Suchergebnisse für decision support systems

Are Credit Institutions in the Banking Union (BU) Resolvable?

This study discusses whether credit institutions established in the Member States participating in the (European) Banking Union (BU) are resolvable. It is structured in five Sections: Section I provides an overview of the legislative acts which constitute the “EU banking resolution framework” (including the rules on credit institutions’ loss absorption and recapitalisation capacity), as these…

Recent developments in Swiss competition law

Sustainable Purpose-Driven Enterprises

Social enterprises (in a broad sense), including those launched by social (or sustainable) entrepreneurs (or Sustainable Purpose-Driven Entities) are important players to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Developing a legal framework that allows them to prosper has been a priority of the European Commission since 2010. These entities have recently been endorsed by the United…

The Normative Effects of ESG Expectations on Companies and their Directors

Most companies face a growing number of environmental, social and governance (ESG) expectations arising not only from their shareholders, but also from a wide array of stakeholders such as clients, investors, States, financial institutions and not-for-profit organisations. Even though a significant number of these expectations are not imposed by hard or soft law, they cannot be disregarded in…

Venture Capital, ESG and Sustainable Investments

Sustainability is a pressing issue that requires addressing various environmental, social, and governance (ESG) challenges. The venture capital industry has the potential to play a crucial role in sustainable investments due to its characteristics, such as long-term investment horizons and investor protections. However, sustainability has yet to become a major topic in private equity and venture…

ESG Considerations and Public Benefit Corporations

There appears to be an international demand among investors for for-profit enterprises that commit to a social or environmental purpose and consider environmental, social and governance (ESG) aspects. Inspired by U.S. legislation, EU and other state legislators have enacted statutes with new legal forms of business organizations – so-called benefit corporations – or are considering to do so in…

Recent developments in Swiss competition law

To Infinity and Beyond: U.S. Dollar-Based Jurisdiction in the U.S. Sanctions Context

The power to print the world’s dominant currency gives the United States enormous leverage in pursuing its geopolitical objectives. This is particularly evident in the sanctions context, where the mere “use” of the U.S. financial system will pull parties into U.S. jurisdiction even if they are located outside the United States. This article highlights the recent extensions of jurisdictional…

Do Robots Rule Wealth Management? A Brief Legal Analysis of Robo-Advisors

What are the legal duties of robo-advisors in Switzerland? In this article, we focus on the legal framework arising from Swiss financial market law, contract law and data protection law. We also make a comparison with European law. We first explain how robo-advisors work and conclude that, contrary to what their name may suggest, they are primarily portfolio managers. As financial service providers…

Recent developments in Swiss competition law

Big Data and the Law: a holistic analysis based on a three-step approach – Mapping property-like rights, their exceptions and licensing practices

Given Big Data’s increasing importance, it seems important to develop a clear and coherent body of law and to organize the different relationships among all stakeholders and legal regimes that grant different property-like rights. There are already numerous studies on the interactions between Big Data and intellectual property and/or privacy, but less that map all legal regimes, including the…

Banking and finance disputes: to arbitrate or not to arbitrate, that is the question

“It has been said that “[b]ankers have traditionally preferred judges to arbitrators”. Indeed, where banks or financial institutions are involved in a dispute, state courts have usually been preferred, while arbitration has, so far, often been overlooked. However, in the last decade, the financial landscape has endured colossal changes worldwide. The 2008 crisis led to a paradigm shift. Banks –…

Corporate Internal Investigations under Swiss Law: Information Gathering and Employee Interviews

The information gathering and review phase is fundamental to every corporate internal investigation. It forms the factual basis for the final report and legal considerations at a later stage of the investigation and provides evidence which might become relevant in a later civil, regulatory or criminal proceeding. It is therefore crucial that the data collection and interview phase is conducted in…

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…

TBTF: Do increased capital requirements, bail-in powers and resolution ­authority solve the problem?

