law was intended to provide more transparency, improve shareholder rights and set goalposts with respect to corporate organization and corporate powers. But the 1991 corporation law fell short of international standards, especially for listed companies. Numerous pieces of legislation and self-regulatory…

Aktuelle Rechtsprechung zur Haftung im Konzern

Federal court rulings on liability of the parent company in a Group have developed further since the classic decisions of the nineties in the matters of Swissair and Motor-Columbus. This article provides an overview of the handed down by the Federal Supreme Court over the past ten years. The article shows that the Court did not decide these cases based on principles of director’s liability,…

Fortress Europe: Die Äquivalenzverfahren der EU im Bereich der Finanzdienstleistungen

The European Union is by far the most important ­market for Swiss cross-border financial services. So far, the key strategy for market access has been to tailor Swiss financial regulation so as to achieve equivalence with EU law. However, the analysis of the current equivalence procedures reveals that equivalence is not the door opener one had hoped for. Core activities such as deposit-taking,…

Europareport

Nach der am 6. Februar 2019 von der Kommission verfügten Untersagung der geplanten Zusammenschlüsse Wieland–Aurubis im Bereich der Kupferindustrie und Siemens–Alstom im Bereich der Schienenfahrzeuge und Eisenbahnsignaltechnik ist eine neue wettbewerbspolitische Diskussion entfacht um die Sinnhaftigkeit nationaler bzw. europäischer Champions. Befürworter der Stärkung nationaler Anbieter, die im…

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…

Ursachen der Finanzkrise und seitherige Regulierungsentwicklung

A number of causes have triggered the crisis such as subprime mortgage loans in the US, the lack of regulation of derivatives and also remuneration systems which set wrong incentives. The crisis lead to the abolishment of the banking secrecy at the international level. It was replaced by the automatic exchange of information in tax matters which is now the standard. The crisis initiated the…

Bankgeschäfte nach der Krise: Safer, simpler, fairer?

Ten years after the global financial crisis, the Financial Stability Board reports that regulation has built a «safer, simpler and fairer financial system». While there are indeed notable improvements in the regulatory architecture, the question remains whether banking, as seen from a retail customer perspective, has become safer, simpler, and fairer. This article argues that, overall, retail…

Editorial

Die SZW-Aktienrechtstagung 2018 war dem Verwaltungsrat (VR) gewidmet. Er ist de facto das leitende Organ der Aktiengesellschaft, auch wenn er nach der immer noch gängigen Theorie des Principal-Agent-Ve…

M&A-Transaktionsberatung im Grenzbereich von Auftrag und Mäklervertrag

Die C. AG bezweckt die Erbringung von Beratungs- und sonstigen Dienstleistungen im Bereich der Unternehmensübernahmen. A. war bis im Jahr 2013 Präsident des Verwaltungsrats und Aktionär der B. AG,…

Funktion(en) des Aktienrechts – vom Organisationsrecht zum Katalysator der Gesellschaftspolitik?

Swiss Corporate Law (Articles 620 et seq. of the Swiss Code of Obligations) is undergoing permanent changes since the 19^th century. Originally, these articles provided the legal basis for structuring and organizing corporations in the most efficient way – not more; therefore, the main focus was placed on protection of investors (i.e. the legal protection for both shareholders and creditors). Over…

Die Zukunft des digitalisierten Rechnungswesens

The digitization of economics does not only effect parts on an entity but the entire value chain, notably inclusive of the accounting department. Should we have to expect a revolution in such a way that millions of bookkeepers will be replaced by machines in the near-future? Or do these new technologies have the potential to automate routine tasks while supporting more complex, non-routine…

Die regulatorische Antwort auf FinTech: Evolution oder Revolution? Eine Verortung aktueller Entwicklungen

While technological improvements have shaped the financial industry and its regulation for decades, FinTech is the buzzword of the hour. Rapidly developing digital technologies allow new market entrants to disrupt the traditional intermediary-based provision of financial services (I.). These new businesses – in particular those that operate payment systems or engage in crowdfunding – may clash…

Vinkulierung an der Bruchstelle zwischen kotierter Gesellschaft und nicht kotierten Aktionären

This article contains a selective analysis of the current system of share transfer restrictions (Vinkulierung), in particular with regard to the scope of application of the relevant provisions in relation to direct and indirect investments in publicly held companies, that has raised public interest in connection with the “Sika”-case. The authors illustrate the current state of established…

Corporate Social Responsibility

The concept of Corporate Social Responsibility demands that companies comply with ethical standards with regard to human rights and the protection of the environment wherever they are active and that they, in general, respect the interests of society at large in their business. This concept is promoted by the UN in the UN Guiding Principles of Business and Human Rights. While Swiss law obliges…

Die Bilanzierung des Eigenkapitals im Einzelabschluss von Kapitalgesellschaften

This essay shows how the equity capital of a corporation or a limited liability company must be presented in the balance sheet pursuant to the new Swiss accounting law. The structure of the article follows the individual items of the equity capital, whereby a balance sheet prepared in Swiss francs is assumed. It has been concluded that the supposedly comprehensive accounting law provisions…

Neuerfindung des Finanzsektors?

Although digitalization embraces practically all areas of society and economy, in the financial sector, the use of these new technologies started very early and were particularly intense. As financial products are largely based on information, the usage of such technologies are also the basis for financial systems, payment infrastructures, trading platforms and crypto-currencies. Owing to the…

Konzernorganisationsrecht 2.0

The premise of this article is that the law of corporate groups is, in essence, business organisation law. The departure point is the observation that the function of the corporate group relates primarily to the overcoming of entrepreneurial problems that economic globalisation has brought, and continues to bring, forth. In order to do justice to this economic reality, the law must provide the…

Tendenzen der Konzernbesteuerung im schweizerischen Steuerrecht

The article deals with the latest developments and tendencies of group taxation in Switzerland. Starting point are the roots of company taxation in Switzerland. On this basis the major lines of developments in Swiss tax law and international tax law of Switzerland are discussed. Thereafter, tendencies on how group taxation in Switzerland will progress further will be identified. By comparing the…

Der Konzern im neuen Rechnungslegungsrecht

As of January 1st, 2016 the new Swiss financial reporting law is fully applicable to groups of companies, leading to a more thorough regulation of their reporting rules. This foremost brings fundamental changes with regard to the preparation of consolidated annual accounts. Basis thereof is, that the duty to provide such accounts is no longer tied to the requirement of «common management» …

Konzernverantwortungsinitiative: Grenzenlose Verantwortlichkeit?

This article discusses a recently launched popular initiative, that aims at ensuring that companies domiciled in Switzerland respect human rights and environmental standards in their activities worldwide. To achieve this objective binding due diligence obligations for companies shall be anchored in the Swiss constitution. An in-depth analysis of the proposed provision and the explanations thereto…

Europareport

Mit Urteilen vom 16. Dezember 2015 (Rs. T-9/11 u.a.) hat das Gericht der Europäischen Union (nachfolgend auch: «EuG») den Beschluss der Europäischen Kommission im so genannten Luftfracht-Kartellverfahren für nichtig erklärt, soweit er das jeweils klagende Unternehmen betraf.

Ist die aktienrechtliche Verantwortlichkeit noch zeitgemäss?

An analysis of the board members’ and directors’ liability law shows that its present form has significant deficits: Confronting board members with a liability excee­ding their individual risk capacity causes risk adversity and a crowding out effect within the pool of potential board members. In the light of these functional deficits, it does not come as a surprise that the track record of…

Neues Deliktsrecht für Unternehmen: Die Organisations- und Gefährdungshaftung im Vorschlag OR 2020

Swiss tort law reform was on the academic and political agenda until the Federal Council shelved it in 2009. Proposal CO 2020 tries to revive the debate. Two of its key provisions have particular meaning for companies: Art. 59 provides for a new type of organizational enterprise liability and Art. 60 contains a strict liability provision for “particularly dangerous activities”. The rationales for…

Der kartellrechtliche Blick über die Grenze

Since the revisions to the Swiss antitrust law in 1995 and 2004, the law is now very similar in structure to the laws of the EU and the EU member states. It is therefore very probable that ideas stemming from the EU enter Swiss legislation and court cases, but there are also some ideas of improvement of Swiss laws that could be interesting for the legislation of the EU or even in its court…

Cash Pool – Verdeckte Gewinnausschüttung und verdecktes Konzernrecht

Der Konzern C. (die damalige Swissair-Gruppe) verfügte seit 1991 über einen Cash Pool, dem auch die Konzerngesellschaft B. angeschlossen war. Vertraglich war zwischen den Konzerngesellschaften und…