In the wake of the financial crisis of 2008, governments across the world decided that it was time to end the bail-out of too-big-to-fail financial institutions. This article considers the strategies deployed in Switzerland to solve the problem: increased capital requirements, including leverage ratios and liquidity requirements, funding of the resolution in the event of a gone-concern,…

Recent developments in Swiss competition law

1. The above title might raise a few eyebrows. What is the relationship between the Coty case, which was decided at the end of 2017 by the European Court of Justice (“ECJ”),¹ and the Gaba² and BMW³ judgments handed down the same year by the Federal Tribunal? In addition to the fact that these three cases deal with vertical agreements, the first interesting point of comparison is that the ECJ…

Swiss Multinational Enterprises and Transnational Corruption: Management Matters

In 2016, the Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland sanctioned a Swiss corporation for having bribed a Libyan Minister. The same year, it opened a criminal proceeding against the Swiss bank BSI for its involvement in the corruption scandals surrounding the Malaysian company 1MDB. Swiss corporations are also currently under investigation in the Brazilian Petrobras scandal. At the…

Contracts on Digital Content in Europe: Balancing between ­Author-Protective Copyright Policies and Consumer Policies

The online distribution of digital content is generally based on a chain of contractual relationships that can frequently consist of an upstream relationship between an author and a supplier, and a downstream relationship between the supplier and the consumer. Protected digital content transactions are thus potentially subject to two distinct sets of rules, i.e. copyright and consumer protection…

Recent developments in Swiss competition law

1. «Wettbewerbskomplexität»! After reading the 347-page long judgment handed down by the Federal Administrative Tribunal in the Swisscom ADSL price strategy case,¹ one can only agree with the expression used by the court in its decision.² Although an appeal before the Federal Tribunal is pending, we must emphasize the high quality of this judgment and, in particular, its clarity and educational…

Recent developments in Swiss competition law

1. The Competition Commission¹ adopted new organizational rules (“OrgReg”).² It would go beyond the scope of this chronicle to comment each and every provision. On the other hand, it is worth mentioning that the 2015 rules take into account the evolution of the tasks and functions attributed to the authority over the past 20 years; in fact, it is quite amazing that this text did not need any…

Global Financial Standards and Regulatory Reforms

The present paper discusses global financial standards and their relevance as part of the regulatory reforms initiated in the aftermath of the financial turmoil. In a first – precursory – part, it provides more clarity on the notion and role of “soft” law instruments, which have become an eminent pillar for the regulation of global finance. The essay likewise highlights the financial sector…

The Evolution of Corporate Social Responsibility

Is Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) a matter of law? Despite the fact that the role of national states is being increasingly impinged upon by the process of globalization, the prevailing notion of law today continues to be based on the maintenance of the stability of the existing national structures. The function of law is still seen as consisting primarily in shielding expectations from the…

Towards Automatic Exchange of Information

This article describes the various steps that led towards automatic exchange of information as the global standard and the issues that remain to be solved. First, the various competing models of exchange information, such as Double Tax Treaty (DTT), TIEA’s, FATCA or UE Directives are described with a view to show how they interact between themselves. Second, the so-called Rubik Strategy is…

Standing and Passing-on in the New EU Directive on Antitrust Damages Actions

This article critically evaluates private enforcement of the competition rules in Switzerland and compares them to recent developments at EU level, particularly regarding indirect purchaser standing and the passing-on defence. The article addresses the question of whether, and under what conditions, the new EU Directive on Antitrust Damages Actions, along with the Recommendation on Common…

Recent developments in Swiss competition law

1. An in-depth reform of the Federal Law on Cartels and Other Competition Restraints¹ should not be expected any time soon. On 17 September 2014, the National Council confirmed its decision of non-consideration, which, in accordance with Swiss parliamentary procedure, led to the closing of a long legislative process that started during the winter 2006/2007 with the mission entrusted to an expert…